Something of ‘hell’ breaks loose
By Paul Bawden
The lethal Coronavirus stopped the world in its tracks.
Now the tragic and unnecessary death of George Floyd has caused protests along with riots and vandalism in major cities in the United States, with such spreading world-wide.
Our prayers for God’s strength, peace, and comfort are for those who have lost loved ones to the Coronavirus. Indeed, our prayers are also held up for the family of George Floyd for God’s strength, peace and comfort, as George lost his life in such a senseless death.
The police officer, who was instrumental in taking George Floyd’s life, will be brought to justice, and those officers at the scene should be brought to justice as well. Regardless of what our attitude is toward these men, they and their families also need our prayers.
Peaceful protests, seeking to bring change regarding George Floyd’s awful death, are part of the freedom we have in the United States. But vandalizing and destroying property, bringing harm to police officers, is not acceptable. In fact, it’s criminal, and must be punished. The awful death of George Floyd certainly does not justify such destructive action, although his death, I would think, will cause the police force to check how they handle situations.
What’s on display here, from the start of the Coronavirus and its spreading world-wide, and the murder of George Floyd, to the indescribable destruction taking place in the United States, is a screaming wake-up call of what the fallen human heart is like living in a fallen world.
Why did this Coronavirus get started and spread? It’s not for certain, but it appears that the situation was not handled properly, and the virus wasn’t stopped, resulting in a world-wide pandemic causing a massive loss of innocent life world-wide. Obviously, an evidence of fallen hearts living in a fallen world. The murder of George Floyd, along with the vandalizing and destruction of public property, harming first responders, tell us vividly that the human heart is fallen as we live in a fallen world.
The old prophet penned that the heart is deceitful and above all things desperately wicked or sick (Jeremiah 17:9). The writer James wrote that the tongue can bless and curse, and at times is set on fire by hell (James 3:1-12). So, in one sense, what we are seeing in the U.S.A. and the world at this time, is something of hell on the loose. In fact, James goes on to say that bitter jealousy, selfishness, and arrogance are really demonic.
These awful happenings in the United States and the world should cause all of us to do a personal heart check – a spiritual heart check. We should condemn the awful happenings in our country, praying that God in His sovereignty will stop the violence, bringing peace and reconciliation, while empowering and protecting the first responders as they seek to quell the uprising. At the same time, one’s heart can also be deceitful, display lust, say things one shouldn’t, take advantage of people, while posing as religious, for we all are fallen people living in a fallen world (Mark 7:21-23).
The bottom line is that we all need a spiritual heart change from heaven – wisdom from above – that’s pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy . . . . sown in peace (James 3:17-18). Only eternal life and forgiveness received through faith in Jesus Christ will give evidence of His kind of wisdom in the believer’s life (I Corinthians 1:30; Romans 13:14). This kind of wisdom practiced will bring unity in the United States and the world to the glory of God. Don’t miss knowing the Savior and living for Him in His power!
Paul Bawden is married and served in the pastoral ministry for 45 years, retiring in 2011. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Speech and attended Dallas Theological Seminary, receiving a Master of Theology. He has taken counseling courses at Trinity Evangelical Seminary in Deerfield, Illinois. Paul is a lifetime member of the Evangelical Free Church of America, as well as being a member of Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM), which serves churches during their time of transition in searching for a new pastor. He writes for Union Gospel Press, as well as being a volunteer writer for GotQuestions.org. Paul likes to write, read, bike, and work in the yard. The Bawdens have had the privilege to travel to Mexico and Romania on mission trips and visited various countries in Europe.