Absalom: had a beautiful sister.
Amnon: also had a beautiful sister, that he lustfully desired.
Tamar: was the sister of these two brothers
David: the father of these two brothers
Jonadab: Amnon's friend.

Amnon shared his lustful desires with his friend, Jonadab.  Instead of rebuking Amnon, Jonadab encouraged the wickedness, and helped him devise a plan to carry out this deed.
Thus, Amnon raped his sister, Tamar.

King David heard of the plan, but did not intervene.  Even after his own daughter was raped, King David did not act on her behalf.

Absalom's anger eventually led to him killing his brother Amnon for raping his sister, however: "the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God"

So many men failed Tamar.  So many family members failed Tamar. 

What could each of those men done differently to protect Tamar?

​Be men.  Act with love.

​I tried to just post the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ clip without comment, but I can’t.  The idea that in my short lifetime, less than 50 years ago, that type of TV programming was presented during primetime, without any pushback.  The ideas presented were the norm…not out of bounds, not even considered offensive by the mainstream media.  Not many cared to ask how we felt about it. 
 
So, what happens to folks that are fed these ideas as though they are ok?  Who do they grow up to be?  More so, what do those nascent ideas grow into?  What blindness is created by accepting those ideas without reflection? What happens to a man that can walk away from that question?  What becomes of him?  What becomes of his family?  What becomes of his conscience?
 
And to the little boy?  How does he process life?  How does he view the man’s response to the question?  What becomes of his self-esteem?  How does that affect his value of education? Health? Family? Law?
 
What happens to you as you view that? 
How do you answer that question? 
What do you do about your answer?
How do we feel about ourselves knowing that we’ve been swimming in that for 50 years?
 
After we rise from prayer, we get to work, that is what we do!

As we are inundated with news concerning our leaders, neighbors, selves, we may be victims of 'paralysis from analysis' and too much information (TMI).  What should we do?  How should we respond?

I recall seeing gerbils fill their cheeks with seeds and then runaway to their den- to eat the seeds in comfort.  That I think is a plan that may have some merit for us.  At some point we will have to, in the comfort of silence and in the presence of our Lord, chew on what we are hearing.  And after we've thought about it, and blended it with prior knowledge, conclusions should be drawn and lies/nonsense rejected.  It is then that we must act. 

We are responsible representatives of our Lord.  Lets honor Him with our works.

Mr. Kendrick Castillo saw a threat to his classmates and teachers and himself, but instead of seeking to secure his own safety by running from the danger, he ran towards it.  As heroes do, he did not consider his own discomfort, but saw beyond to the security of others.  This was modeled for us by our Lord Jesus as He also looked beyond His comfort to secure what was best for us.

Manhood: demonstrated by actions.  Let us all strive towards courageous actions, not regarding our own but looking to what is good for others.

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/08/kenrick-castillo-victim-stem-shooting-highlands-ranch/

I watched this in my basement back in Brooklyn as it was happening.  Seeing Willis come out of the tunnel...hit his first two jumpers- for some reason my eyes began to sweat.  I didn't understand why.  I was proud as a Knick fan, but, what else could be the cause of my eyes sweating like that?

Later, we all rejoiced at the victory, but I never spoke of those leaky eyes.

Deep in my soul, something was touched.  I didn't know about a torn muscle, or pain killing injections...all I knew was that he was too injured to play and that 'we' were about to lose what 'we' had fought all year for.

But, this man stepped in the gap.  This man showed up and changed everything.

This man.

​https://twitter.com/i/status/1126120819870928896

Nursing a grudge brings instant relief but lasting hurt;
(but they were wrong!!...they did me wrong!!... they deserve to be brought to justice!!...they deserve to hurt!!) these feelings and similar will remain until Jesus comes.  This object (hardness of heart) that is not in motion will remain not in motion until acted upon (from the inside or outside.)  Allowing God's Word to work from the inside is the commanded method...funerals, working from the outside, is another.

Forgiveness brings instant hurt but lasting relief.
The restoration of fellowship, reconciliation, overflow of God's love may cause a temporary sense of loss, but, knowing that we've pleased our God...that we are obeying Him, and knowing that the watching world will again be reminded that our God reigns(!)...such lasting relief!!