Proverbs 3:21-26
Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;
don’t for a minute lose sight of them.
They’ll keep your soul alive and well,
they’ll keep you fit and attractive.
You’ll travel safely,
you’ll neither tire nor trip.
You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry,
you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.
No need to panic over alarms or surprises,
or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner,
Because God will be right there with you;
he’ll keep you safe and sound.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Over the weekend, an 89-year-old woman in our county named Annie Jewell Brooks was awakened in the middle of the night by five young men who had broken into her home. The burglars threatened her at gunpoint, tied her up, stole her television, cash, and other items…and tore through her house looking for drugs. They told Mrs. Brooks to wait ten minutes before calling for help, or they would return and harm her. She waited twenty minutes before freeing herself and telephoning her daughter. Understandably shaken, Mrs. Brooks was not physically harmed. As promised in this scripture passage, I like to think that God was right there with Annie Jewell - keeping her safe and sound. I watched television interviews with this woman, and she strikes me as being gritty, determined – and faith-filled. It may be hard for her to get a good night’s sleep for a while, but I have a feeling she will bounce back from this and rest peacefully in the LORD.
On the other hand, several people seem to have totally lost their heads over this situation. The five young people who did this have been apprehended. Three of them are 19 years old… the other two are juveniles. All are charged as adults with Aggravated Residential Burglary, Kidnapping, and two counts of Felony Theft of Property. These young people were apprehended less than 48 hours after the incident occurred, and press releases and news reports alerted the public that they were off the streets. I am thankful that the culprits have been apprehended. They did a terrible thing, and they should be punished for this, according to the law.
Here’s where things take a wrong turn for me… the comments by fellow citizens to online posts from our Sheriff’s Department and local news media are disgusting. They range from suggestions that these young people be choked and smothered or drowned… to public hangings… to proposals that they be tied up and beaten with a baseball bat – and there was more than one volunteer. This truly sickened me. For the life of me, I cannot understand why any human being believes that the beating and/or torture of another living thing would be appropriate… regardless of what he/she did.
When I look at our own nieces, nephews and young friends, I think… “Soon enough, they will be teenagers or young adults. Someday they very well might make mistakes, as we all do.” It breaks my heart to think that someone would wish to beat them or physically harm them in some way as a consequence for their behavior. Surely there can be no peace in such retaliation. Certainly this does not “square” with letting God have control in our lives… and in all circumstances.
I thought about this a lot in the last several hours… and truly, I’ve stopped reading news accounts of this incident and the accompanying comments. But I did consider how God must feel about this. He watched His only Son be beaten and tortured… and ultimately crucified… for something He didn’t even do! And yet, had Jesus been guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable, I cannot imagine His abuse at the hands of those who apprehended Him could have grieved God any more than it did. When will we truly get it that God loves us and does not want us to be harmed in any way?!
There were a few comments from those who suggested that these teens need Jesus. And while I agree with them, I do believe they should also face appropriate consequences for these actions… and I believe they will. In the meantime, I think we should all take a step back and look at our attitudes… our snap judgment and rash (and often harsh) reactions to such things. Were my own mother or mother-in-law held at gunpoint by five people, I would be upset and disheartened – possibly outraged. But I would like to think that I would share my feelings with God and seek His wisdom about how to react… that I would operate with common sense and rational thoughts… and that I would find peace in allowing Him to control the outcome.
I am praying for the people involved in this incident. I am also praying for those who would rush to judgment – and action… that they would find the love of Christ as they process this situation in their own minds and hearts…and that they would ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” When we lose sight of the Clear Thinking and Common Sense that God gives us, we grow weary and lose heart… and peace. Those who trust God and allow Him to work in and through them - in all circumstances - can sleep like babies. How will you sleep tonight?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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