Thought for Today
Leviticus 19:16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.
Micah 3:2 you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin off my people, and the flesh off their bones; . . . 4 Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have acted wickedly.
Luke 10:27 . . . "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
1 John 3:15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan" (FDR, speech to Congress, December 8, 1941)
Today, I wonder what President Roosevelt would have said about September 11, 2001. Certainly, the U.S.A. was suddenly and deliberately attacked on 9/11. Not by the military forces of another nation, but by individuals driven by hatred and fear. Not a military attack, but a coordinated, carefully orchestrated act of terrorism. And, 9/11 definitely qualifies as a date which will live in infamy.
Immediately following the cowardly pirating of domestic commercial airplanes, hatred and fear lashed out against innocent men, women and children. Pearl Harbor was at least a military facility, home to the U.S.A. Pacific Fleet. There were warships, airplanes, and military forces stationed there. The World Trade Center was not a military facility. Yes, there were 2 other intended targets, the Pentagon and possibly the U.S. Capitol building. But, at its heart, this was not a military attack. This was an attack on freedom, on individual worth and value.
Some tried then and now to view this as a religious battle, a jihad. Following the attack, many of us saw television news footage of crowds in Islamic countries celebrating and cheering in the streets. Truthfully, however , this was warfare on a way of life. This was an attack on a worldview which values the worth of each individual. Admittedly, our nation does not always live up to the ideals stated in our foundational documents. We have long struggled with “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Declaration of Independence)
We, however, do at least struggle to realize and achieve the truth of our ideals. Although our nation is not a Christian nation per se, the ideals of our nation are consistent with the ideals of Christianity. There were Christians among those killed on 9/11, just as there were those of other faiths and those who were not believers in any faith. This was an attack on opportunity and on human worth and value. Hatred seems almost too tame a word to describe what could possibly have motivated such a heinous assault on humanity.
Hatred, misogyny, prejudice, discrimination, by whatever word we choose to describe such base and destructive forces, have been evidenced by individuals, by tribes, by nations and by non-governmental agencies (NGOs). The issue is not one of nation vs. nation, religion vs. religion or of clashing ideologies. The issue is the basic lack of understanding of the universal kinship of humanity.
My faith teaches me through the Bible that God created humanity. Modern science teaches us through DNA that although there are minor variations, all humans share a common DNA. As a Christian, I know the words of the prophet Micah about justice, kindness and humility. I know the words of Jesus above in the gospel of Luke. Each year, on September 11th, on December 7th and on other days of solemn remembrance, I pray that we can all come to realize our commonality, that we can all work together to achieve God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Hatred truly should have no place in God’s world.
Remember, pray for each other, trust God,
Pastor Ray