The shooting of 3 innocent black people by a young white man is the headline of today. It is a horrible headline and a sad day for Jacksonville.
We have seen these tragedies before. And normally – as in this case – media and politicians will use this to benefit themselves and divide us more. They will pull out the strategy of Rahm Emanuel, who famously said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
This IS a serious crisis and until we address the core concerns of people hating others, we will never fix it. And maybe that’s what the media and politicians want – a never-ending issue that is used to pit man against himself and stir up hate.
The skin of the man who killed these three precious souls was white but deep inside his heart was dark. Dark from the demons that he allowed to lure him to hate others – and indeed — to hate himself. This young man hated himself so much that he took his own life to prove it.
I have read all the statements from anyone with “authority” on this issue. Most focused on the black and white issue. Yet, I believe R. L. Gundy, Sr. Pastor at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, nailed the truth of the matter when he said, “This tragedy today is the result of a person who’s [sic] heart was saturated with Satan and his demons. What can we do about this? We can start by stopping the rhetoric for political expedience and love all of our neighbors which begins with each one of us.”
Those words are powerful and true.
Let us remember this story. There once was a man who had a large following of people. The reason they followed him was because he spoke and exuded love always and everywhere he went. That was his platform and he lived it and showed it through being with the people, teaching them how to love and ministering to their needs. But somehow this man was demonized by whispers of the leaders of the day. They whispered so much that the people turned against him and called for him to be killed. Those whispers hung Jesus on a cross. They thought they had killed love that day and they rejoiced. But lo and behold – Jesus rose from the dead and the red blood he shed for us on that cross released us from the sins we commit against each other and against our creator God.
The whispers of the media and politicians must be ignored. You cannot trust them. They have proven that to us. All of us – no matter the color of our skin. They will only divide us more and will use our tragedies as a headline for their own personal gain.
We absolutely should not let this crisis go to waste and the answer is to pray the blood of Jesus over our families, our community and our nation. Red is the answer to the black and white issue.
Instead, do what Jesus did and love people always, live with our neighbors in harmony, teach others how to love by example and with the word of God, and minister to the needs of our community.
I send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were taken from this life way too early and in such a horrible way. May they all rest in peace in the arms of Jesus.
God bless us, everyone.
