“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone …” (John 8:7, NIV)

There seem to be a lot of people in this country right now with rocks in their pockets.

The recent march in Charlottesville, Virginia was not the first hateful march in this country, not even the first of the year. There have been too many hateful gatherings, too many hateful words, too many violent confrontations.

There has been too much de-struction and not enough con-struction, too much demolishing and not enough restoring. There has been too much tearing down and not enough lifting up, too much smashing and not enough building.

There has been too much criticism and not enough kindness, too much intolerance and not enough forgiveness.

There’s been too much toppling and not enough steadying.

There have been too many people with rocks in their pockets.

We’ve been digging up our roots only to leave holes in the ground. What will we plant there for the next generation? What will they learn from us? Have we not learned anything from the flesh and blood of yesterday who are represented in the statues and monuments of today?

We’re throwing out babies with bathwater and are left with empty cribs.

What if hatred did not get the attention it craved? The monsters that grow are the ones that are fed.

What if the next hateful gathering was met with no audience? What if the protest, the march, the denigrating signs and slogans received no attention? What if the media didn’t give them airtime? What if counter protestors did not meet hatred with more hatred and violence with more violence?

What if we emptied the rocks out of our pockets and used them to build monuments to learn by?

It’s time to put down the rocks.