After the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, took place last summer - subsequent to the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, an African-American male, who was shot during an altercation with a police officer- I told several people that I thought we would start seeing this type of story make national news every month or so. Just recently we witnessed complete lawlessness breakout in Baltimore with arson, police being targeted, stores looted, etc. And it will happen all over again soon somewhere else.
Inner-city America is a dangerous place to live and cops are in confrontations with young black males by the thousands every day all over the country. Just the sheer numbers guarantee something will go bad somewhere on a regular basis. And now with the Internet and 24-hour news channels, what would have once been a local story goes national very quickly and people often then make rash judgments based on early “information” that often later turns out to be false.
Statistics annually demonstrate young black males commit crimes at a dramatically higher rate than young white males or young Hispanic males. And according to liberal commentator Juan Williams, an African-American: "No. 1 cause of death, young black men 15 to 34 — murder. Who’s committing the murder? Not police. Other black men."
I am a believer in people taking personal responsibility for their actions. That is hard for any of us humans to do. Actually we have little trouble taking credit for our good actions, but when our actions are bad…well…we are quick to have an excuse. The first human created by God, Adam, showed us the way early on in the book of Genesis. The Lord told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and he did it anyway. When God asked Adam about it he responded to God this way: “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
So first and foremost each individual is responsible for their actions, I don’t care what their story is. But there is a difference between an “excuse” and a “reason” why people engage in bad behavior which is often also criminal activity. And until a person is able to come to grips with the root reason for their problems these problems will likely stay with them until they are addressed fundamentally.
The issue of police brutality aside, the problems of inner-city America such as poor schools, gangs, violent crime, drugs, generational poverty, etc. will continue mounting as long as 73% of black babies are born out of wedlock - or, as in the case of Baltimore, only 16% of 15-17 year-olds have been raised by both their married parents. No amount of tax money sent into these cities will ever change any of that until the issue of fatherlessness is solved. Marriage has been dishonored in much of the African-American community. That is the sad and tragic truth and the consequences of no loving dad to support mom and the kids at home have been devastating. There are exceptions to the rule, but the rule remains. Fundamentally, as with so many issues that plague mankind, this is a result of immoral behavior being ignored. There is a reason God forbids sex outside of marriage. It’s for our own good.
The Bible says in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature; from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
What is going on in America today is not so much a black problem or a white problem…but a sin problem.
