Final Words From the Cross: From the Cross by Adam Hamilton

Author:Adam Hamilton [Hamilton, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2011-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?4

The impulses that led the Germans to murder millions of Jews, the Soviets to murder millions of their own people, the Khmer Rouge to murder millions of Cambodians, and the Hutu of Rwanda to take machetes to 800,000 of their fellow church members, co-workers, and neighbors who were Tutsi, exist in all of us. Yet we are surprised to hear that many of the people involved in these unforgettable atrocities claimed to be Christians. We wonder how they could unleash such terrible disasters and think we would never do anything so horrible.

When I look at our country and see the way we are so divided, I wonder what it would take to move one segment of our population to justify violence against another segment. We've seen acts of violence against immigrants. We've had political rallies where people show up with guns. Politicians have been shot, gay and lesbian people have been beaten, and students have plotted to blow up their schools. There is darkness inside each of us.

If these previous examples seem too dramatic for you, consider what makes you explode in rage, leads you to say hurtful words about others, or causes you to act in unchristian ways. If it is not politics or religion or fear, perhaps it is being told "no"—not getting your way. That brings it closer to home.

We are used to getting our way, and we don't like it when someone tells us "no." In fact, we hate to be told no. So, when the sales clerk tells us that we can't return something, or when the waiter or waitress tells us we can't have something, we explode in anger and make the other person feel small.

Surely no Christians ever do that, right? Regrettably, we know the truth.

When I was a youth pastor, I was having lunch with an associate pastor of a church. I watched as he exploded at the waitress when he didn't get his way. I couldn't believe it. But did I stand up for her and speak to this pastor? No. I just sat there, silently hoping he would stop.

Selfishness, pride, fear, and ignorance so easily lead to rage and hate. We see others as worthy of our scorn—or worse, our cruelty and injustice—and so we dehumanize them. This is how the shadow within us works, and it is a part of each of us—this tendency to demonize those who see the world differently, who look different, or whose views on anything from how to interpret the Bible to politics or economics are different from our own.

We must ask ourselves, What is it that leads me to dehumanize others—in essence, to join the crowd of the religious people

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