Table of Contents
That was the cry of a teenager brooding and mourning the brutal
massacres of women and children by armed men and women in their town. What does
that mean? Well, it means that people are flaunting divine authority or moral
law as if they are gods. It means that the objective rules or values have been
thrown away, rejected, or ignored by many men and women. They can do whatever they
want, and they often get away with it. There seems to be no ultimate
accountability or judgment for their actions. They force their interpretation
of freedom, purpose, and meaning of life on others.
The gods of our Time
Some might think that the teenager’s cry for help portends a
scary or nihilistic view of the world. The teenager’s forlorn hope contends
that there’s no God, hence, the chaos and anarchy in the world. In every corner
of the earth, it appears that people have lost their sense of morality and
compassion. Selfishness, indifference, violence, and insensitivity make rounds
from one country to another and from one continent to another. There are
killings, wars, conflicts, and diseases in reckless abundance.
Some might disagree with this argument because they would
like to put aside the idea of God for a short time to feel liberated and
empowered by their humanity. Some of those people among whom might be the armed
men and women who killed and maimed thousands of people in different countries.
Such people consider any external constraints or expectations as non-existent.
They may argue that they are not slaves to any higher power
or a cosmic plan but rather slaves to their whims and caprices or slaves to premeditated
vengeful actions. They are slaves to their reckless ambitions, slaves to their
inhumanity, and slaves to some venal potentates. They are not remorseful of
their actions. They do not feel any compassion for the people. They do not
regret their actions. They do not feel any guilt nor fear any repercussions or
punishments. They appear like gods. Nevertheless, they are cowards who hide
behind balaclavas, AK-47s, and tanks as they rehearse their potential and ignominies.
Cries from different Continents
The teenager’s forlorn cry does imply that anything goes or
that nothing matters in our world. It does reveal that there are still the ‘untouchables’
in this stone age. As there are ‘political untouchables’ there are ‘economic
and religious untouchables.’ The cry for help does mean that the entire world
is insensitive or indifferent to the consequences of the actions of some
political or religious leaders. Why would our world not hear the forlorn cry of
the teenager? Why should we disregard her feelings and the right to exist?
One teenager cries for peace in Africa, and another cries for
peace in the Middle East. One teenager wails for love in Europe and another wails
for hope in America. One teenager groans for freedom in Asia, and another groans
for faith in Australia. Their lamentations are different requests from the
younger generation to the older generation to see reason and motivation to do
the right things. Their tears of a lost world reveal the unrelenting domination
of evil over good, wrong over right, and worthlessness over meaningfulness.
The armed men and women represent the callous and violent armed
groups of this world in different countries. Some refer to them as terrorists,
others call them nationalists, and yet others see them as supremacists. But in
essence, they are an immoral, irrational, and insensitive lot who maraud other
people in the name of God, faith, or nationalism.
Their actions are reasons why the teenager believes that
there is no God, and they play god when they impose their beliefs and
preferences on other people. The worst part is that they live not their own
lives but the lives of their masters. They live inauthentic and dishonest
lives. To say that they are hypocritical is, to say the least.
Your Freedom and God
To the teenagers crying on different continents, there is God,
and he listens. The mere fact that you think about morality and values the
world once cherished is evidence that there is God and people who still believe
that good must be always done and evil rejected; that right is better than
wrong and that valuable actions are better than worthless actions. The idea of
God places universal and absolute standards for everyone to follow or abide by.
Only a few never-do-wells rely on their subjective and impulsive personal
preferences, like the armed men and women who massacred children, women, and
men in different towns and villages.
There is God because of the freedom given to all, though some
would take the freedom but reject the responsibility. Many people abuse this
freedom because they know very well that God will not force them to do anything
against their will or violate their conscience. Hence, there is a good
conscience (people in this category are conscious of their moral goodness which
guides their actions). There is a bad conscience (people in this category feel
guilt or shame because of thinking or doing something wrong. The guilt the
individual feels is from inside and not outside. In this category, you can find
people with guilty, remorseful, and troubled consciences). There is an erroneous
conscience (people in this category make decisions contrary to universal laws
because they are ignorant of that law. In this category, you can find people
with lax, scrupulous, perplexed, or pharisaic consciences). Each of these types
of consciences has the freedom to exist alongside other consciences. And you
know what, God respects that and allows everyone to make their own decisions.
The decision to attack your town and kill thousands of
children, women, and men was not made by God. It was made by those armed men
and women. Do we blame God or the armed men and women? You can disagree with me
on any part of this writing. Do you think that God does not listen or hear forlorn
cries for freedom, hope, and love?
Comments