[327 words]
It was shocking, to say the least. In July, 2017, James Dunn, a disabled man, drowned in a Florida retention pond. There is a disturbing video to prove it. Standing on the shore was a group of five teens – ages 14-19 – watching James Dunn drown.
Instead of going into the water to save him, they took their phones out and started shooting video as he flailed in the water and pleaded three times for help.
To make matters worse, the teens can be heard in a video they posted on YouTube actually taunting James in his final moments.
To make matters even worse, none of the boys were charged with any crime. There is no law in Florida that requires anyone to provide emergency service to anyone whose life is in peril (New York Post, June 23, 2018). Let’s hope that this was a very isolated case of severely calloused people.
Christians need to realize that there are spiritually perishing people all around us all of the time. Those of us in Christ also need to understand that we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to make sure the perishing might be saved.
It’s imperative that Christians take the following actions toward saving the spiritually dying:
See the lost as being in the throes of spiritual death. Romans 6:23 should serve as a reminder that sinners will die without Christ.
See the need to reach out to them in an effort to save them. Christians have been charged with going into the world and teaching the lost how to be saved (Mark 16:15-16; Romans 10:14).
Move the lost out of harm’s way. The Bible strongly teaches believers to “rescue the weak and needy,” and those who are “being taken away to death” (Psalm 82:4; Proverbs 24:11).
For the Christian, standing on the shore and doing nothing to save the spiritually dying should be shocking to say the least.
Troy Albers
Graeber Road church of Christ
Rosenberg, TX