It has been a long week and I am tired.
I am tired of all the violence.
Every June, our church takes a team to Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a week of medical/evangelism missions. While there we partner with World Gospel Outreach. I have been to Honduras more than twenty-times. This year, our time had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a murder. We saw a store owner shot multiple times. We saw the shooter casually walking away. We say the business owner, laying on the ground, grasping for his last breath. It was awful! Honduras is a violent country. But so is the United States.
I’m tired of the violence.
I have been tired of the violence for years. I don’t see the purpose of the wars our country has been involved in during my lifetime. They don’t see like just wars to me.
I’m tired of the violence.
I don’t understand our country’s love affair with guns. I own a gun, but I don’t have a concealed carry permit, and I cannot imagine a scenario where I would carry a gun while doing ministry on the streets or preaching in the pulpit.
I’m tired of the violence.
I visit jails and prisons in this country and in Honduras. They are filled with lives ruined because of violence.
I’m tired of the violence.
I visit a maximum security prison every week. I am surrounded by violent criminals, including guys on death row. I often joke that some of my best friends our murderers (or at least been convicted of murder.) Many of these guys have been transformed by the gospel, but they have nightmares from their past.
I am tired of the violence.
I’ve had a family murdered.
I’ve had good friends who have had their family members butchered.
I have counseled soldiers with PTSD.
I’m tired of the violence.
I’m tired of reading about black on black killings, and watching videos of police officers shooting people.
I’m tired of the violence.
And then, five police officers shot down while protecting protestors, protesting about violence. Sickening! Senseless!
Is it wrong that at one point this past week I thought to myself, “I felt more safe in Honduras then I do my own country?”
I’m tired of the violence.
Pastor Bill Hybels recently tweeted, “Our world must commit itself to nonviolence. The alternative is unimaginable.” I agree with that tweet, except I would change it to read, “Followers of Jesus must commit themselves to nonviolence, even if it costs them their lives. The alternative is unimaginable.”
I am tired of the violence.
This morning, I prayed this famous prayer of St. Francis. I think we all need to pray it.
Of course, we should also never quit praying the Lord’s Prayer:
I’m tired of the violence.
Floods of Justice 