The Thrill Kill
The senseless
killing of an Australian student in Oklahoma has stunned the nation as details
emerge for the motive. Citing the reason for the killing as for the “fun of it”
three teens are charged with killing the 22-year old while jogging. No matter
the age of the gunmen the propensity of man’s cruelty to others is a reflection
of the moral climate generated by a society that views man as an animal and
denies the accountability of life. Satan’s tempting of Eve is the battle cry
for the destruction of the moral values and belief in God. “Now the serpent was
more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of
the garden'?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the
trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you
die.' Then the serpent said to the
woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis
3:1-5). Satan tempted Eve to look at herself and believe that she is her own
god and that like the animals there will be no consequence to life. She
believed the lie and Satan won the day.
Fast forward to
the moral climate of today which is no different since the victory of Satan in
the garden. The ‘thrill kill’ by these three young men is how society views
humanity. Everyone is enraged of a “senseless” killing yet abortions continue
unabated daily as millions of unborn children are slaughtered on the altars of convenience.
Humanism has taken man and made him no different than an animal. The sanctity
of life is not treasured as precious but worshipped in the gory details of a
glorification of death. Violence is the
thirst of society. Why are we shocked by the Romans who built grand coliseum’s
to slaughter humans in gladiatorial battles and today we revel in the glut of
blood flowing from our televisions? What are the popular shows of our day? In
the old days of television death was sanitized when someone was shot because you
never saw a bullet hole. Today through the marvel of creative minds we are able
to watch a CSI event unfolding before our eyes as the body is opened up in
bloody details to the joy of viewers. The more body parts blown apart in
violence the better. Body counts sending ratings higher as killers (or aliens)
slaughter everyone in sight. Death is a trivial thing.
This does not
suggest that death should be sanitized. We have made great strides to lessen
the impact of death. Hospitals and funeral homes have taken much of the sorrow
of disease and death away from the home. Bodies of loved ones would be cared
for by the family and buried in family plots in times past. But when society
begins to accept death as entertainment and exalts in the death of one person
Satan has found his way in the hearts of man. He wants man to view death as
nothing better than killing a dog. While cruelty to animals should never be
accepted the truth remains that God has given the animals to man for food
(Genesis 9:1-17). When a man kills a cow to eat it is not murder. Animals are
not eternal beings as they have not been made in the image of God (Genesis
1:26-27). Killing another human being is murder. "Whoever sheds man's
blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis
9:6). The three teens in Oklahoma did not believe this. They were taught that
man is an animal and to shoot this young man was just a sport and would be “fun.”
No different than shooting a dog running along the road.
The sanctity of
life can only be measured by the reality of death. When someone is killed there
are myriads of consequences to consider. An eternal being has been killed. Not
the eternal nature of man of course but the mortal tabernacle. As this young
man was jogging along the road he had so many things in life he wanted to
accomplish. It was his Senior year of college, he had a girlfriend and he had
family and friends. In the split second of life he hears a pop and feels an incredible
pain falling to the ground. His mind begins to cloud and a strange feeling
overwhelms him as life slowing slips from his body. Hearing the sounds of those
trying to save him he struggles to understand what is happening. And then in an
eternal moment he dies and enters the realm of eternity. That happens each time
someone dies. And yet society lusts for the blood of others to satisfy their
deep desire for the morbidity of death.
“But know this,
that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4). The Holy Spirit
revealed to Paul what has been true since the Garden of Eden. Man has not
changed his nature he has only changed his method. When men love themselves they
seek their own gratification and thrills. Driven by material lusts they boast
themselves as gods exalting with pride their power and dominion over others.
Blaspheming their own nature they deny the one true God and reject the counsel
of the hoary head. There is nothing to be thankful for as they force their will
on others through their own wickedness. What love did these young men have for
another human being? Speeding away from their victim lying in a pool of blood
they sought to find another thrill to shoot. They are living for self in a pitiless
spirit that denies the meaning of good. Their power is in their ability to
shoot a man down and with arrogant spirit of self-imposed greatness brag to one
another of the thrill. Pleasure is a momentary thrill while suffering is left
on the side of the road. God is not a part of their lives.
The most popular
video games are those that allow the gamer to kill without conscience. Movies
like “Hunger Games” exalt the pretense of killing others for sport or survival.
Does death only matter if it impacts my world? If one person is killed does it
matter? The way we view death as a society will govern what we do with death as
an individual. Man is an eternal being but when man and animal are put on the
same level then we have done nothing more than clambered a little farther out
of the evolutionary green slime of humanism. Ironically animals are being
exalted to the level of humans while humans are degraded to the level of animals.
It would not be surprising if there are more laws protecting animals than man.
The killing of a human being was a greater thrill than shooting a dog because there
is the innate conscience of these three young men that understood that human
life was holy. Denying that reality they chose to shoot a man down like a dog. To
them that is all he was. So much for the moral code of our enlightened society
that permits abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.
From the reports
as to what motive they had in killing the man it seems as trivial as watching
him run by their house and the decision to take a gun and shoot him. As the
events began to unfold with finding the gun and getting in the car and driving
by the unsuspecting victim the reality of consequence never entered the mind.
The thrill they expected was the nature of sin. Live for the moment because
there will be no consequence to your actions. Satan told Eve, “You will not
surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Eve was convinced that her actions were without concern
and that God had lied to her in not allowing her to eat of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. Eat, drink and be merry because what you can do - you
do by your own pleasure and tomorrow will never come is how Eve was persuaded
to take the forbidden fruit. In every case of sin (without exception) the fruit
of the moment can be enjoyed without the fruit of consequence. Why did Cain
kill Abel (Genesis 4)? He did not believe there would be any consequence and in
the heat of anger slew his brother. What drives the passion of man but the
denial that what I am doing now will have a consequence later!
It must be
pointed out the consequence that is important is not the mug shots of the three
perpetrators of this terrible crime. The “thrill” they thought they would have
is gone in the police portraits. Their lives are not fun and the freedom they
had hours earlier is taken away. What must be understood is the consequence of
their actions was lost as they made plans to shoot their victim. The
consequence of their lives is now marred by murder. Why did this happen? “But
those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they
defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which
defile a man” (Matthew 15:18-20). It is sad these three young men did not have
the training of the heart to know the evil of murder. But the reality of
parental and societal influence created these hearts. When the world rejects
God and becomes a God-less people then senseless killings will continue.
Ironically we
have clarion calls to remove any vestige of God from our land and as we remove
the Creator from our world the chaos of God-less values exalts the inhumanity
of man against himself. What happens when man becomes his own god?
“Although they
knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile
in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be
wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping
things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their
hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of
God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile
passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against
nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in
their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving
in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did
not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased
mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all
unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things,
disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,
unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice
such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of
those who practice them” (Romans 1:21-32).
Man worships a
greater god when he worships himself because he becomes his own lawgiver. His
futility is measured by how great he thinks he is. His totem becomes his own
passions and desires rejecting the nature of an eternal being who is his
Creator. Homosexuality is exalted now as a normal way of life as women exchange
the natural use for what is against nature and men leaving the natural use of the
woman burn in their lust for one another. The nature of wickedness is there is
no consequence to life. In all that Paul wrote in Romans 1 the key is the
failure of man to recognize the “righteous judgment of God” (verse 32). Whether
murder, homosexuality, evil-mindedness, covetousness or whatever passion man
follows there will be consequence. “Futile in their thoughts … became fools … dishonor
their bodies … vile passions … against nature … shameful, and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their error which was due … debased mind … worthy of
death” (Romans 1:21,22,24,26,27,28,32).
Whether it
happens in this life is of no consequence but the reality of eternal God who
demands justice is the greatest reality man must understand. Shooting a man in
the back brought consequences. A man is dead. A family is impacted in no way
any family should be. Three young men may spend their lives in prison. A nation
of hypocrites is shocked by the crime while glorifying the godless values
responsible for a culture of death. Joseph understood the nature of his actions
when he declared to the wife of Potiphar, “How then can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God" (Genesis 39:9)? The son of Jacob knew that life was
about a relationship with God and that sexual immorality had greater
consequence than being found out by Potiphar or the possibility of a sexual
disease. “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) because it is against the nature of
the holiness of God. Judgment will be meted out to all who fail to understand
the nature of God and the consequence of sin. “For the wages of sin is death”
(Romans 6:23).
We should grieve
and pray for the family of the young man killed. Our prayers should be towards
the lives to the three young men who live without God. As a nation we continue
to spiral into the depths of a godless society driven by the passions of human
wisdom. The wisdom of God will last long after the United States of America is
gone. We believe that we will always be “one nation under God” but the deterioration
of those fundamentals truths will destroy us from within. In truth all that
matters is when we reach the shores of eternity. The consequence of my life
will be the only thing I am concerned about in that day.
“For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light,
that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John
3:16-21).
