Today, the Government of Ontario declared that it would not stand in the way of a legislation by the NDP to designate intimate partner violence as “an epidemic”. Apart from the odd use of the term since such violence is not a communicable disease, and the standard ways of dealing with an epidemic are lost to the use of the term in this context, the sentiment is clear – intimate partner violence is on the rise and is having a very serious impact on our society. And I certainly hope that some very constructive things will come from it despite the misuse of the term.
As I reflect on this, I come away with a thought that springs from the Bible. It is not Intimate Partner Violence alone, but all violence that is problematic. And further, it is not violence alone, but that which produces violence that is indeed a disease. It is called sin. And it is communicable. The influence of sin spreads like an epidemic from one person to another, from one generation to another, and from community to another. Generations of alcoholics in a single family, growing violence between one group of people against another, multiplied addictions that crowd our emergency rooms, increasing numbers of stabbings, robberies, shootings, thefts, and assaults all populate our consciousness as we read each day’s news. This week, we read of three children who were abandoned in Pickering for four hours on Monday because their mothers were in a casino while all of Ontario was trying to view a solar eclipse. Is gambling an epidemic? Until we realize that the underlying disease is sin, we would be crafting legislations for every symptom. Isaiah describes the disease of sin graphically when he writes, “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds” (Isaiah 1:5-6). David said as he remembered his sin, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin” (Psalm 38:3). The intent of this proposed legislation is to deal with Intimate Partner Violence. It’s important, but as God’s people, we need to go further; we need to deal with sin. We need to preach that by His death on the cross, Jesus heals us from the disease of sin. And by His resurrection from the grave, He puts sin to rest and neutralizes its sting. Next time you hear about someone talking about domestic violence, hate crimes, wars and gangs, please find the space to talk about sin. And about Jesus who came to “forgive us of all our sin, and heal us of all our diseases” (Psalm 103:1-2)
