Schindler re-visited Pt. 2

Here's another thought from the time I spent last week listening to a holocaust survivor tell his story (see last post).

It was amazing to me the process the Nazis used to systematically break down culture and, eventually, humanity from the Jews. I had a notion of the holocaust as a slaughter of Jews from the start, but it was actually much more sinister and gradual than that. As the survivor unraveled the story from his perspective, these are the steps he outlined as to the progression of their captivity in Poland from 1939 (when Germany invaded Poland) on:

1) You can't stay here. The Nazis moved the Jews out of Krakow, where they lived, because they were using this city as a base. Effect: moved from homes

2) You must live there. This is when Jews were required to live in certain areas of the city, termed the 'ghettos' during the war. Effect: loss of freedom

3) You must work our way. Institution of work permits for Jews forced them to labor on war projects, and many young, old and less than competent were refused permits. Effect: control of livelihood

4) Subdivision of ghettos based on presence or absence of work permit. It got 'too hard' to round up all the workers, so the ghetto was split into worker and non-worker sections. Effect: splitting of families

5) Deportation of non-workers. Since those without a permit were not of much use, they were rounded up by the thousands and sent other places to work, or to newly built concentration camps. Effect: loss of remaining possessions, loss of identity

6) Be deported, or be shot on sight. The last round-up of Jews from the ghettos was at gunpoint. Those who hid or refused were shot on sight.

7) Execution, for any desired reason. In the camps, life or death was at the whim of the military leader. No explanations, no excuses.

8) The final solution. Wholesale killing of Jews.

As you can see, the progression of genocide during WWII was gradual, and it took several years to go from beginning to end. The holocaust survivor said 'the whole process was like a systematic starvation.'

I report this not to simply shake you with the reality of how evil evil can be, but to give us a greater understanding of the stakes of sin. When we allow secret areas of sin in our lives to to persist and stay hidden, we give evil a chance to take root in our lives. Our sin nature is ruthless, dark, and takes no prisoners. When we are in agreement with evil by consciously allowing it to continue and be fed in our lives, we give the devil power by partnering with his destructive agenda for our lives. As you can see from the example of the holocaust, the progression of sin and evil can seem less-than-impacting and even inert at first, but it never stays that way. A mentor of mine says, simply, that "what you feed will live, and what you starve will die." We need to take sin more seriously in our lives, and activate the power of God given to us as believers to address, attack, uproot, and destroy all remnant of sin, allowing God full access to our hearts.

May we be a people who understand the importance of our relationship with God and our assignment so clearly that, in its light, sin has no value for us. May we starve the 'little foxes', the secret sins that so easily ensnare us, and feed that which brings us life and life more abundantly. Talk to you soon!