MARCH 22 "ARE MEN THE ONLY MURDERS?"

  HOMICIDE STATISTICS BY GENDER:

A 2000 global study on homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that men accounted for about 98 percent of all homicide perpetrators worldwide and 79% of the victims.

 As much as people want to deny God and diss the bible as merely a book written by men, you can't get away from the truth and accuracy of the bible; it's ability to still speak into our lives 3000 years later and the impressive writing, by a mere man, like Moses to write 5 flawless books (Genesis-Deut).  The laws  written by Moses in these books still apply today, how can that be?  In our reading today, the emphasis, written by this man, writing (supposedly) on his own accord; is MURDER.  "He is a murderer" is repeated at least 5 times. It was to be considered at the time, the most heinous of crimes/sins a person could commit, was to takes somebody else's life, on purpose.  Moses (a mere man apparently writing without divine inspiration) writes different laws for those that have killed unintentionally (that still apply today).  What is so appalling to Moses about Murder, that he takes so much time on it?  Well, the answer is that it has nothing to do with Moses but everything to do about God, who is inspiring Moses in his writings.  And from the viewpoint of God, who is "The Author of Life" no human being, has the right to take another human beings life, that He (God) has created. Just like the parent feels robbed of a child that is taken from them by a murder and will go to every extreme to make sure the culprit is sentenced to death or lifetime in prison. It's not just the parent who is violated and outraged, but God, who is the ultimate creator of life.

  Moses every time writes, "He is a murderer".   Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but why doesn't he ever write "She is a murderer or They are a murderer". So I looked up the statistics and found that 98% of murderers even until this day, are men!  Women have many flaws and sins, no doubt, but murder is not one of them.  It is men (98%) killing other men (79%).  Then, when God is on earth (Jesus) He even takes it a step further and says, "if you hate your brother, you are guilty of murder". Once again sticking with the masculine. Men hate, their fellow men, they are filled with rage and given the right circumstances can lead to violence.  Men are filled with violence. Whether it is two men beating the daylights out of each other on the ice in a Hockey game or Football players on the field or men who are in the stands beating each other up over the difference of a preferred team. Men fight and beat each other up in bars, will be kicked out of those bars or nightclubs and proceed to shoot each other outside that club, or stab each other if a gun is not available.  So Moses writes, "HE is a murderer". 

  So many men are filling the prisons for crimes of violence. It is at epidemic proportions. 

Today, this one is on us..."MEN".  We must face the fact, that we have a problem, with anger, rage and violence.  And we must first deal with it in us and then we must deal with it in our sons and raise them to know, "anger, rage and violence" is never something that we give in to.  It is the most heinous of sins ever to be committed and must be shunned at all costs.  We must teach our sons, "that mightier is one who rules over his own spirit, than one that takes a city".