In light of recent events I wanted to take a few minutes to speak from the heart. I had thought of posting this on Facebook, however it is rather long and the internet and social media is saturated with the emotions of the day. If you are anything like me you might be feeling emotionally drained and psychologically damaged from the events of this week.
I have never felt fear in my own country until now. I have never feared for my own life or the life of police officers until now.
I was a little boy in the 1960’s and I remember vividly the riots, the burning buildings, the burning crosses, from Washington DC. I was in a foster home in Virginia and the violence cam to our small town with people getting dragged from houses and beaten by both cops and civilians.
That violence did not change the hearts and mind of the perpetrators. The same violent evil heart that caused Cain to kill his brother Able, resides in people today.
I will say again over and over, that changed hearts of individuals from hate to love is more powerful than any weapon.
Are we the United States? We have no unity, as we see each other through the lens of black and white, us and them, democratic and republican, gay and straight, the list goes on and on. We are afraid to see ourselves for who we truly are. We are self righteous when we compare ourselves to ourselves or to other countries.
How do we explain to children the events of the past couple years? As adults are we to lead and teach the next generation? Are we to show leadership by discipline and example? When our children repeat what they have learned from us, such as stereotyping, texting and driving, racism, violence, cursing, war, on and on, we have handed them a future without the skills to correct it. We are duplicating the future and the sins of our fathers that was handed to us.
We have proven our inability to govern ourselves or to discipline ourselves. In my opinion, that is why a LEADER who does not share our corrupt inner nature is needed to show us THE WAY to transform our hearts and minds back to the way it was before sin took us and made us all prisoners. Funny how we claim to live in the land of the free and that we exert total freedom over ourselves, and yet we manage to give in to and be controlled by impulses that we do not seem to command. Rather our flawed nature causes us to think thoughts that eventually lead us to actions that we are not in control of.
When our anger turns to rage, are we in control or is the rage in control? When rage combined with irrational thinking regarding other people and stereotypes, our hidden biases come to the front. At that moment, are we in control?
I am of the opinion that we, me included need to take a long hard look at the person in the mirror and ask if the heart inside needs to be changed and be willing to turn to the only effect source of changing hearts. Our great institutions of learning have not changed, nor do they have the capacity to change a heart. Yes they can influence the mind to a small degree. True transformation that is lasting can only take place in the heart, and it will not happen by repeating a bumper sticker slogan.
As you may recall the first murder occurred with a limited population, with no ongoing relentless national issues stressing the masses. Truly it originated in the heart, and the in the heart is the only place where our pressing issues that plague our country and indeed the world can be solved.