Drop Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, the day for all of us to feel guilty about all the evil things we stupid humans do to the planet.

Er, wait...Today is Earth Day, the day for all of us to feel really great about ourselves because of all the times we turn off the light switches in our house to save energy...or all the plastic water bottles we throw in the blue can.

So all around our country people will do a lot of hoopla to celebrate the Earth. 

Ironically, there was a day last week that I bet very few of us even knew happened: Holocaust Remembrance Day.


Here is an evil worth remembering and the light of goodness worth emulating. 

I recently read a book with memories of WWII veterans.  This is one that truly struck me:

One US soldier remembers liberating some of the concentration camps.  They were some of the first troops to see the horrific conditions of these camps as they slowly took over Germany and it's stolen lands. 

In one case, GIs were so appalled by what they saw that they rounded up German camp guards and then brought out camp prisoners.  They gave prisoners guns and basically said, "Do what you want with these despicable former guards."

A soldier remembers one of the inmates who gave the gun back and said these words,

"I don't want to become like them."  

This world naturally runs on the principle that says, you hurt me, I will hurt you.  But here is a young Jewish concentration camp inmate who had the spark of the Spirit in him, the Spirit of the Christ, the Father, that says, "No.  I will let the heart of God live in me." 

This is no exoneration of the crimes of these guards.  It is also not meant to detract from the need for the justice system to mete out punishment.  But it is the heart of an individual knowing that life lived in the affection of the Father makes one live a different life.