I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks now so I had a lot of
time on my hands therefore I’ve been reading a lot of articles on the war in
Gaza, and although I am and always will be supporting Israel, I didn’t pretend
that the children in Gaza and the innocent civilians do not suffer and die in
horrible ways, but I will not write about who’s right or wrong because I know
that I can’t be objective due to my loyalty towards Israel, so I am not
qualified to pass judgment one way or another.
I also read a lot about what ISIS is
doing to Christians in Iraq
and the civil war in Syria.
In North Korea
the government is starving its own people. In Somalia
there’s a civil war. There’s war in Afghanistan,
Nigeria,
North-West of Pakistan, Sudan,
Ukraine, Iran,
Burma, Yemen,
and violence in many, many other countries.
I’ve watched many videos of people being murdered for no
good reason, starved for no good reason, tortured and humiliated, sold or raped
or forced to steal and act like animals for a piece of bread or a little water.
Somebody asked me “can’t you watch something fun, like a movie or something,
are you a masochist? Do you enjoy seeing all that suffering?” I had to take a
deep breath. No, I do NOT enjoy watching other people’s pain, contrary to what
some might think or say about me. I think that if other people have to suffer
like that, the least I can do is watch so that I don’t delude myself into
thinking that just because it doesn’t happen near me, it doesn’t exist.
I know it would be so
much easier to pretend that I live in a world where the biggest problem we have
is depression because we’re way too self-absorbed to think about anyone else. I
know it would be easy to pretend that my greatest goal is to get the newest
smart-phone or to visit some exotic place. I know it would be easier to think
about saving the planet and the global warming. It would be so easy to fear
only other people’s opinions about me and worry about being bored. It would be
so easy to convince myself that showing mercy towards animals is more humane
than showing kindness to a human being. It would be so much easier to believe
in evolution because THEN it would make sense that we act like animals and kill
each other like crazy. I know it would be easier. Trust me, I KNOW! So you can
call me stupid, because despite knowing, I chose the hard way and not close my
eyes to all that is going on in the world.
I’ve watched one video of 1,500 people being executed by ISIS
in Iraq and
most of them were teens. The executioners became bored at some point and were
killing just for sports and a fellow Christian wrote below the video ‘oh, that’s
terrible! Were they Christian?’ DOES IT MATTER?!! I know it’s quite inspiring
to know that people die as martyrs for Jesus, but isn’t it worse that people
die for no good reason, for no noble cause? One of them might have been a
doctor given a chance. One of them might have wanted to be the first man to set
foot on Mars or discover some new spices of plants that no one cares about. One
of them might have been the world’s greatest dad. One of them might have been
in love, and all of them I’m sure left a hole in someone’s world.
Believe me, I’m not making a speech for some international
contest and I’m not naïve enough to ask for world peace, I don’t even know why
I’m writing this because no one will read it and go ‘gee golly, I never thought
of that’. You’ll probably see my words as the longest thing you’ve read in ages
and won’t bother or dismiss them as the ramblings of a fool. It would be easier
not to write, but we’ve already established that I don’t know how to take the
easy way.
Even though it would be so much easier to believe in
evolution, I don’t. I believe in The Almighty God that created us all in His
image and gave us a mind to reason with and look at another human being and
think “goodness me! That’s one manifestation of God I never would have known about
unless I would have looked, really looked, at this man/woman/child/old man,
made in His image” and be in awe over that discovery. Yes, that ugly neighbor
that I hate is made in God’s image just like the new born baby that I ooh and
aah about. That man that chose to point a gun and take another person’s life is made
in God’s image just like the one taking the bullet. What are we doing to
ourselves?!
Rabbi Chaim of Sanz said: “The flame of God burned within me
when I was young: I believed that I would turn the whole world to good. As I
grew older, my enthusiasm waned, and I said: ‘I see that I will not be able to
fix the entire world, so I will try to improve the people of my own town.’
Years passed, and I realized that I have bitten off more than I could chew. I
then decided it would be enough to better my own family. Now that I am old, I
no longer dream. My only prayer is that I should improve myself.”
I am not young enough
to believe that I can change the world, but maybe if I better myself, if I try
to look at all sides of everything, if I work hard enough at loving people and
helping them, if I train my eyes to look at every living human being as being a
unique manifestation of God’s image and treat them as such, maybe then the
world will be a better place. Not a perfect one, because I know it can’t, but
maybe better than it is.
Bat Melech בת מלך
Cristina כריסטינה
