Friday, June 16th, 2017

The nation continues to reel from the horrible and evil attacks by a deranged gunman on a group of congressmen early Wednesday morning. With the seemingly obligatory politicization of such a tragic event, a sharp distinction must be made. There is no such thing as "left-wing evil" or "right-wing evil." Evil is evil. Political parties exist as a consensus of ideas by a large number of voters who believe their ideas on national policy will bring about good results for the greatest number of people. They are not there as a substitute for human morals, a flag to waive as a personal identity, and especially not a perfect system of human order. To hate someone on the basis of what they believe to be a good course of action, usually as a result of their own life experience and/or knowledge of the subject, is to reject one of the greatest gifts God gave us: free will. At the heart of each good and decent person is a desire to make life better for those surrounding them. Therefore, to call this tragic event "left-wing evil" or to call the Charleston church shooter from 2015 "right-wing evil" is to totally miss the point. Political party affiliation has nothing to do with evil. The sooner we as a society can call evil what it is, and stop attaching superfluous labels on it, the sooner we all can move forward as a nation. Today, continue to pray for those affected by this tragedy. Meditate on Proverbs 6, and how you can overcome those who "sow discord among brothers."

"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." -- Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV