A few days ago I read an article in the East Valley Tribune about a church's youth group who provided a service to our community by painting over graffiti. What they did was creative and positive, changing swastikas into signs of peace. I love kids who are willing to be proactive and positive, so the story caught my eye, but so did something else. Something a bit troubling that I can't get off my mind.
The story ended with this:
Church spokeswoman Sue Nee said graffiti itself is so commonplace. She said gangs have been hanging out in the area and police have been involved in curbing that.
The Rev. Julianne Lewis, senior pastor, explained that reporting it to police “wouldn’t be something we would do. That is not an action we would take for something like that because the important thing is to have peace.”
"The important thing is to have peace." Wow. That sounds really terrifically Christian on the surface. I mean who can argue with peace? Christ did say, "Blessed are the peacemakers," but in doing so did He condone lawlessness? Did He approve of criminal activity?
If "the important thing is to have peace," I have to ask: At what cost? Is our society to turn a blind eye to social depravity in the name of peace?
And there is the part that troubles me most. In this age, where religion may very well be the last bastion of moral education, please tell me that our churches are not teaching our children to accept evil, turn a blind eye, or just cover it up because "the important thing is to have peace." That would be a terrible misunderstanding of Christ's mission. The important thing is to do what is right though it may cause agitation.
Do I believe that I should be an example of peace? Absolutely. And I believe that a phone call to the authorities could have been a step in bringing a lot of peace to that neighborhood. We send His peace out into the world when we speak out for what is right, when we recognize evil for what it is and refuse to accept it.
What do you think? Should peace be all important? Or is the standard of keeping the peace no standard at all? Is it a moving line that will ultimately serve to let wickedness infringe upon our lives?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I'm with you. It's about standards, and if, for the sake of peace, you allow someone to trample over you, then you deserve what you get.
And where, exactly, does this Minister draw the line? If he thinks graffiti isn't worth taking action over, then what about a little vandalism... say... breaking a church window. It can always be replaced, right? You wouldn't want to disturb the peace over e little window.
What next? Burn the church down? "Oh, no... the church can be rebuilt... the important thing is to have peace."
It's an arbitary line... that place between "having peace" and defending your own right to peace and quiet enjoyment. It will always be drawn somewhere. The question is "where?"
Peace is important, but peace at any price is no peace at all.
Oh... in case that last post didn't kake my feelings on this clear... if there were more public floggings, there'd be less less graffiti.
By keeping silent they are fostering the very activity that they are trying to rid the world of. Yes, peace is wonderful, but no, it shouldn't come at the expense of doing what is right.
Once again, very well said Laurel!
I agree . . . if we don't stand up against evil, it will slowly take over, like darkness slowly overtakes light.
Love the new look, by the way!
Such a great blog post, as usual. I totally agree. Very interesting. I think we have just become lax in our society on so many levels and this is just one small part.
Don't you love how some religions pick and choose which portions of the Bible they will focus on. We had a guy in the park once tell us that we'll never be "good people" because God says no one is good. Well...if he wants to interpret the Bible that way, fine. But I'm going to keep trying anyway!
Jesus was not being "peaceful" when He overturned the moneychangers tables and drove out their cattle and sheep with a whip when He found them in the temple. His Father's house was being defiled then and it is now. Jesus did fight for the sanctity of the church and we should as well.
I am totally with you. I think that the group should've notified the police, and then gone about their business of cleaning it up, etc. Turning a blind eye to it doesn't stop the crime and graffiti...it probably makes it worse.
Post a Comment