“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.
On the evening of July 13, 2013 a not guilty verdict was handed down from the jury of the George Zimmerman trial. Zimmerman is the man who was charged with the murder of a 17 year old teen named Trayvon Martin.
Although I choose to not watch much news these days I’ve been following this case since day one as I felt bad for the young boy who lost his life for most likely confronting Zimmerman who from all accounts was following him as a part of his duties as a neighborhood watchman.
Well here is the deal from my vantage point:
Both of these people were at a stage in their lives where they were still “finding” themselves. Martin was a 17 year old with some not so glorious behavior from the past and Zimmerman who was 29 had gotten his life back on track and was taking criminal justice courses with a goal to become a judge. I can remember when I was 17 as well as when I was 29…I was trying to find myself…big time.
Well both of these young men found each other on the evening of February 26, 2012 and the rest is now history.
There are people crying “racism” over this matter and there are protests and a lot of hate being stirred up due to the “not guilty” verdict. I believe it was Martin Luther King Jr. who once said we cannot fight hate with hate and that thought brings me to my point of calling this situation what it is. This situation is not about race nor is it about the right to carry a gun.
This is evil at its finest and worst hour. Nothing more, nothing less. Two men trying to find themselves ended up finding each other and then evil intervened and took it from there. The same evil that tragically took the life of my friend Brandon Haskins whom I wrote about a week ago. The same evil that convinced my buddy Joe that he no longer needed to live four years ago. The same evil that kills babies, traffics human beings and causes us to give into deadly addictions. I could go on and on and on…
How do we fix this?
It is pretty simple.
We need to love more than we hate.
Evil cannot survive where there is love and turning the other cheek is a behavior firmly entrenched in love. Don’t allow yourself to get sucked into this situation from an “eye for an eye” standpoint.  Jesus came in order to snuff out the “eye for an eye” mentality (read the scripture at the end of this blog).
Extending a hand to those we normally wouldn’t extend a hand to is another way to snuff out the forces of evil.
Don’t let this awful incidence cause you to throw fuel on evil’s fire. Pray for Trayvon’s family and his soul and pray for George Zimmerman. As far as I’m concerned both lives were lost on that tragic evening 15 months ago and evil won big time.
There is no human being who has had a greater impact on mankind during my lifetime than Martin Luther King Jr. His quote at the beginning of this blog says it all. Living as brothers and sisters promotes love. Living as fools accelerates evil.
Don’t be a fool, choose love.
P.E.A.C.E.
Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
…a very tall order
