My post today will be a somber one. Because my heart is grieving. Not because of anything going on in my own life but because of something I saw today that I still cannot wrap my brain around.......and I sincerely hope I never do.
I have spoke often here of the Joy of Truth. And I will continue to speak of this Truth till the day I go Home. But today, I experienced the Pain of Truth. The Truth that this really is a fallen world and it is increasingly becoming more and more broken, twisted and insane.
As a family, we have decided to discontinue mainstream TV and satellite services. Instead, we have chosen to hook up a computer to our flat screen TV in order to choose more freely the things we want to watch/listen to. As Jerry was setting up some desktop icons for our most frequented "stations" on the internet, he ran across an international one (can't remember the name of it now). They were airing a portion of a Dutch TV talk show. I read the headline that was scrolling down below, but I could not process what it said. Because what it said and what I was seeing were completely incongruous. They were showing 3 normal, everyday looking men, in suits, on a normal looking stage, with a small kitchen setup (think Rachel Ray) in the center. There was a table set out in front of this countertop/stove setup and it had a white linen tablecloth on it complete with place settings and a beautifully lit candelabra in the center. The talk show host was behind the kitchen counter thing talking to 2 other men who were preparing things with the stove and a frying pan.
Then the camera panned over to the left, and there were 3 more men and a long table draped in white sheets. One man was lying upon it, on his stomach, his head covered in a hairnet and body mostly covered with a white sheet. He was talking to the two other men were standing on either side of him in doctors garb complete with face masks and latex gloves.
I read the headline again and my skin started to crawl and my stomach churned acid. I quickly pushed it away and went back to the video, desperately seeking some sort of normal explanation. They zoomed in on the frying pan and you could see that the small amount of cooking oil that was in it was beginning to sizzle. They panned back to the man on the table and zoomed in on where the surgeons were focusing.
At this same moment, I heard the talk show host say something about "I was just curious....."
Once more, I read the headline scrolling below. It said:
"TV show host curious about the taste of human flesh"
And then the full Truth of what was happening hit me and I burst into sobbing tears of shock and grief.
The man on the table was donating a piece of his flesh (an audience member?), from his buttocks, to be fried in the now sizzling pan because the talk show host was curious about how it tasted.
His reason? (do not expect a true "reasoned" answer.....)
Because he had heard a story of some plane crash survivors that lived because they had eaten the flesh of the other passengers who had died. And he wanted to know what it tasted like.
And all of this was being shown on live TV.
I watched as the doctor sliced a piece of the man's flesh, picked it up with a tweezers and carried it over and, with camera zoomed in, dropped it into the sizzling pan. Then the camera zoomed out and showed the serenely smiling face of the host as he watched it cook.
These were not raving lunatics, drooling with insane eyes and babbling incoherently.
No. These were coherent, professionally dressed men, casually discussing the process they were going through to prepare this flesh for the host to satisfy his curiosity.
On live TV.
All of this occurred in about a minute's time (before Jerry blessedly turned it off) but I think it will haunt me for the rest of my life.
I cannot even fathom the level of desensitization one must be at to even be present as an audience member or to watch something like that on TV and not be affected. Nor the particular state of insanity one must be in, in order to plan, air and be a part of such a show.
And I sincerely hope I never do.
Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart grieves today. And I need your comforting Presence around me. It's one thing to know of the fallen nature of this world, but quite another to experience it so starkly. Please do not ever let me become desensitized to such things as I fear much of the world is now becoming. It's inconceivable to me how I used to believe this world was moving to a better place, rising to a higher state of being. I was so, so wrong. And so I cry tears of shock and grief at the depths that sin can twist the human nature. It also causes me to wonder in awe at your long-suffering nature. You, who is perfect and righteous and just, to patiently wait for Your plan to come to fullness while sin/evil appears to gain the upper hand. And also knowing that without Your restraining hand, what I saw today would be but a fraction of what fully unleashed evil would look like.
Thank You Father for your plan of redemption through your Son Jesus to save us from the inevitable dark death that sin leads to. I am forever, and eternally grateful for this precious, precious gift.
In Jesus's Holy Name,
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment