Inflicting Others

I wonder why it is that human beings feel a need to inflict pain on other people. We are often bewildered by predator animals that kill for food. They do not, however, kill or maim or inflict harm for fun. They do it merely to survive.

I find myself vexed by the Coach Rice at Rutgers. Once the videos of him swearing vulgarities, gay slurs, and throwing the ball and hitting players, one had to know his days as a coach were numbered. His team was not very good. He either recruited badly or coached badly, or did something that fell short of having a good team. I have no clue, however, as to why he had to inflict pain on others.

More stories have come out about Adam Lanza the killer at Newtown. He was troubled, to be sure. His mother has been critiqued as being in denial or out of touch with the reality of his mental illness. He was, however, in the midst of all this, loved. His mom tried. Before we are overly critical of her we also need to recognize that she was also his first victim. It is not like she got out of this scott free or with no consequences. Despite her efforts to raise her son and in the midst of failures which I am sure she felt, she was murdered in her bed. The rest was a horror story of brutality.

James Holmes, the killer in Aurora, Colorado asked to plead guilty to be spared the death penalty. While he is probably the poster child for the death penalty, which I happen to think, is immoral but that is a whole different story, his request was denied. Now there will be a long trial and he sit on death row for many years through countless appeals. I wish they’d have accepted the plea deal and let him sit in jail for the rest of his life. His death will bring no resolution of grief and will not provide the closure so many people are longing for. People who have lost loved ones to violence no there really is no closure to this.

Now North Korea is breathing threats of violence and the rest of the world is poised to answer these threats of violence with more violence. In the Middle East the region is filled, as it often is, with regime changes and violence. So many people die every day.

It is all sad and heartbreaking. It truly is.

In this Easter Season we embrace the resurrected Christ in our midst. We do so at least for a day. On Easter Sunday churches were packed and filled with excitement. This coming Sunday many churches will be, again, half full as Easter is over.

Easter is a reminder to us of something. Often we think of Easter and Jesus and think of our seeking God. Perhaps the Easter story is less a story of us seeking God, and more a story of God seeking us and providing us an example of incredible love. That love is something sorely lacking in a society so ready and willing to inflict pain and suffering on others.