Charleston… where alone, loved ones sorrow and weep through the night, hearts broken.
Dylan Roof, 21, sat down in a prayer meeting at the AME Church in Charleston, SC and about an hour later, murdered nine church members. According to all major news sources that is exactly what he came to do. He is quoted as saying, “I want to start a race war.”
Immediately, cries went up for more gun laws; some pleaded for elimination of the Second Amendment; lawyers sharpened pencils; ‘expert’ commentators flooded media…while alone, loved ones sorrowed and wept through the night, hearts broken.
Pundits cried, “Hate crime!” Racism Rages in the South!” “Charge His Parents!” A major news station posed the question, “What can the government do to stop racial hatred?” Opportunists rushed to Charleston, ready to lead marches… while alone, loved ones sorrowed and wept through the night, hearts broken.
A sharply marked contrast between much of the public reaction and the Christian actions of the AME church membership to the heinous crime became a wonder to behold. The leadership and families urged peace and forgiveness. In Christian obedience, this congregation taught a lesson to our nation and world that all the sermons and political talk will never do…while alone, loved ones sorrowed and wept through the night, hearts broken.
Who would dare excuse Roof’s crime? Who can analyze all the reasons for the murderer’s obsession of hatred toward the black race as well as the Jews? We can examine his parent’s divorce when he was young; we can hear of a “pill popping” habit, know he dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, the many hours spent alone in his room publishing his ‘white supremacist’ jargon, and even talk to a few who knew ‘of’ him but didn’t know him. There are no excuses and no justification for him or his warped views of history and mankind.
Some ignorance wants to blame God or justifies their ‘reservations’ toward the ‘colored races’ (in their view, everybody but pure white people) by misinterpreting portions of the Bible. A glaring fact is the man God used to write more books in the Bible than anyone, and gave the revelation of God’s program for this present age of Grace (Paul), makes no distinction between black, yellow, white, or mixed skin color, or race. All of us are simply people, and all races and color have no difference in God’s sight… while alone, loved ones sorrow and weep through the night, hearts broken.
“God so loved the world…”(John 3:16) Should not we? Who are we to mistreat those Christ died to save? Every person, regardless of color or race who trusts Christ, is in the ONE body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). Who are to put them in an inferior place, separate them, or deny them any privilege others enjoy?
Men may well judge Roof’s upbringing, his home life and school. There were most likely drugs available that should not have been. Someone perhaps should have alerted the proper authorities to his bizarre actions and racist rants. That might have averted one tragedy. But even if Roof was stopped, there are scores who take his place. America gave a token nod to God and “justice to all” in the beginning and has now thrown out all His words from education and society as a whole. We have most deliberately and coldly replaced the love of God with a Darwinian “the strongest shall survive” philosophy and expect it to bring respect and honor between men.
No matter what laws are passed or what the government attempts–there will be no end. Legislation, revision of history or removal of symbols will not stop racism, social ills, and abuse. Pride: religious, social or political is the condemnation of the devil, is at the very core of prejudice and hatred, and eventually leads to the destruction of men and nations… while alone, loved ones will continue to sorrow and weep through the night, hearts broken.
Man has no cure for his ills. Hearts will continue to be broken and brave, courageous souls will ever rise against hatred and indifference to staunch bleeding societal abuse, and rightly so. But one day God Himself will wipe all tears from their eyes and answer the long awaited prayer: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
