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A prayer for healing

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  • A prayer for healing

    (I respectfully request for there to be no debate in this thread. Not even one post, and nothing even slightly contentious.)

    While my head knows better, my heart feels as if the world is unraveling by the second.

    So much blood has been shed in horrific circumstances. So much palpable anger courses through every class, race, occupation, and worldview. So much bitterness and distrust linger in the air like poisonous smoke, billowing from and towards every direction.

    I'm tired of this. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I'm utterly tired of this.

    So here, then, is a sorrowful plea and prayer for understanding and healing.



    Pray, as odd as it might initially seem, that the world emulates the example of Dallas. For most of the evening, events unfolded smoothly. Protesters were respectful of police, and police were respectful of protesters. Organizers and marchers even laughed, joked, and posed for photos with officers. The fatal shots were fired not from protesters on the street, but from snipers hidden in elevated parking garages and buildings. It's a perfect metaphor--the killers were not members of the movement, but rather rogue vigilantes who saw themselves as being above everyone else. Several protesters, in fact, played a role in helping the police locate the snipers, by pointing out where the shots came from. During the chaotic and confused scramble, protesters were shot as well, and officers helped lead them to safety. The majority of the evening was a sterling example of human peace and cooperation. Don't let the tragic events towards the end tarnish their legacy. Don't let the actions of a few generalize the character of the whole.

    Pray that the world does not spiral further into a vicious circle, and that people will work to the best of their nature, rather than the worst. It is a fact that most police officers are good men and women. It is unfortunately also a fact that some police officers are not, and the evil or incompetence of those few cannot be tolerated. My worst fear now is that some officers who otherwise would be good and competent will be overcome by emotion and fear the next time they're in the line of duty, and they'll pull the trigger when they shouldn't, killing innocent people and in turn further provoking anger and murderous hatred. Pray that this does not happen. Pray that people have enough wisdom to realize that far from being opposite ends of a dichotomy, valuing black lives and officer lives must necessarily go hand in hand--for many people, after all, the two overlap.

    Finally, of course, pray for the families and friends of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the officers of Dallas. Though each of those dearly departed came from different backgrounds, they all share at least two things in common--they bear the image of God, and their lives were snatched from them much too soon. The paths that their lives may have traversed in the past don't negate the paths that their lives could have taken in the present and future. Pray that ALL people will find it in their hearts to love and support the good men and women who protect and serve, and that ALL people will stand by those who speak up against injustice and repudiate those who betray the duty to protect and serve.

    The book of Ecclesiastes tells us "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." While it is always true that all lives matter equally, there is a time to focus attention on black lives, and a time to focus on officers' lives, and focusing on one does not entail forgetting all the others.
    Last edited by fm93; 07-09-2016, 09:40 PM.
    Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.--Isaiah 1:17

    I don't think that all forms o[f] slavery are inherently immoral.--seer

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