I once heard a story from a pastor about a man who was confronted with a murderous dictator in a court proceeding. The man proceeded to break down and cry because he “saw himself” in the man.
Such thinking is irrational at best. The vast majority of us, though capable of murder, are not murderous. If anything, it repulses us, especially as we get older.
I used to be intrigued by the stories of serial killers. Now these stories affect me deeply, usually a combination of horror and sadness. I think of the people these bastards have killed and I think of those who remain behind.
There is no reason to feel guilt over what others have done and no need to empathize with them. Murder is evil, pure and simple and to compare yourself to a murderer is foolish. I don’t understand why normal people think that they can relate to a murderer.
It doesn’t help that our society uses serial killers and other assorted wicked people for entertainment purposes. How many cop dramas, among other genres, are out there where the most watched episodes involve some kind of wicked person.
It’s this sick obsession we have with death and those who issue it out without guilt or remorse that I find repugnant. What’s worse is that we have movies where graphic details of torture and murder or shown to us. Usually, the gravity of what is depicted is lost on audiences, mostly because the movie-makers are interested in morality but money.
I have no problem with the depictions of such people or the gruesome actions they do, but I think the gravity of who they are and what they did needs to be captured as well. Otherwise we turn serial killers into anti-heroes and their victims are depicted as annoying people whose deaths are not something to be mourned.
In any case, I am finding myself more and more disgusted with all of this. I don’t know if it’s because of me becoming a mature adult or because I am connecting with God in a way I haven’t before, but I just can’t stand such things anymore.
And I have trouble taking people seriously who watch these kind of shows and movies where the murderer is considered a hero or anti-hero while the victim is someone who deserves death. The only people who deserve death are those who have been judged so as a matter of justice. And that only applies when they themselves have murdered someone else.
This fascination with evil needs to stop. We must hate it, hate everything about it, and focus on what is good.
Unfortunately, we are rapidly becoming a society that has forgotten about the nature of the fruit of the Tree that caused our fall in the first place. Instead of making us knowledgeable about the difference between good and evil, we find ourselves not only ignorant of the difference, but indifferent of it as well.