I have just learned that a dear friend was randomly attacked and badly beaten on Saturday night.  He walked outside of the club where he was a customer in order to take a phone call and was followed by 3 men.  After concluding his call they began to beat him, for no reason.  He says he’d spoken to one of the men earlier in the night, but that was all — nothing remarkable.

Is that all it takes now?  Choosing to ignore a person who is behaving badly will get you a severe beating?  One that lands you in the ER with a broken jaw, nose, teeth, and facial bones?  A beating which leaves you without the ability to eat until your body has time to recover?  My mom always told me to “just ignore them and they’ll stop.”  Is that advice no longer good??

My friend is a kind, gentle, peaceful man who is the father of 4 beautiful daughters.  He has never been in a physical fight.  He is struggling to wrap his mind around what happened to him.  He is worried for his girls who are asking tough questions.

After chatting with my friend I, too, am left with a feeling that I can’t quite place.  This was so senseless.  He said that the establishment where he was has a video camera that caught the whole beating and that the men who assaulted him were high-fiving each other when they had finished abusing my friend.  He says he’s had several well-meaning friends offer to exact his revenge.  He has publicly rejected such favors saying that he wants no more violence.

I cannot imagine how this family is feeling today.  If it were me, I would be afraid.  I would probably never feel safe again.  I would walk around constantly looking over my shoulder for danger.  It would be very hard for me to overcome this sort of experience and live with confidence.  I will be praying for my friend.  I will pray for physical healing, emotional healing, and wisdom to guide his children during this time.

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