Tag: inhumanity

The Inhumanity of Humanity pt 2

60 Days and Nights

“I was in prison and you came to Me.” Matthew 25:36

In a span of 60 days . . .

There was a place called bologna row, where i spent four days. It is called bologna row because for breakfast (yes breakfast) and dinner, that is the main course, bologna sandwiches.

i had a conversation with a gang member from Pomona, California. Since i lived in the area we were able to talk about places of familiarity. There was a place in Covina, called “El Loco Taco,” we were in agreement, it was the best restaurant around.

i got to know a guy who lived the movie Fast & Furious as a character in his own life story. Upon returning, after he was gone for a spell, he brought with him two books. “31 Days of Prayer” for me and “Highway to Hell” for himself. He said, “Here I brought you a piece of heaven, and for me a piece of hell.”

What a mess you leave that could easily be cleaned

Now that you’re here do your best to see

i met men named, Black Eagle, Little Bird, and Melvin. There was a man in a wheel chair, another who walked stooped over. There was a yeller, i don’t know what he was yelling, i don’t think anyone did. There was a gang, i referred to them as the blue shoe gang, mainly, because they all wore blue shoes. One guy who had a cast was caught with a shank. Then their was the broken hearted fool, well a few of those. The saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” was a thought i had many times.

Every evening at roughly 7:40 mountain time the call came, “Prayer circle, prayer circle!” This was followed by The Adon’s Prayer, “Our Father . . .”

i read The Hobbit in three days, and played a million games of chess, give or take. Shaving was a challenge, it took some practice to not look like i was slitting my throat. There was a day with no hot water which was better than the day without any water. In a room built for one, i slept on the floor. Well, i had a two inch thick mat that was roughly three feet wide and six feet long. There was a leak through the wall from the shower, which was just next door. Every night at 3am the nurse came through administering medication to those who had need.

“But the righteousness of belief speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens?’ — that is, to bring Messiah down; or, ‘Who shall descend into the abyss?’ — that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead. But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in you mouth and in your heart’ — that is, the Word of belief which we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth the Adon Yahoshua and believe in your heart that YHWH has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. . . . For ‘everyone who calls on the Name of YHWH shall be saved.’” Romans 10:6-9,13

Humanity truly is inhumane. Sadly, speaking from experience, i sat with individuals in jail who hadn’t even been convicted, hadn’t had their day in court, being treated exactly the same, worse in some cases, than others who were serving out their sentences.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Adon Yahoshua Messiah, from whom all family in the heaven and earth is named, in order that He might give you according to the riches of His glory by power, to be strengthened in the inner man, through His Spirit, That Messiah might dwell in your hearts through faith — having become rooted and grounded in love, in order that you might be strengthened to firmly grasp, with all the saints, what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, in order that you might be filled to all the completeness of Elohim. And to Him who is able to do exceedingly above what we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us, to Him be glory in the assembly by Messiah Yahoshua unto all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

The goodness of the good news is this, that those who call on the name of YHWH, who believe in the Son Yahoshua Messiah, these are new creations, the old is gone. There is no distinction in the eyes of YHWH for He see’s His Son, Messiah Yahoshua, our filthiness washed in His righteousness. If only we had eyes like Yahoshua, if only we had hearts like Yahoshua, if only . . . “Put on then, as Elohim’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Adon has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. . . . And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Adon Yahoshua, giving thanks to YHWH the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:12-14,17

May we filter our vision through the lens of Messiah Yahoshua.

You are loved,
cj

The Inhumanity of Humanity pt 1

When i was a young teenager, i don’t recall my exact age maybe 14, we put our family dog, Shawnee down. Shawnee was a beautiful, intelligent, protective, friend. A full bread German-Shepherd who had been with us since i was just two years old. As with many German-Shepherd’s Shawnee suffered from debilitating hip dysplasia. i remember the day the decision was made, i carried her to the car and put her in the back seat in tears. She looked grateful, of course i don’t really know what she was thinking but it was almost as if she knew and was thinking, “thank you, you have been good to me, it is my time, I love you;” Spoken with her eyes and the gentle nudge of her nose to my cheek.

Later, i would have a similar experience with Nanook a coyote/terrier mix. Think of a coyote’s long pointy snout and slim build, covered in the shag of a terrier’s fur. She was incredibly loyal, protective, and loving. As i held her in the veterinary office and watched them inject her, the relief in her eyes as the pain faded away, i again sensed the thoughts of gratitude. “Thank you for all you have done, I am ready to go but know this, I have and always will love you.”

While serving as pastor, i sat with many a family as they said goodbye to a loved one being taken off life support. The words of affection spoken to mostly lifeless bodies by those remaining behind always tore at my heart. Being a comfort in a time like that is never easy and no matter how many times i had experienced it, it never got easier. Death is uncomfortable, even when expected.

In 2020 i said goodbye to my mom. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in April and she died in August. While on hospice she was home so we got to spend that time with her as opposed to how hospitals were treating families due to Covid, inhumanely. However, watching my mom fade away each day was ten times worse than being in the room with members of my congregation as they said goodbye to a family member i really didn’t know.

We strive to live forever in a fallen world rather than celebrate into our forever, eternity with Yahoshua. Of course families who do not have that hope or are saying goodbye to someone who doesn’t have that hope will rightly grieve more difficultly. Not withstanding this notion of the lost-loved-one, for what do we preserve life that we sacrifice our loved ones to pain and torment? We treat our pets with more dignity.

i was talking with Melvin, a friend of mine, one evening. He recently lost his mom. As we talked about grief and loss, we also discussed the impact such an event has on the family dynamics. Through our conversation that evening i was once again struck with the inhumanity of humanity. Don’t get me wrong life is precious. We only get one shot on earth really, but i think we need to seriously consider our end of life options. No i am not talking about letting people suicide themselves because life is hard or uncomfortable or even when suffering some incurable disease, at least not in the beginning. That’s really a side note, just me thinking out loud with my fingers. The point that i want to make here was made in that very famous Pete Seeger song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Also, you can find it in the pages of Scripture . . . Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
YHWH’s Given Task
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that Elohim has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

Written into the pages of Elohim’s sacred book we see that time is ordained. There is a time for every purpose and that He, YHWH, El Shaddai, has made. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what Elohim has done from the beginning to the end.

i don’t necessarily have the answer to this one. When i began writing, i simply wanted to express the idea, that we treat our pets with greater compassion than we do our human loved ones. And as i read the words in Ecclesiastes and sing the song in my head i can’t help but wonder, how might we treat end of life situations with a bit more compassion and humanity? And, more importantly, how do we steal time, or redeem time, or spend time in a way that expresses the Creators beauty of life?

You are loved,
cj