"The New Killing Fields" by Garris Elkins

It doesn't take long to explore our social media sites and realize in some areas of the Internet you can find conversations that resemble "The New Killing Fields." These are places where we conveniently destroy another person by accusation and narrow personal perspectives.

Letting blood on the Internet has become a "clean" form of interpersonal murder.  What makes this form of death so easy is that from a distance we don't feel the victim squirming under the blade of our accusations and we don't feel the warmth of their lifeblood as it flows out of our relationship. A computerized distance from our victims can give us an ungodly freedom to slash.

The term “Killing Fields” was made infamous by the massacre of hundreds of thousands of people in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's. Under this brutal regime if you did not agree with the dictates of the government you were warned. On your second warning you were sent to “Re-Education” camps where you were put to death. The dead were buried in mass graves. It was brutal. People visiting this region today continue to discover bones of the original victims.

Anyone with a computer can go on the Internet and find scores of people willing to speak death to fellow-Christians and even to entire movements within the Church. We have to ask ourselves a question, “In the future, will the words I speak today create a legacy of death that someone will discover in the future or will my words create a legacy of honor and restoration giving people life and freedom?”

Paul warned us in Galatians 5: 13-15:

“Use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.”

Our freedom was never given to us to destroy another believer. Our freedom was given to us to love the Body of Christ into wholeness with our words and actions.

Today, some are washing their hands in public of those within the Church with whom they disagree. In some instances this hand washing is an attempt to distance themselves from what they disagree with in hope they will not be aligned with "the other side" of an issue. It is actually too late. We were all once broken and separated from God, but now we are one in Christ and covered by the same blood. When I try to kill you with my words I am actually killing myself.

This is not a day for words of death that distance me from other believers – this is a day for defining what real love is all about and engaging people with words of hope and postures of honor.  Honor declares words of destiny while standing between broken believers and the ones who are bringing accusation. We are not called to defend the words or actions of another person.  People who say and do foolish things can defend themselves.  We are called as the Church to stand in unity speaking the words of Christ to each other so the world will see that what we profess is real.  This may be the revival the world is waiting to see.