Every once in a while, some story from the TV headlines will grab my attention and make me want to comment on it. So from now on, every once in a while, you will be treated to what I will call "Reaction to the News", sharing a news story and then thinking about some of the implications of it, especially concerning our faith life.
Over this past weekend, a football game was played between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. During this game, and shortly after, a number of fights broke out, and even some shootings that are believed to be related to the game. This is in addition to the beating of a man at a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants earlier this year, which left a man in a coma for a couple of months. Yesterday, I saw a few news casts talking about this story.
My take: One of the implications of the American sense of individuality is that people come to think of themselves as the most important, and not having to be accountable to anyone for their actions or words. This sense of individuality was still present in our country around the middle of the last century, say, around the 1950's, but there was also a sense of community, and of people's places in the community. People were still valued for their individual gifts and abilities, but there was a high sense of community, getting to know your neighbor, meeting people on the street, sitting on the front porch, and having social community gatherings.
Much of that has been lost in the current stress on individuality that is, unfortunately, at play in America (and seems to be spreading throughout the world even more). Now it is much more common not to really know your neighbor, to avoid making much contact as you pass on the street, and striving for what you want most rather than what may best benefit the community or society as a whole. Everyone wants their own part, and it doesn't seem to matter if they have to step on others to get it.
That's why I'm not surprised at events such as these fights, beatings, and shootings. People stand around and watch the fight, but no one tries to jump in and stop it. Granted, you never know if one of the people has a gun or knife, so I have no doubt that there is some sense of self-preservation at work, but mostly, I just think people don't want to stop things like that. They'd rather get out their cameras and see if they can get their 15 minutes of fame from what happens to someone else.
In his definitions of the various commandments from God, Martin Luther put an explanation that carries two senses for each. The first sense is what God desires for us to avoid. So, in the commandment against murder, he says we should not hurt or harm our neighbor. But then, Luther sees a further meaning. He goes on to say that we should help and support him in every physical need. In other words, failure to do this is also a breaking of the commandment, just as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan recorded in Luke 10.
In some ways, our society here in America has already moved past the point of making this an easy fix. Simply putting the Ten Commandments up at schools will not do the trick, nor will even more strict laws, as you simply cannot legislate morality or ethics. It requires a deeper solution, one which comes when love toward one's neighbor is practiced, or when one has compassion on another. It comes when we don't view our neighbor as someone who may be standing in our way, but as a priceless treasure from God. It comes when we lay aside what may be best for our own individual self and seek what is best for the overall community.
My last thought is that I expect things will continue to get worse, and stories like this will come to be in the news more and more frequently. But my hope is that Christians throughout the world give thought to how they view their neighbor, and then strive to show more compassion and community rather than a sense of individuality.
Over this past weekend, a football game was played between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. During this game, and shortly after, a number of fights broke out, and even some shootings that are believed to be related to the game. This is in addition to the beating of a man at a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants earlier this year, which left a man in a coma for a couple of months. Yesterday, I saw a few news casts talking about this story.
My take: One of the implications of the American sense of individuality is that people come to think of themselves as the most important, and not having to be accountable to anyone for their actions or words. This sense of individuality was still present in our country around the middle of the last century, say, around the 1950's, but there was also a sense of community, and of people's places in the community. People were still valued for their individual gifts and abilities, but there was a high sense of community, getting to know your neighbor, meeting people on the street, sitting on the front porch, and having social community gatherings.
Much of that has been lost in the current stress on individuality that is, unfortunately, at play in America (and seems to be spreading throughout the world even more). Now it is much more common not to really know your neighbor, to avoid making much contact as you pass on the street, and striving for what you want most rather than what may best benefit the community or society as a whole. Everyone wants their own part, and it doesn't seem to matter if they have to step on others to get it.
That's why I'm not surprised at events such as these fights, beatings, and shootings. People stand around and watch the fight, but no one tries to jump in and stop it. Granted, you never know if one of the people has a gun or knife, so I have no doubt that there is some sense of self-preservation at work, but mostly, I just think people don't want to stop things like that. They'd rather get out their cameras and see if they can get their 15 minutes of fame from what happens to someone else.
In his definitions of the various commandments from God, Martin Luther put an explanation that carries two senses for each. The first sense is what God desires for us to avoid. So, in the commandment against murder, he says we should not hurt or harm our neighbor. But then, Luther sees a further meaning. He goes on to say that we should help and support him in every physical need. In other words, failure to do this is also a breaking of the commandment, just as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan recorded in Luke 10.
In some ways, our society here in America has already moved past the point of making this an easy fix. Simply putting the Ten Commandments up at schools will not do the trick, nor will even more strict laws, as you simply cannot legislate morality or ethics. It requires a deeper solution, one which comes when love toward one's neighbor is practiced, or when one has compassion on another. It comes when we don't view our neighbor as someone who may be standing in our way, but as a priceless treasure from God. It comes when we lay aside what may be best for our own individual self and seek what is best for the overall community.
My last thought is that I expect things will continue to get worse, and stories like this will come to be in the news more and more frequently. But my hope is that Christians throughout the world give thought to how they view their neighbor, and then strive to show more compassion and community rather than a sense of individuality.
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