A Man With No Heart

I am certain there have been moments in my life when my actions, my decisions have left this impression—that guy has no heart.

Sometimes, I have thought the same related to people I have encountered during my lifetime.

How does a person become heartless?

What is in the person’s makeup that forms an unkind heart?

I would like to ask Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin about his heart.

Because as far as I can tell, Mr. Putin has no heart.

If Mr. Putin had a heart then there would not be a cesspool of human atrocities swirling about his leadership.

Greed, power, control rule his thinking.

Mr. Putin is an unchecked demon, a fiend with no redeeming qualities.

He enjoys wrecking the lives of innocent people, including his own Russian citizens.

Mr. Putin excels in lying through misinformation.

Fear must be one of his favorite words.

His ego must thrive on the fear he invokes.

Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is like all of his other senseless acts—shameful. Shame doesn’t bother him.

Perhaps during the destruction of Ukraine, you have asked yourself this question—“Why did America and its coalition come so quickly to the aid of Kuwait when Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops invaded in 1990?”

What’s the difference now with Ukraine?

My guess is that Putin is crazier than Saddam Hussein, and the other part of the answer is nuclear weapons.

I’m glad to know that sanctions imposed by countries around the world are having an impact on Russia.

Apparently, military weapons sent to Ukraine from thirty countries are allowing Ukrainian troops to fight back with an unanticipated tenacity against Putin’s army.

On Wednesday, March 16, the same day that Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed the United States Congress, we held a day long prayer vigil at our church for peace.

President Zelenskyy’s speech was a heart tugger. His passionate points referenced significant challenges in our American history. He used those challenges to help us to understand the urgency of his country’s immediate needs.

Before Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected President, he was a professional comedian. I know there is never humor in the tragedies of war, but I believe the ghost of Ernest T. Bass could take out Putin.

Putin would not know what hit him. A properly hurled rock from Ernest T could take Putin down just like David did with Goliath.

Song lyrics have always intrigued me. For lots of different reasons, I admire the Billy Joel song—“All About Soul.” Two lines in the lyrics describe Mr. Putin. Joel wrote, “There are people who have lost, every trace of human kindness.”

It is quite possible that Mr. Putin never had an ounce of kindness in his body. Clearly, his assault on innocent, defenseless targets in Ukraine prove he is an unkind human being with no heart, no soul, and no conscience.

According to one source (Bible Gateway), the Bible contains at least 430 verses that use the word evil. I did not review each verse, but I did stumble upon this one from James 3:16: “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Those words accurately describe Mr. Putin.

With 430 references to evil in the Bible, I concluded that God and the world have been dealing with evil for a long, long, long time.

I wonder what God is thinking about Ukraine and Mr. Putin?

Over the years, anyone who has read my baloney, knows that I am not a Biblical scholar. But, here is something I don’t understand. In the Bible, Lot’s wife, and a gentleman named Uzzah are taken out by God.

Lot’s wife was told not to turn around to view the city she was escaping, and Uzzah was told not to touch the Ark of the Covenant.

I’m sure theologians have debated and written much about these stories, but here is my question for God—hasn’t Mr. Putin done worse than these two Biblical characters?

I guess that leads me back to prayer, and continuing to pray for those things in life that I don’t understand.

I pray that we can avoid a global war with Mr. Putin.

I pray for the people of Ukraine.

I pray for the people of Russia who have been suppressed by their evil leader.

And God if you are listening in your heavenly headquarters, I pray that the 430 verses in your book about evil will prompt us to arm our hearts with persistent prayer, support, courage, unity, hope, and love for the people of Ukraine.

After all there are 686 (Bible Gateway) verses in the Bible that use the word love.

Of course, Mr. Putin, the man with no heart, has no understanding of love.

And that is a bad formula.

No heart minus love equals evil.

God, we can’t let evil beat love.

Help us.