Black lives matter. Cop lives matter. Every color of humanity matters. Life matters.
I’ve never been a political person. Like Alan Jackson’s song “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” says, “I’m not a real political man. I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran.”
That’s me. I don’t watch the news. I rarely read radical articles. I can’t tell you much on pro-life or pro-gun debates other than my own personal convictions about those topics. But as my fellow writers have been writing about the world's biggest corruptions lately, I can't help but take notice.
As I started writing this article, I was sitting in a hotel room after traveling eight hours to Panama City Beach with three other friends. I've been debating all day on what to discuss or share.
After arriving a our hotel, we sat down to cook a nearly midnight dinner. But what I didn’t expect was to hear of another shooting especially just days after our countries’ special holiday to celebrate our freedom. I laid down and got on Twitter to scroll through my feed only finding out about Dallas and how more people have been shot…again.
Suddenly I found my topic.
I don’t know why, but this has affected me more than any of the other shootings. Not because I have a personal relations with those who were shot, but because the senseless murdering of those who work every day risking their lives to protect others were gunned down by a sniper on American soil.
I keep asking myself why this is affecting me more than anything. I keep wondering why all of sudden I feel so useless, like I’m doing nothing.
So what does this have to do with the title? What do Christianity, vacation and murder have to do with the other?
1 Chronicles 7:14 states, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
As I am on my own vacation getting away from the world, there’s no escape. As a Christian, I don’t, shouldn’t, can’t and won’t be able to escape what’s around me. Because this is my land. Because I am God’s people. Because I am apart of body of Christ that we as a whole are not doing what we could be doing. Praying for this country. Praying for healing. Praying for the dying, lost souls of those who are wound up in darkness and sinful deeds.
It seems like we Christians have not only started vacationing to get away, but we have started vacationing from the most important job we have. No, it’s not really about our careers, beach trips, families or businesses. It’s about chasing back the darkness with our light. The light that lives in our hearts.