The Killing of Trayvon Martin

The death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin who was shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, has captured national and world attention. Martin was shot and killed back on February 26^th in Sanford, Florida. Eyewitnesses told police that there was an argument between Zimmerman and Martin, a scuffle, a cry for help and then a gunshot. According to the police, Zimmerman was found standing over Martin. He had a bloody nose and a wound on the back of his head and the gun in his hand. Zimmerman and a witness told police he shot Martin in self-defense, which Florida law allows.

 Over the past few weeks more information has been uncovered including accounts that Zimmerman followed and may have taunted Trayvon using racial slurs (Trayvon is Black and Zimmerman is Hispanic). And there may have been a lax police investigation. Now the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI are involved. Let the investigation do its job, so that justice is served. But now there is also irrational ranting about the tragedy.

 An MSNBC host, Ed Schultz, blames Jeb Bush and the Florida gun law for Trayvon’s death. Geraldo Rivera blames the hoodie that Trayvon wore stating “You cannot rehabilitate the hoodie” because of its gang association. There was a “Million Hoodie” march in New York City. And Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, is calling for retaliation and justice in the street. The reason for this tragedy and others like it is not the law or the hoodie; it is the human heart, the inner core of who we are. Jesus Christ said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Matthew 15:19). We don’t need more violence on the streets we need to help people become new in Christ.

Missing in all this news is the deep loss and heartache in the Martin family and the tragedy in the Zimmerman family. What is also missing is the news that just last week in Chicago, because of gangs and street violence, 49 people were shot and ten killed. And among the dead, was an innocent 6 year old girl. Where’s all the rage about this event? There is injustice and cries of despair everywhere—in your town and mine.

 If you listen to your heart you can hear the cries of the injured everywhere. There is the cry of a child beaten by a drunken Dad. There is the cry of an old man assaulted by a gang. There is the cry of the young lady raped by someone she knows. Do you hear the cry of the wife abandoned by her husband after many faithful years of marriage? What about the cries of those trapped in an uncaring welfare system or the tears of a drug addict? Can you hear the deep, heart wrenching cry of a mother and father, a husband or wife, who has lost a loved one to war? What about the silent crying of a Dad who can’t find work to care for his family? There are millions of cries of hurt and injustice every day. Why?

 The Old Testament prophet Hosea hit the nail on the head. He cried, “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.” And so there is “swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn (Hosea 4:2, 3). Why the injustice? “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.”

 This should cause us all to weep; if we have sinned, to repent. And if we know the Word of God and the love of God we should boldly and lovingly make it known—now, today, at your home, at work, at school, with your neighbors. We don’t need Ed Schultz blaming Jeb Bush. We don’t need Geraldo blaming hoodies. We don’t need Louis Farrakhan calling for violence in the streets. We need God’s people to be God’s people.

 If you are a Christian fortify yourself by reading your Bible, make the time to pray, put the love of God into action and please speak the truth in love. You are an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Reach out with the good news—“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:15).”

Being Salt and Light in the Workplace

Our Lord Jesus Christ lived, worked and ministered in the real world. He spent most of his time teaching in the streets and market places. He put forth the truth right out in the real world where people live and work. Daily he made contact with all kinds of people from blue collar fishermen to white collar tax collectors. He was even known to show up from time to time in a synagogue, but at the bottom line he had “street cred.”

 Near the end of his earthly ministry Jesus prayed for his disciples—for you and me. He prayed “I have given them Your word…I do not pray that You should take them out of the world (John 17:14, 15).” Christ wants us in the world with the Word of God just like he was.  Our Lord has work to do, lives to touch, here and now and his method is to do it through us, the church.

 Christian ministry includes the teaching of the Word by those gifted to teach so that every believer is equipped to minister and serve both in the church and out in the world.  If you are a Christian who owns a business or goes to work, you are a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ right out there in the real world.

 Christ said to his disciples “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13, 14).” These metaphors describe the basics of your ministry at work and in the world. You are “salt” which inhibits decay, preserves and adds flavor. And you are “light” which means that you dispel darkness so others can see the truth. The Bible says “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).” Go on, get out of the salt shaker and shed some light—someone is waiting for you!

Don’t Judge

It may be the best known Bible verse in our culture: “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matt. 7:1). The verse fits well into our “tolerant” society. But it is also one of the most misunderstood verses. Too many people take Jesus’ words to be a blanket rejection of all moral evaluation. But the verse does not mean that we can never judge anything. Otherwise how could we keep the commandment in verse 6, which says “Do not give what is holy to the dogs”? A moral judgment must be made about certain people to keep this commandment, right?

Jesus also alludes to false prophets in sheep’s clothing in verse 15. So, being judgmental is not the same as making ethical and doctrinal demands and saying to someone “you are right” and to another “you are wrong.” Still, after all the necessary qualifications, we must not mute this important command. At our worst, we are apt to assume the worst about other people. We are often too eager to compare ourselves with others, especially if they make us look good! We are quick to give people the once over and think we have them figured out. But I have learned over the years–both as the giver and receiver of judgmental assumptions–that it’s best not to assume.

Don’t assume you know all the facts after hearing one side of the story.

Don’t assume the person is guilty just because strong charges are made against him.

Don’t assume you understand a blogger’s heart after reading one post.

Don’t assume the divorced person is to blame for the divorce.

Don’t assume the single mom or dad isn’t trusting God.

Don’t assume the small church that struggles is failing.

Don’t assume bad kids are the result of bad parents.

Don’t assume your parents are clueless.

Don't assume your children are doing bad things.

Don’t assume the rich are stingy.

Don’t assume the poor are lazy.

Don’t assume you have interpreted the emotions of the email correctly.

Don’t assume everyone has forgotten about you.

Don’t assume the repentance isn’t genuine.

Don’t assume the forgiveness isn’t sincere.

Don’t assume God can’t change you.

Don’t assume God can’t love you.

Don’t assume God can’t love them.

It’s Now OK to Kill a Baby

Romans 1:28 speaks of those who do “not like to retain God in their knowledge” as those given “over to a debased mind.” Ephesians 4:17 reveals that people who live life contrary to the will of God live lifestyles that flow from “the futility of their mind. “Their understanding” about life is “darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness [hardness] of their heart.”

I almost hate to say this, but two such people are Alberto Giubilini at Monash University in Melbourne and Francesca Minerva at The Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne. These two people who teach ethics have published an article in the recent edition of The Journal of Medical Ethics. What’s the bottom line of the article? Here it is: if the abortion of a fetus is allowable, then it should be allowable to kill a baby after it’s born.

The two are opposed to the term “infanticide” preferring to call killing a new born baby an “after-birth abortion.” Infanticide they say is too strong a wrong and makes people uncomfortable. Does that euphemism make everyone more comfortable? I know I feel like I’m sitting by a warm fire sipping hot chocolate. Wait, is that a baby I hear crying…Oh, never mind.

The two academics favor the term “after-birth abortion” because the moral status of the baby that is killed is comparable with that of a fetus. Oh, I see…a fetus is not a human being and so by calling the killing of a child “after-birth abortion” this leads us to think the new born child is not a human either. Gee, I wish I was able to think profoundly like a college professor! 

 But why would you want to abort a new born baby? The authors state that it would be acceptable when the new born would be putting the well-being of the whole family at risk, or if it didn’t have the potential for an “acceptable life.” The article mentions children with Down’s syndrome as an example saying, “such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole, when the state economically provides for their care.”

But the authors declare that killing a new born “should be permissible in all the cases that abortion is, including cases where the new born is not disabled.” For example an after birth abortion should be allowed if the baby is a girl and not wanted or the parents find the baby “inconvenient.” I have a question: how long after the birth is it OK to kill the baby? Will the child eventually be an unbearable burden when Dad or Mom is tired of spending money on the child’s needs like food and clothing? Or will the child become inconvenient if he or she interrupts a career or a vacation? I’m just saying…watch out toddlers!

Continuing they write, “Both a fetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a ‘person’ in the sense of ‘subject of a moral right to life.’ We take person to mean an individual who is capable of attributing to her own existence some (at least) basic value such that being deprived of this existence represents a loss to her.” Oh, I see, because a fetus and a new born baby cannot articulate a reason why he/she should be kept alive it is ok to kill it. Are you following the logic here or are you not as smart as these ethicists?

“Merely being human is not in itself a reason for ascribing someone a right to life.” The right to life for many newborns is “over-ridden by the interests of actual people (parents, family, society) to pursue their own well-being.” Parent to child: “Sorry son, you’re standing in the way of my self-fulfillment and well-being (squash!).” Ok, I think I’ve heard it all…we live in world where it is fine to kill a baby, but wrong to put a murderer on death row.

 The Word of God says that every human being has value because we are all made “in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).” Jesus Christ taught that we are to care for the “least of these (Matthew 25:40)” among us. But what can be gained from serving those who might be a burden to us? How about compassion, kindness, loving patience, learning that everyone has dignity, the absolute sacredness of life and the greater rewards of self-sacrifice?

We live in a world where the minds and consciences of so many people are “defiled (Titus 1:15).” A college scholarship program of the past asserted “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I agree, don’t you? Fill your mind with the powerful Word of God so that you are not “conformed to this world, but… transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).” Our world desperately needs people who can think biblically and live righteously. Do it for the babies—please.