Kony 2012: Retaliation (Cause)

"Russel was down, naked and humiliated.

Millions took that as a cue to point and laugh."

TIME

Jason Russel, moved by the horrors of Joseph Kony started a movement that shook the world. Russel knew that Kony needed to be stopped, he is still out there. Russel's thirty minute movie swept through the internet spreading the word, popularizing Kony so that he may be known. Once he had become known, the plan was to make him stop. (For more information, including the video, click here. There has also been an updated video, here.)

With a message this big and this wide-spread, of course there would be some sort of feedback. Besides the caring and willingness to push this message forward, there was also retaliation. People responded with varied conspiracies: "this was about oil, this was about radical Christianity, this was about the U.S. electoral cycle. A lot of it was directed at Russell himself, and deeply personal, cruel, bullying" (TIME). I have even had to defend Russel's mission a couple times on Facebook (info on my debate in the comments).

This harshness of these debates became more than any single man could bear. Eventually Russel, "Hadn’t slept for nine days. Three days later he suffered what appears to have been a psychological breakdown and was found by San Diego police naked and kneeling in the street, slapping the pavement with his bare hands. At which point, the baying and blood lust only increased. Russell was down, naked and humiliated. Millions took that as a cue to point and laugh" (TIME).

Instead of treating Russel with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control; the world threw "rage, selfishness, dissension, bitterness, and envy" at him (Forgotten God p130). If Russel bent under this insurmountable pressure (more pressure than we ever hope to face in our lifetimes), imagine how much more pressure Christ must have been in as he hanged upon the cross. He could have made the wood split or the nails fall, he could have chosen not to die. But, he did choose death. He did not give into the scorn of this world, but stayed true. He chose to save us even though there was no way that we had deserved it.

We should also remember that even as we go through our own trials: "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:3-6). As we spread the message (both of Kony 2012 and the Gospel), no matter what obstacles get in our way, we can overcome them.

I hope to see you out there April 20th.
http://genesiseightseven.blogspot.com/2012/04/kony-2012-cover-night.html