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Insight's to the Word with Pastor Teague!
How do we eliminate the Travon Martin / George Zimmerman mess?
Call it what you want to. Both sides of the Travon tragedy have taken roots and dug in to defend their views of the incident. To be honest, only a handful of people and God really know what happened. And in the opinion of all those who think they know – everyone else is a liar. We have seen these incidents before and, sad to say, we will likely see them again.
Regardless of how whatever really happened that fateful night – the loss of a young man’s life is nothing to be excited about. I can’t imagine having someone knock on my door and tell me my son has just been killed – regardless of how it took place. To know that my son was the victim of a shooting would make it even harder. Rather he was shot in compliance with the law or not – the news would be tragic and paralyzing for me.
I am confident that Travon’s mother will carry this incident the rest of her life. She will need prayer and support from multiple venues.
I think this incident is birthed out of one that occurred nearly 6000 years ago – in another land and another time. The very first parents to ever set foot on the earth had a son who was murdered. It’s the ancient Cain and Able story. Jealousy, anger, frustration – all fed the thought one brother against the other. The end is tragic. No police to investigate. No media blitz. No questions from CNN or FOX news. No Hannity. No O’Reilly Factor. No “Reverend” so and so to grab some media hype. Nothing. After Cain killed Abel – the sun set without a lot of public hype and media interruptions. But a mother and father sat heart broken. They had never seen death before. This was up close and deeply personal. Death? They remembered the term from an earlier confrontation with God the Father – Yaweh! Oh yeah! After the shock wore off – it all started to settle in. Death was the result of disobedience. Death was the result of sin. Death was the result of man’s choice over God’s. Adam and Eve would bear some sense of frustration with their son’s choice to kill his brother for the rest of their life. Cain represents in history the absolute rejection of the need for atonement for sin. Therein lies the seed of Travon’s case – sin crouching at the door (See Genesis 3 and 4).
Who is to blame for Travon’s murder? Was he “murdered”? Was it in self defense? Who “threw the first punch?” As Adam and Eve wrestled with similar questions – thousands of parents have asked the similar questions for nearly 6000 years. It seems to me that we have made this a race issue when in fact it may not be. I wasn’t there and neither were you. Again, only a hand full of people really know what happened. I can imagine if I, a white male, were to walk through an all black neighborhood – covered from head to toe in stereotype attire – I would be found suspicious. If I were to walk through an all middle eastern territory – dressed in attire that stereotyped me as an enemy – I would be found suspicious. Mind you – I am not advocating innocence or guilt. I am saying that the entire event was wrapped in the attire of suspicion. Like it or not – that’s the stupid world we live in. My goodness, if I were to walk the halls of any banking institution wearing “questionable attire” and fumbling with Skittles and a can of tea – I would be found suspicious. Some would look at me and not really know what I was fumbling with. Wrong place at the wrong time. Simple. Where our suspicions go wrong is when we attach racist or ethnic associations with them. In some places of the world, I would be found suspicious because I’m white. In some areas of the world I would be suspicious because I am a Christian. If I chose to enter a known territory because I have the right to do so – and I choose to dress in a fashion that breeds suspicion – I need to understand that as much as it is my “right” to dress a certain way – it is the right of those territorial guardians to be suspicious of me. Suspicion has saved the lives of many more people than it has ever taken. Suspicion has saved countless numbers of soldiers who have suspicions of a alleged enemy. Police officers have kept countless crimes from being committed only because they had a suspicion to engage an alleged law breaker.
Beyond suspicion is the fact of sin. The denial or the need of a Savior. I don’t know where Travon was at or his alleged killer is at in a redeeming relationship with Jesus Christ. What I do know is that each one engaged what they assumed was their right. Travon had the “right” to wear attire that would identify him – like it or not – with those of questionable behavior. His alleged killer, the shooter, George Zimmerman, engaged what he assumed was his right – to bear arms and defend himself. Tragically, both obviously made a mistake that fateful night. Assumption is the cousin to sin. Sin assumes we don’t need a Savior. Sin assumes we have rights – when we were created to serve a loving God – not determine our own fates. Sin wraps itself in multicolored and multiethnic and racially patterned robes of “rights” and tragically we are seeing the result of it all.
Fear is a factor to consider also. Fear is the absence of faith. Fear led George to pull the trigger. What led to his “fear” of the kids in hoodies in the first place? We can’t ask him now but I wonder if Travon feared the reprisal of negative peer pressure if he didn’t conform to the “norm” of a specific culture. No one will ever know…will they?
What we now see playing out in the media are high profile vultures. So called “social justice Reverends” and community leaders. The kind that soar high above tragedy and then swoop in for the self serving “kill.” In so doing both families suffer the tragedy a second and third and fourth time…and countless stabs at being a victim…all over again. Media idiots have played their troubling part – a terribly troubling part. We have made this uncalled for loss of a young man out with his friends and the unnecessary attempt to defend what is rightfully the property of someone – an event that has stirred thousands to “social justice” action. We have certainly made this into a race issue when in fact I’m not sure it was. It if was then we have missed thousands of other opportunities to address race issues – white on black crime, black on white crimes, ethnic on ethnic, religion on religion. We found one we get carry further then it needed to be – and some have the audacity to take pride in that fact.
If Travon hadn’t been “dressed” in a stereotype fashion and if George had not been faced with ongoing issues of fearing his neighbors – we wouldn’t have this to deal with. If George had not felt like he needed to carry a weapon to defend himself – this may not have happened.
Sin is crouching at the door. Too bad that door is opened as often as it is. The door handle is on the inside and until we change how we face our suspicion and fears – we will keep opening the door at tragic and paralyzing moments. Until we see sin for what it is – more Travon’s will die. Until we see sin for what it is – more George Zimmerman’s will pull the trigger. We have to find a way to eliminate the power of sin. Oh but wait a minute – Jesus already did that. Our task then is to convince men they need a Savior from the sin in their life.
What do you think?
Pastortimteague's Blog 
I think you are exactly correct. Yet, between now and the time that they are convinced of the need for a savior(assuming it ever happens), many more Travons will die a senseless death. And that is the sad reality