11/12/14 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser
Battle of good versus evil continues
I lost my cool last week. Big time. Sitting in my office
reading the International news on my computer screen I came completely unglued.
No, it wasn’t about the Nov. election results, Obama Care, the Ebola quarantine
debate, Honey Boo-boo or any other controversial topic consuming us here in the
U.S.A.
My tirade was directed at an arrogant, bloodthirsty sadist
clear across the world in Nigeria. I cried. I ranted and raved and wished that
I knew how to apply some vile curses. The target was Abubaker Shekau, a
Nigerian Islamic extremist and the leader of Boko Haram. A name that means:
Western Education is sinful.
Of course, he couldn’t hear my hysteria and he wouldn’t have
cared if he did. Extremists only hear one voice and that is their own.
Boko Haram was founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf (now dead).
It advocates a strict form of Sharia law, seeks to establish a fully Islamic
state in Nigeria. It opposes education and the westernizing of Nigeria—half of
which is Muslim and the other half Christian.
Coexistence is not possible. Boko Haram is interested only
in “battle, hitting, striking and killing with the gun, which we look forward
to like a tasty meal,” said Shekau.
Until this year, millions of people, myself included,
weren’t aware of this group because of the many other power struggles going on
around the globe. Our attention was diverted to Nigeria on April 15 when 276
girls and young women were kidnapped from a boarding school in the remote
village of Chibok. Some escaped. Most didn’t. And since then dozens of others
have been kidnapped.
Appeals for their release came from around the world. Social
media posted “#Bring Back Our Girls Now” to create awareness, spark conversation
and demonstrations about the kidnappings. It was hoped that somehow this would
encourage the families, especially the vulnerable children. The girls remained
captives.
Thus, my rage when on Nov. 1, leader Shekau gleefully
announced to the world that the girls (children!) had been converted to Islam
and married off. Then, he dug the knife a little deeper and said to the
parents, “If you knew the state your daughters are in today, it might lead some
of you…to die from grief.”
That statement put me over the edge. I have sometimes been
accused of being a Pollyanna but I do know EVIL when I see it. I wanted to
destroy this guy and save the girls. Finally, I calmed down. I know this is a
God-sized problem. And it is time to pray. The Bible says if you are disheartened…to
pray without ceasing. That’s what I do daily. Please join me in praying for
these girls.
On the other side of evil is goodness. Evil means
“profoundly immoral and malevolent; wicked, bad, wrong, dishonorable,
villainous, malicious” and more. Good means “that which is morally right;
virtue, righteous, integrity, fine, superior, quality” and more.
Well, just as I didn’t have far to look for evil, I quickly
found examples of goodness. Right here in Cottage Grove, I heard about a man
who couldn’t afford to get dentures. One day, out of the blue, a complete
stranger struck up a conversation with him, handed him a card and told him to
go get his teeth fixed—and he would pick up the tab!
My friend Jeannie volunteers for Pro-Bone-O. It operates two
free clinics per month and provides free veterinary services, food and supplies
for companion pets of the homeless. Another friend, Patty, has a clothing
ministry. She collects gently worn clothes and gives them to those in need.
Churches are always a good source of goodness. There are
many churches that go on mission trips to Mexico and other countries. Their
mission is usually to preach the gospel by first providing for people’s
physical needs: food, clothes, shelter and medicine. Help. Not harm.
First Baptist Church in Albuquerque was on such a mission
when they discovered a young boy with a massive, fluid filled venus
lymphangioma on his shoulder that literally has taken over his upper body. The
area in which he lived was so dangerous that Homeland Security picked up him
and his parents and brought them to the states. Thanks to the church he will
have the surgery to remove the tumor and reconstruct his shoulder bone. It will
be a long haul recovery but he will have his life restored—because people cared.
Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram has killed more than
7,000 people; kidnapped and enslaved an unknown number and displaced at least
650,000 civilians from their homes. They use abductions, rape, forced labor and
marriage as weapons of war. They plan to continue this rampage and carnage of
innocent people until they are martyred and go to their version of paradise.
It’s sick!
In the meantime, the virus Ebola has been running rampant in
Western Africa. The latest statistics from the CDC confirm 13,042 cases with
4,818 deaths. As horrible as these numbers are, there is hope. Billionaires
like Bill Gates (who puts his money where his mouth is) are investing in
vaccines and drugs to prevent the virus and others like it from becoming
recurring epidemics.
Organizations like Doctors without Borders and individual
medical teams are flying into the Ebola ravaged areas from around the globe to
heal and comfort. Recently, Samaritan’s Purse chartered a 757 jumbo jet to
airlift 100 tons of supplies to the villages for basic needs, feeding,
hydration and sanitation. Tens of thousands of lives will be saved—not
lost—because of people who are caring not killers.
From the beginning of time there has been a battle between
good and evil. It continues today. But my money is on the side of goodness to
prevail. Pray for peace in the hearts, minds and souls of all mankind. And the Golden Rule to prevail.
Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about people,
places, family, and other matters of the heart.
