Back in June we wrote about the book Killers of the Flower Moon which details the murders of several Osage Indians in order to concentrate and control the wealth of the Osage Indians. The FBI only convicted one person of these murders but the book’s last chapter details multiple suspicious deaths of the Osages. [1] It appears obvious that many in the community of that time were involved in these murders.
All of which got me thinking. We tend to blame one or a few individuals for the horrific events that occur in our world. Examples are Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot who killed millions in the 20th century. But did these individuals commit all these murders themselves? Obviously not. So who did?
There were thousands of people who helped Hitler carry out the Holocaust from those who forced their victims from their homes, to those who transported them to the concentration camps, to those who maintained the camps, and to those who actually did the killing. And then there were the millions who supported Hitler and ignored what it did with what he considered the undesirables. These were just ordinary people who were earning a living and did not object to the travesty that was occurring around them.
All of this just illustrates that it not just a few highly placed individuals who perpetuate the evil in our world; it is all of us. If the company or organization for which we work perpetuates a fraud, do we remain silent, participate in that fraud, or do we refuse? Yes, refusing to participate in a fraud might cost us a promotion or even our job but does not Jesus ask us: For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? (Matthew 16:26 ESV). What is most important to us: our material wealth or our soul?
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[1] David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon, New York: Doubleday, 2017, pp. 280-291.
