Death and destruction are on rampage, from town to town, city to city and from country to country. Switch on to any news channel, you are informed of one chaos or another; one tragedy or another. People gather face to face, on social media or phone calls discussing:
“What is going on? Death is on the loose like never before”
“Yes, he has more recruits these days.”
“What do you mean?”
“Death is a spirit and can only cause havoc through agents?”
“Through agents?”
“Oh yes, he possesses those who invite him. Don’t invite him and he will not use you.”
“Are you saying those he is using invited him?”
“Yes, they invited him by cultivating his receptors”
“Receptors? Can you please use layman’s words?”
“Death uses people who have hatred in them. The hatred in them encourages death to make a proposal to them. So because they already have hatred in them, they are quick to accept his proposal and jump at executing his assignments.”
“So you are saying death possesses one who is already possessed by hatred.”
“Yes.”
“It means that hatred is also a spirit”
“Exactly! You are a smart guy.”
“So if death is invited by the presence of hatred, what is in a person that invites hatred?”
“Intolerance. Some of us are unwilling to accommodate views, beliefs and conducts of others. We pounce on them when they say or do something we do not agree with. We look down on some groups or despise another”
“So true…now how did intolerance permeate extensively? Oh hold on! I just got something in a flash. Intolerance is taught from generation to generation”
“I see your eyes have opened up to some truth…Intolerance gives rise to hatred, hatred gives rise to deaths”
“So sad…How then can the world have peace? How can order and harmony thrive?”
“You know in order to maintain law and order, we have the law code. Unfortunately, there seem to be disregard for the law code”
“The law code? Just to be sure I am on the same page with you, what is the law code?”
The law code is a type of legal formulation which claims to utterly cover a complete system of laws or precepts or statutes. Examples of law code include the civil law and the criminal law.
The civil law deals with disagreements between parties or neglects which cause harm to others. Cases that are treated under civil law include breach of contracts, disputes over ownership/distribution of land/estates, termination of employment, allegations of medical malpractice, defamation and landlord/tenant disputes. The legal actions on such cases do not include imprisonment or fines. However, depending on the case, the usual outcome is an instruction to pay for damages in order to compensate for the harm inflicted. This can apply to allegations of medical malpractice for instance.
Criminal law deals with acts of harm to individuals and such acts are regarded as crimes. Crimes are calculated, purposeful, intentional, deliberate, conscious, preconceived, premeditated, pre-planned, planned, wilful and voluntary acts causing harm to fellow humans. Just as I have deliberately used similar words to qualify such acts! Even the neglect of duty to protect people from harm is a crime! Deliberate acts to harm individuals are crimes against everyone. For instance, if in a community, one or two individuals are kidnapped, one or two houses are burgled or one or two people are shot, there is a collective sense of insecurity. In some cases people begin to agitate and in the release of uncontrolled emotions, violence ensues. Crimes include kidnapping, murder, rape, perjury, vandalization, forgery, drug and human trafficking, terrorism and so on. The penalties for crime vary from country to country and include execution, imprisonment (duration may vary) and fines.
Presently, it seems the world is plunged into darkness. There is a high level of crimes – murders, kidnapping and terrorism have unleashed a collective sense of insecurity globally.
How did we get here? The law; do not steal, do not kill, do not covet another man’s property is summed up in one single command, ‘Love your neighbour as your love yourself’
“That is what is missing! LOVE!”
Love does no wrong to one’s neighbour. Love does no harm to one’s neighbour irrespective of race, gender or religion. Love meets all the requirements and fulfils the criminal and civil laws. Love is all we need to come out of the darkness we have been plunged into. Love is what will diffuse the insecurity. Love accommodates, and tolerates views and beliefs of one’s neighbour. Love does not relate with people on tribal or racial lines. Love continually seeks the beauty in everyone irrespective of their background. Love supports and directs to ensure that everyone is able to cope and respond positively to their challenges. Love influences positively, and channels the next generation to make impact in their environment. Love leaves a life transforming imprints on sands of time. Loves does not let emotions spin out of control causing regrettable havoc. Rather love assess emotions and propels them to align with the statutes and precepts of communal living.
How you treat and relate with others are pointers to the regard you have for yourself. It is like a husband who abuses his wife without understanding he is also abusing himself. When you disrespect, it could be because you do not respect yourself. When you make another miserable, it could be you are not happy with yourself. You need to know that when you deliberately set out to cause harm to a fellow human, you have inevitably exposed yourself to harm as well. What you sow, you reap. If you sow hatred, you reap hatred. If you sow love, you reap love.
“So true…I wish people may internalize and apply what you are saying. We need to learn to place others before ourselves.”
Light is around the corner. But first, let us drop the works of darkness and put on LOVE.
