Hands Possessed by Violence

It's everywhere. It's suffocating.

I was just talking to a dear friend of mine. The conversation began with small talk, proceeded to future plans in life, and then moved into the deeper parts of life. The deeper parts of spiritual life. I am not "in the know" as far as movies and up-coming movies are concerned, and he was filling me in on the list of flicks about to emerge. Things like movies on Spider Man, Thor, Superman, Batman, and Mortal Combat. As we spoke, I was struck hard by just how much violence is on the TV screen. How much violence is rooted into our culture. How much violence we tolerate and celebrate. Daily.

This year I had an interesting experience with a movie based on the popular book "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" which left me reeling and broken inside. I used to be a violence addict in high school, my favourite movie was "300" and if an action movie wasn't rated at least R, then I wasn't interested. . . . But I can't stand it anymore. My nerves can't take it, my mind can't take it, I get sickened by the children of God bashing each other around on screen. Yes, it's all fake and dramatized. But it's based on life. Real life. A life where killing and murdering are both done in the name of freedom, justice, peace, and even love. . . . LOVE. "Killing in the name of love." Now that is one messed up sentence.

When a murderer gets murdered, it's seen as good. When anything that infringes our rights as a human being or a citizen, we want to see it dead. Yes, freedom, justice, peace, and love are all things to be sought after and are dear to God's heart! But if stopping the violence is done through more violence... is that right? No, it's not. it's not even close to being right.

We're possessed. We're possessed by a spirit of violence. It flows through everything we do. The way that society views relationships, friendships, social structures, work, sex, and justice is completely rooted in violence. We live out our lives on a battle field where only the brutal survive. Evil necessitates evil. Yuck. That sickens me. There's no such thing a lesser of two evils. EVER. Yet we sit here convincing ourselves that evil men deserve evil ends. Who are we to decide what anyone deserves??? Who are we to say that they don't deserve God's grace, just as much as I do?? Who are we to say that there's no chance for them and their road needs to end????

I'm tired of it. I'm tired of hurt people who hurt people. I'm tired of hands that are possessed by violence.

I want hands that heal... at least I can hold onto a hand that heals...

I want to live in the culture of Heaven. On earth, as it is in Heaven.