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There isn’t a day that passes in this country for which the stain of human tragedy fails to leave its haunting mark. On some days it impacts a single family, on some days it strikes a whole region, and on some days tragedy knocks an entire nation to her knees. Such was the case yesterday when on September 11, 2001, two hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade towers, another plunged into the Pentagon, and one more crashed down in southern Pennsylvania. Amidst this sudden tragedy, two things happened. A nation wept, and wisdom SHOUTED from the streets.
“Number your days, oh fragile people. Take heed, you who put your faith in money and mortar and steel. You are going to die, and it won’t be planned! There is a curse on this land which cuts lives short, leaves hopes decimated, and destroys what is held dear.”
Yesterday’s events have already been called “the single greatest act of terrorism in world history”. Such assessment is likely accurate, but it misses the grander progression. In a very real sense, yesterday’s events are simply the latest link in an unbroken chain of human suffering and tragedy. It is a chain which stands as a witness against all deniers of human depravity and as a wake up call to those who wander through life with nary a thought of the life to come. With every shooting, with every stabbing, with every drowning and every stroke, with every car wreck, with every plane crash, with every shark bite, and every disease, with every earthquake, with every tornado, with every flood and every “perfect” storm, wisdom cries out from the street.
Death has reigned for the whole of human history, Romans tells us, and that means far more than just, “all men will die”. The apostle Paul teaches that not only are we all related through one common ancestor (Adam), but that we are all likewise cursed through that ancestor. It is a curse that no social program, no security precautions and no terrorist task force can bring into submission. The curse is this, when Adam sinned, we all sinned. When Adam was judged, we were all judged. When Adam was condemned, we were all condemned.
God’s common grace has given each of us a temporary stay of execution, a brief window of freedom in which we can live and move with relative autonomy. This period of grace, however, will not last forever, and it comes at a price. Since God has let man live (that we may be reconciled to Him through His Son), sin is let live, and since sin is let live, this world is a dangerous place. We have all inherited from Adam a depraved nature which leaves our conscience (that which we should do) and our behavior (that which we do) out of sync. A well-established government helps keep our darker tendencies in check, but no social system can ever prevent human depravity from rearing its ugly head. If you weren’t convinced before, surely the last two days have assured you that the human heart is capable of unspeakable evil and incalculable destruction.
Anyone who gives even passing attention to national news, knows that D.C. and New York are not alone in their suffering. Murder multiplies so fast that it takes your breath away. Three weeks ago in Sacramento Nikolay Soltys is accused of knifing to death his wife (also killing his unborn child), his 3 year-old son, his uncle, his aunt, and his two cousins (9 and 10 years old). A few days later in Sioux City, Iowa, Adam Moss allegedly slit his girlfriend’s throat and beat her five children to death. On August 28, back in Sacramento, a man is accused of stabbing to death his daughter, another woman, and her teenage son. Two weeks later, again in Sacramento, Joseph Ferguson allegedly shot and killed four of his unarmed co-workers. Three days ago, Andrea Yates stood trial in Houston, TX for drowning her five children. Everywhere we look evil rages, and wisdom shouts from the street
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