Violent times

Football line-backer legend Dick Butkus, of the Chicago Bears once had a question posed to him by a commentator. The commentator made the point that often at football games one hears the expression, “Tear his head off”. The commentator asked Butkus how it would make him feel if he hit someone so hard that his head would actually become detached and go rolling down the field. Butkus furrowed his brow and looked to be in deep thought for a few moments and then matter-of-factly remarked, “If it was a good clean hit, I don’t think I would mind”. Butkus, one of the most violent hard-hitting linebackers of all time is now in the Football hall of Fame, and rightfully so as he epitomized this position.

Football is a violent sport. Fans adore those players like Butkus who will put it all on the line in order to win a game. In Rome it was gladiators. In Spain, bullfighters. Since Cain and Able the human race has spawned violent men. Make no mistake God cursed Cain, and his violent nature was passed on down to today. Is it any surprise that Michael Vick a marquee football player was involved in the violent “sport” of dog-fighting? Violent men are attracted to violence.

I think it is somewhat hypocritical for football fans everywhere to now be spewing their hatred for a superstar that was loved and adored and filling up football stands with his mere presence just a few months ago. What has changed about this man? We found out he is violent and he likes violence and is cruel. Oh I get it… Well maybe No, I don’t get it

I am not condoning dog-fighting. I do know far more about pit bulldogs than most as I raised pit bulldogs for twelve some odd years. Not for fighting other dogs, but for hunting hogs in the swamps of South Georgia. What I know about pit bulldogs is that they are violent. They hate anything that moves; not just other dogs, but chickens, hogs, cows, anything that moves and they can catch. As we are painfully aware, this sometimes includes children and other innocent people who cross their paths; (fear of this happening with one of my dogs in part is why I got rid of mine). These dogs actually like to fight and will wag their tails as they are engaged in battle. They do not have to be trained to fight; it comes instinctively and quite naturally to them. Dog fighters condition their dogs for stamina and get them in shape to fight much like a trainer does a boxer; they do not have to train them to fight.

They are dangerous animals. Pit bulldogs are also very courageous animals and will fight to the death if allowed to go that far. If a pit bulldog shows signs of being a coward its owner will kill it in order to avoid having the cowardice gene passed on to future generations. It is a violent nasty bloody “sport” where a dog’s courage is admired and cowardice is despised.

Why would anyone want to watch one of these bloody dog fights? Why would they want to watch NASCAR in the hopes of seeing a crash? Why would they watch two boxers try to bash each other’s heads in? Why would they want to see a linebacker tear someone’s head off? Why would they want to watch lions tear Christians apart in the ancient arenas of Rome? Why would they play video games for hours in which the object is to kill and maim as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time? Violence is derived from satan and fallen mankind has passed this gene down through generation after generation.

I don’t condone what Michael Vick has done. I just wish that the media who promote violence at every opportunity would just let this young man who has lost everything serve his time and pay his debt to society for being a violent man attracted to violence and shut up about it already. Jesus Christ will replace the violence of satan with peace and joy. We are assured that “the lion will lay down with the lamb” upon His return. Until that time we will live in a society that thrives on violence. If you want to assign blame and look for someone to revile, don’t look towards Vick, look towards satan. Violence is his creation. Vick just got caught up in it like most of us do, (assuming we will admit it)

Genesis 4:10
And he said, “What have you
done? The voice of your brother’s
blood cries out to me from the
ground.
So now you are cursed from
the earth, which has opened its
mouth to receive your
brother’s blood from your hand.