What makes people civilized?
In 1994, over a period of 100 days, the Hutu people of Rwanda rose up against the Tutsis. Why? Because they viewed the Tutsis as being wealthier and perceived that they were being looked down upon. Between April and August of that year, more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were slaughtered. If any Tutsi families tried to
If any Tutsi families tried to escape on foot or in cars, they were identified by their government-issued papers which had to be presented at various checkpoints. Machetes were used to destroy families -- brutally murdered due to media propaganda and generational ethnic conflict.
This is not civilized! Real people were, and are murdered, often in the name of religion! This genocide is similar to
This genocide is similar to what Nazis did in Europe. The genocide in Rwanda happened in our lifetime. If people fail to know history, then it can occur again -- possibly during your lifetime!
Similar ethnic cleansings occurred in Yugoslavia not many years ago, when Bosnians sought the extinction of Serbs. Atrocities are happening right now in Myanmar, Southeast Asia. Secret refugee camps are being discovered, and the lives of men, women, and children are being snuffed out.
The Nazis thought themselves the superior race, and tried to eradicate Jewish families, Gypsys, homosexuals, and others. Is that being civilized? These horrific events are happening in our lifetime!
What will end these atrocities? The philosophy of men won’t end it. That’s what got us into this horror. There is One whose thoughts are higher than man’s, and whose ways are greater than man’s (Isaiah 55:8).
There is a Bible account about a wicked-hearted man who sought to annihilate the Hebrews. He did this by killing their babies!
We find this genocide in the very beginning of the gospels: “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under…” (AAMatthewA A2:16A).
How horrible! Only an evil person would destroy innocent lives! Babies! This is not civilized! What do you think of all the genocide we now have in places around the world?
If you’re thinking, “Well, that doesn’t have anything to do with me,” then you need to consider whether or not your attitude is really civilized.
These people are God’s creation! How does He feel about all this random murder of innocent Rwandans? What is God feeling about those being slaughtered in Myanmar?
Being civilized is not how men define it, but how God describes it in his word: “Dear friends, we should love one another, because love comes from God. The person who loves has become God’s child; he knows God.” (1 John 4:7) Let’s learn from God and seek to be like Him, making our world a better place for all.