When the Chris Benoit tragedy happened, I was initially pretty shocked. I’m a sports entertainment watcher and a fan of Benoit’s work. He never seemed to be capable of something like that when I watched him. I had a conversation about the matter with my lovely wife, and I said I was saddened by the whole ordeal, especially since in my opinion Benoit was obviously a lost soul who would be condemned for eternity for his actions. She must have thought I was saying a knee-jerk "You’re going to burn in Hell!" like anyone who is outraged by a crime would blurt out. She rebutted by saying that none of us really know what’s waiting for us after we die. I didn’t pay that comment much mind at the time, but over the next few days, it began to gnaw at me.
See, I can’t agree with her sentiment. In fact, I think she is dead wrong. My statement about Benoit going to Hell was not a knee-jerk moment of outrage. It’s biblical fact if you’re a Christian (and she had better be one for me to marry her). If you truly believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible Word of God (like every good Christian should) then you HAVE to believe that there is an objective definition of good, and that everything that doesn’t coincide with that definition is by default evil. And you HAVE to believe that there is an absolute heaven and an absolute hell (or lake of fire, or whatever constitutes ultimate separation from God).
A truly good and just God MUST punish evil. His timetable may be a bit slower than ours, but rest assured, the punishment IS coming, if not in this world then certainly on the day of judgment. Those who follow His rules get rewarded, those who don’t…won’t.
What are the rules? The commandments and laws of the Old testament and the teachings of the New testament point to two: 1. love God, and 2. love God’s creations. This includes loving your neighbor, loving your enemies, loving yourself, not abusing your environment (for God created the Earth and Adam’s original job was to be the caretaker of it). And in Benoit’s case, it certainly meant loving your wife and child.
Murder, however you try to justify or explain it, is NOT an act of love.
Short-sightedness? Yes.
Selfishness? Definitely.
Spite? Certainly.
Jealousy? Maybe.
Wanting to take the easy way out of a bad situation? Possibly.
But Love? NO WAY.
You ask "but what about the slave mothers who smothered their children so they wouldn’t have to live as slaves? Isn’t that love?" But consider this: what if Frederick Douglas’s mother took that attitude? Harriet Tubman’s mother? Nat Turner’s mother? Your Great, Great, Great grandmother (if you’re black)? To take your child’s life amidst a bad situation denies your child the opportunity to be the person that helps change that bad situation for the better, for his or her generation and for generations beyond. That’s not love. That’s fear.
And I’m not saying this out of any contempt for Benoit or his family. I didn’t know the guy. I find what he did utterly despicable, but I still consider myself an admirer of his work as a pro wrestler. He did his job well, however his character behind the scenes was. It’s like when Bubba Clinton had an affair in the Oval Office and lied about it, and yet people gave him a pass because the country was prospering under his watch. Benoit was an electrifying entertainer and a consummate professional who helped launch a lot of careers, so I can separate his work from his life. But what he did is still despicable, and he will still be condemned for it.
To add to that note: anyone who truly believes in the Bible must also believe that Human Nature is inherently evil. Anyone who tells you that people are born good is feeding you a bunch of pie-in-the-sky fantasy. From the time man was created, he has rebelled against God, and that’s a genetic trait that is within every human being. You see this all of the time in children, who are really the purest form of human being.
Look at your average 3 to 10 year old child.
Now look at your average sociopath.
See any similarities? I do.
Like a sociopath, a child will stop at NOTHING to satisfy his or her selfish desires, whether it be lying, cheating, stealing, disobedience, or hurting others. And like sociopaths, children care very little about who they hurt in the process – in fact, some children seem amused by hurting others. Like sociopaths, the concepts of right and wrong or good and evil truly only apply when they are the ones being personally wronged. There is always a justification for what they do, always an excuse, always a rationale, but no real remorse.
And this is how all of us would behave if we thought we could get away with it. Human Nature.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love children, but I’m looking at the bigger picture.
We have ALL sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And the wages of sin is death.
But YHWH (Yahweh, a Hebrew name for God) in his mercy has set up a system for us to avoid that. If we believe in the price our redeemer (that would be Mr. Jeshua Bin Joseph, BKA Jesus Christ) paid for this system to be possible, if we confess our sins and make a sincere vow to try to avoid that behavior again, if we try to find a better way to handle ourselves when in those situations whenever they occur, then God will spare us from our eternal punishment, and we might even get a little leniency in this world…unless, of course, you getting What’s Coming To You is part of God’s master plan. But that’s for Him to decide, not us.
So, while I’m on the topic, how about you? If your life ended right now, understanding what I just told you, what do you think would happen to you after you die? You may think you lived a "good" life, but human righteousness is as filthy rags to Him. His law is absolute, and can you honestly say you have gone your entire life without breaking ANY of His commandments? Are you a slave to your own Human Nature, or do you feel like you were drafted into the life you live, instead of enlisting for it? Do you need a way out, a way to change your life, or a way to be that better person that you know you’re capable of being? If this applies to you, I want to invite you to join us in the body of Christ. YHWH is waiting for you with open arms, and Jesus is itching for a chance to usher you into a new life and a new way of thinking that will forever alter the way you see the world. Join the winning team! Visit my buddy Jarvis’s site for more information:
www.duesznministries.org
or just hit his myspace page up at myspace.com/dueseason


Song of the week: "You Will Know" by either Stevie Wonder or Mary Mary. This kind of illustrates what I’m talking about. I personally like Stevie’s version better, but Mary Mary’s is a good listen, too.