Parable

     There was a young boy who came from a poor and broken family. His father was an abusive drunk and his mother was a drug addict. As time went on the child grew hardened from these living conditions. He became bitter and carried much hate in his heart. Wanting to avoid his family, he looked elsewhere for a sense of belonging. Two men soon came into his life. One of the men, a pastor, spent time with him and saw potential. The boy just wanted to be accepted and cared for. The pastor decided to offer the boy a way out but said he must first let go of all of the hate and bitterness he carried inside of him. The other man, who was the leader of a violent gang, saw the young man as a potential gang banger, knowing that he had the hate necessary to do it. The gang leader offered him a way out but said he must harness the bitterness and hate in his heart to dominate over others. The boy, now a young man, decided to go with the gang leader as he could not let go of all of the hate that he carried from the past. A time came where, under the instruction of his leader, the young man shot and killed two teens who were a part of a rival gang. Once he had done this, all of the hate the young man had in him turned into guilt and despair. Unable to cope with this, the young man turned the gun on himself, taking his own life. The police soon arrived on the scene, stating that “Two young men were victims of a viscous killer who took his own life”. Later, at the young man’s funeral, the pastor that had once reached out to him spoke a different message, saying “Here lies a young man who was the victim of hate, abuse, and the influence of evil men. The darkness of his past took away the brightness of his future”.