Intervention!

Following up from my last blog article, I’m thinking more about how recent news events bring up a very important truth—Intervention! Finally, we see some intervention by city leaders around Wall Street in New York to help curtail the public health and safety issues that are being compromised at many of the Occupy protests. If people occupied The Street I talked about in my last article, there wouldn’t be all of the problems at many of these Occupy protests! Another serious news story out of Pennsylvania has also rocked the news world and a well know college campus and football program. The reason why so many are being let go or resigning and the big question coming out of all of that alleged child abuse has to do with why there was not more intervention. So, what is our responsibility to intervene?

Well, to start to answer this important question, you might wish to review my 06-16-09 unusual and challenging article: “Mind Your Own Business!” The exclamation to “mind your own business” is so often a front to hide bad behavior and is used (by the speaker and even those spoken to) as an excuse for neglecting one’s responsibility in society before others and before GOD to “do justice and love mercy” (c.f. Micah 6:8). Haven’t you seen some of those videos where someone is being beaten up or in trouble somehow and desperately needing the help of others? What is needed there and in so many other situations every day in our lives is for more intervention! Failing to intervene might even mean your job at some point in the future (as college football’s most winning coach and the recently released Penn State President now know) or worse yet, it might mean the physical life or wellbeing of someone.

There is an important balance here, especially if we are to continue with the privacy and freedom that most wish to maintain. We must not overstep and improperly intervene! I personally know the trouble and tragedy that improperly intervening can bring about, as this is what led to all of the labels that I have been given and the tragedy of being separated from my family. Others failing to love and properly intervene is (at the time of this writing) what is still keeping my five dear children from any relationship with their earthly father. There are times when things should be left for people to deal with privately and there are times when those surrounding a situation should intervene to help all involved. That is what love does and love does not overstep its bounds to wrongly seek control over someone.

It is our human responsibility to love and to serve one another (my 5th and 7th Top Lessons To Learn). This necessarily involves intervention into the lives of those whom we are loving and serving. It is not that difficult to understand why we are having so many problems throughout our society! Proper government intervention would have prevented the banks from overreaching and thus struggling so much, particularly in the housing market, which was the catalyst for the downturn in our and the world’s economy. Governments all over the world know how important intervention is, but often fail to find a good balance between helping and protecting people verses controlling them and limiting freedoms. Individuals in any society who fail to properly intervene in loving and serving others around them will necessarily contribute to the degradation of that society.

Human nature being what it is and nature itself suffering from the curse of sin requires intervention! Did you know that GOD chose to intervene into this world in The Person of Jesus Christ? HE knew what our greatest need was! GOD so loved us that HE gave us His Son, who gave His life to pay the penalty for our sins. He intervened to the greatest degree and even defeated the worst enemy—death. Because HE lives, we too can defeat death and the curse of sin if we respond to His intervention! Until HE intervenes again, to reign on the earth and straighten out the messes man has made, we must be people that look to serve Him and follow His example. We must intervene in love and service toward others around us! We must seek to protect others and also warn people of the consequences of their actions and inactions or else suffer the consequences of failing to intervene. We must intervene to help rescue others from the fire, just as the half brother of Jesus Christ taught (Jude 1:22-23).