The violent, destructive reaction to the Michael Brown shooting verdict recently blanketed news sources. It came on the heels of weeks of coverage about horrendous bloodshed in the Middle East in Gaza, Israel, Syria, Turkey and Iraq. That was preceded by the Russia’s brutal, military incursion into the Ukraine. Added to all this has been religious warfare in Nigeria, Kenya and surrounding areas and domestic, violent crime reports from around the world.

Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes that there is “ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance,” (Ecclesiastes 3:4, NKJV). It’s time to mourn…

But for which tragedies do we mourn? And what is the common denominator?

Last question first: the theme here is violence.

War and criminal violence is a key hallmark of the 20^th and now the 21^st centuries. One hundred years past the opening battles of World War 1, ours are the generations in history known for extreme bloodshed, atrocities and the use of technology to annihilate (especially during the days of the repressive Soviet empire and the Nazi terror). From the youngest to the oldest among us now alive, through our worldwide warfare, political purges and now religious wars, millions have died at our collective hand. What a contribution.

Which path?

The book of Proverbs has much to say about violence, and in this description we can easily see the kinds of killings, retaliations, theft, looting, rape and murder that glut the news. If we roll the past century into one generation, consider this insight into modern violence and the arrogant, selfishness that accompanies it:

“There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth” (Proverbs 30:12-14).

God never leaves us without instruction in the right path, and in the following proverbs, He makes clear that that path is to turn away from this violent mindset:

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol [the grave], and whole, like those who go down to the Pit; we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil; cast in your lot among us…” (Proverbs 1:10-14, emphasis added)

And again:

“My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk secretly for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners” (Proverbs 1:15-19, NKJV).

As news coverage of the atrocities in Syria and then more recently in Iraq, enacted by Islamic State fighters, filled the Internet we could easily see the fulfillment of these proverbs. Most of these fighters are young adults, they made the choice to participate, they chose the path of violence and sin. The lesson to take away is important, young people always have a choice, and that choice is to turn toward God and away from the kind of violence which will warp our minds and ultimately, permanently separate us from God.

In mourning…

So which tragedy do we mourn? Answer…we mourn them all because there is only one solution to every single one.

The father of violence is Satan the Devil. And yes, he does exist—he is not an allegory or caricature of “evil.” The Devil is a former holy angel who chose the way of evil, and a third of all angels followed him, they are known as demons. He deceives and incites sinful behavior in mankind from the rebellion of Adam and Eve (yes, they literally existed as well) in the Garden of Eden to the murder of their son Abel by his brother Cain (read Genesis 3 and 4).

Likewise, Satan continues even today as “…the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) continuing to deceive mankind at every level and foster violence and destruction.

We live in a human age—violently influenced by the Devil. However, the good news is that at some point in the years ahead, Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the conquering King of Kings, establishing the Kingdom of God, a world ruled by God rather than by Satan (see Revelation 19:11-16). He will dramatically enforce an end to the cycle of human violence—whether personal, racial, tribal or national.

Christ will also supernaturally remove the power of Satan to deceive and incite violence among humans. An age of phenomenal peace will follow, sometimes referred to as the “world tomorrow” or the Millennium for its 1,000 year duration (see Revelation 20:4-6). There is more to the story, but the Millennial world-rule of Jesus Christ is just a prelude to the profound peace of deep eternity. 

Our personal challenge is to seek that kind of peace in all our relationships with others and especially with God and Jesus Christ who is also called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7). We can’t erase the past and the sins of our collective generations and their violent tendencies, but we can choose to repent of our own sins and become a special generation dedicated to God and to setting the example of His way of life in this world now and in the Kingdom to come.