WHAT WILL END THE VIOLENCE?

JEREMIAH 22:1-5: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. You are to say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.  Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor.  Don’t exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow.  Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses, they, their officers, and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by myself, this is the Lord’s declaration that this house will become a ruin.”

OBSERVATION: What will end the violence? The recent shooting in a Catholic Church as young students gathered for Mass shook me to the core! It brought me back to the days when I was one of those children, sitting in the pew of my Lutheran Church, for our weekly Chapel Service on Wednesdays. When evil assaults places of worship and especially children, it is out of control!

Before anyone has time to pray and mourn such a senseless loss, the news and political pundits begin to sound in. Some simply report the tragic events. Most in our present culture try to use such a tragedy to promote their own political agenda. While these debates rage on, the ones that are left without comfort and compassion are the victims of this senseless violence.

What is the root cause of this continued violence?

Is it guns? Is it mental illness? Is it the Republican Party? Is it the Democratic Party? Is it our sitting President? Is it our former President? Is it our lack of understanding of the perpetrator? Is it our conservative values? Is it our progressive values? While there may be some element of truth in all of these arenas, they are not the root cause of the violence we see in our world today.

God desires righteousness, truth, and justice in any society. As Jeremiah prophesies to the nation of Judah and the surrounding nations, he proclaims God’s desire for society.

“Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.  Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor.  Don’t exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow.  Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.”

These commands came with both a promise and a curse. A promise if they obeyed and a curse if they did not.

“For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses, they, their officers, and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by myself, this is the Lord’s declaration that this house will become a ruin.”

When we examine our culture and the culture of the world we live in, what do we see? We do not see a culture of justice. We see a culture filled with indifference, violence, and apathy. While I personally applaud the current focus on law and order, the abundance or lack of enforcement is not the reason a society experiences justice or violence. While increased enforcement will deter violence, it never addresses the root of it.

What is the root cause of this violence?

Jeremiah, as he speaks the word of the Lord, pulls back the curtain so that we can see the real culprit pulling the trigger of violence and indifference to the sanctity of human life.

“Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?  They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant  of the Lord their God and bowed in worship to other gods and served them.”Jeremiah 22:8-9 CSB

Jesus, in His teachings, confirms what Jeremiah proclaimed about the root cause of the senseless hatred and violence in our present day. While everyone was looking at outside influences, Jesus looked straight into the heart of man!

“But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.” Matthew 15:18-19 CSB

Jeremiah and Jesus are saying the same thing. When a person’s heart no longer fears (respects, reverences, worships) the Lord, then their heart will become a fountain of all sorts of ungodliness and violence. The issue is not something we can fix from without. The issue is the sinful condition of man’s heart. It is a culture that has abandoned the fear of God. It is a culture that has made man and his needs the center of the universe.

While sin has always been with us, the wholesale dismissal of God in our culture has become a growing cancer in my lifetime. As a young child, I was brought up with the values of the Ten Commandments and a fear of God. I was taught the difference between right and wrong, and there was a respect for the teaching of the Bible. I could get on my bike in the morning, ride anywhere I wanted to, for the entire day, without worrying about becoming a victim of violent crime. Oh, how much this world has changed!

The answer is not in going back to the days of old – but in returning to the values of old! As a culture, as a nation, as individuals…

We need to return to the Fear (reverence, respect, worship) of the Lord!

“The fear of the  Lord is the beginning of knowledge;  fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 CSB

“To fear the Lord is to hate evil.  I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13 CSB

“The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.” Proverbs 19:23 CSB

A nation, a culture, a civilization does not fall from without. It falls from within. When people turn their backs on the Fear of the Lord, when they try to find solutions to the challenges of life in mere external provisions, when they ignore the condition of the human heart and its need for redemption, that is when senseless violence becomes the norm and not the exception.

We, as individuals, as people, as a society, need to return to the Fear of the Lord!

Heavenly Father, draw me back to the Fear of the Lord! Draw me back to Your heart. Wash me, cleanse me, and fill me with Your compassion and love. Bring a spirit of repentance and renewal to my heart, the hearts of Your people, the church, and our present culture. Let the Gospel of Jesus Christ be the shining light that points the way to life, life abundantly, eternal life!

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 CSB

In Jesus’ Name!