“Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:4-5
We have recently witnessed yet another terrorist attack upon our nation. The scores of dead lying in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando had no idea when they arrived on that fateful evening that they would depart from this earth in the bloody carnage of another brutal and senseless act of Islamic terrorism.
Immediately following the incident, outrage foamed and infused the news and social media. Among the reasons many cited for the mass murders were homophobia (a term which would be laughable if it wasn’t used in all seriousness); “hatred,” (what an odd observation, as though crimes of violence are fueled by anything but greed or hatred); and the usual suspect - lack of a coherent gun control policy.
To be fair I must also mention the rabid diatribes released from the ‘far Christian right,’ to wit, false teachers like Pat Robertson and The Westboro Baptist Church and it’s cult-like followers. Yes, yes, we all know and understand the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality. The scriptures are clear on the prohibitions against same-sex relationships. No argument there! However, there is a deeper, more meaningful mandate from Jesus Christ - unless we all repent, we will likewise perish!
We should all take a step back, look within ourselves, and remember the words of Jesus - “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” John 8:7. We must remember that sin, all sin, regardless of its predilection, is a transgression against God’s holy will. Disrespect of parents and authority, hatred, murder, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery (and every other sexual sin) are all transgressions! They are all sins. So were the sinners in the nightclub worse sinners than all others? Of course not! “ . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” - Romans 3:23. All of us!
Did God deliberately ordain the early Sunday morning massacre? God ordains everything that comes to pass. Did He seek to make an example of the homosexuals present at that time? No more than he sought to punish ordinary citizens and military personnel on September 11, 2001.
What happened in Orlando, Florida on Sunday morning, June 5th, 2016 was a human tragedy, both in terms of its commission and in terms of its result. We cannot limit the murderous intent of the perpetrator to the homosexual community. This was, before any other consideration, an attack on humanity in general, and an attack on Americans, specifically. The murderer could just as easily have targeted a large metropolitan marathon run, a business gathering, a military base, an elementary school, a heavily populated government building, or a skyscraper. He could have used guns, bombs, poisonous gas, or a nuclear device. And this is what we need to focus on, rather than the sins of the victims, if we are ever to curtail the madness of the murderers among us! A “hate crime?” Of course it was hate crime, in so far as there is no such thing as a love crime, and we can only combat such crimes with vigilance and prayer. God has not singled out a particular group of sinners to punish for their wickedness. He has simply given us over to our sinful desires, and one of them is murder. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful . . . .” - Romans 1:29-31.
Just as Christ said that the sinners who died under the collapse of the tower of Siloam were no greater sinners than anyone else, we must also remember that the tragedy which befell those on Sunday past was not a greater tragedy than those which preceded it. It doesn’t matter who the victims were; it matters only that they were victims. Suggesting that their sexual orientation made their victimization greater than that of others also suggests that their lives held more value than that of other victims. Promoting such a position would be to make a mistake similar to the harsh rhetoric of the Black Lives Matters movement. Because all men are created in God’s image, all lives matter . . . period! A violent crime against one of us is a crime against all of us regardless of our social, cultural, religious, ethnic, racial, national, or political backgrounds. Such violence committed against a human being is particularly abominable to God because we are made in His image!
“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:37-39.
May we pray in this horrific time of man’s inhumanity to man that we would turn our hearts to God and away from sin which always and everywhere leads to death.
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