Run for your life!
There is another violent attack! It does not come from outer space. It does not come from beasts which have escaped their abode in the wilds. It does not come from the deep blue sea, where there might be prehistoric animals with their remains lying in the ocean. No, it comes from human beings; people like you and me, occupying the same living space, Earth which was designed to be our home and our friend.
The world is under grave threat. Man's inhumanity to man has reached its zenith. For centuries, so- called Christians countries have waged war against each other and, in the process, engaged in wanton bloodshed and destruction without any respite. Man has not found a way to control his bloody and destructive instinct. The last century has presented the scene of the two most bloody and destructive wars in human history. Even after these experiences, man's penchant for violence has not been curbed.
Two thousand years ago, when Peter unsheathed his sword to defend his Master, Jesus ordered him, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword." Yet, Christians leaders have craftily found ways and means of justifying untold bloodshed by creating what is known as, "The just war theory."
Most of us do not seem to realize how deep within us the thirst for violence is. It is a raging beast within us which is so often ignored. Yet, it is the most destructive weapon in the arsenal of human beings. During World War II, Anne Frank, a young girl about 14 years old, in the Netherlands, made this insightful statement in her Diary.
"I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone, are guilty of the War. Oh no, the little man is just as guilty, otherwise the peoples of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There is in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again.
Recently, violent attacks on people have been made in parts of Europe. Even the United States of America, which, up the beginning of this century, could boast that since the War with Great Britain in 1812,no enemy troops have fired a single shot on American territory, has experienced disaster. These days, the world lives in a state of fear, for there is no telling where and when the next strike will occur.
Where shall we flee? There is no place to hide. Who will come to our rescue? Who will defend us against this monster which threatens our existence? Who shall give us a place of refuge?
They tell us, "Run for your life!" But we cannot run forever. Who can guarantee us that the next time we run we shall not fall down a precipice?
All is not lost: From boyhood, I have learnt that, "While there is life, there is hope." The power to put an end to violence, bloodshed and destruction is within our grasp. We live in a world in which the least action which we perform has a ripple effect, like a drop of water poured into a pool.
Every time, you give in to your passion for anger, you contribute to worldwide violence. Every time you utter verbal abuse, you connect with the destructive forces of terrorism in the world. Every time you insult a person, every time you are unjust to anyone, whenever you hate someone, you add to the sum total of violence, bloodshed and destruction throughout the world. Unless you bring a halt to this madness, you will never make it. You will just continue to be part of the destructive forces spreading their tentacles and causing grief throughout the world!