If I Were God...

Generally speaking, I am not a violent person. I believe very much in Jesus’ words when He told us to “turn the other cheek.” However, a story out of Houston, Texas, has really caused great anger to come into my heart. And, truthfully, I am torn on what should be done with a certain individual.

Apparently, a “father,” and I’ll use that term lightly, led police investigators to the charred remains of his two children that he had murdered a week earlier.

Police found the remains of Randy Sylvester Jr., 7, and his sister Denim Sylvester, 3, packed in a wooden chest and a suitcase that had been left by their “father” in a wooded area in southeastern Houston, about 5 miles from their home in suburban Pasadena.

Their “father,” Randy Sylvester Sr., 27, led searchers to the remains late Friday after a week of misleading statements about where the children were located. The discovery of the bodies ended a week of turbulent emotions for police, searchers, and the children’s family and friends.

A police officer said, “It’s been very, very, very rough. I mean, we’ve had a lot of people; we’ve dedicated a lot of officers and resources to this case. It’s been very emotional for a lot of people since we’re dealing with two young children.”

Authorities said Quanell X (a Black Panther leader) led authorities to the site after the “father” talked with him for about an hour near a pond in Pasadena. Police said Sylvester’s previous statements had directed their search to the pond, which was drained in the hope of finding the children, but the remains were located six miles away, Mitchell said.

Tim Miller’s volunteer search organization, Texas Equusearch, provided more than 500 volunteers to the search effort. From the beginning, Miller said that “everybody knew they were deceased.”

The search was as grim an undertaking as the Dickinson-based mounted search and recovery organization has ever undertaken, Miller said. “I believe that when they were found, it was a huge relief to all of us,” he said.

What would lead a man to kill his children? Not only kill his children, but to burn their bodies, place them in a chest and suitcase? Then hide their bodies, lie about it for a week, and finally confess to a Black Panther leader?

I don’t understand. I just don’t get it, I really don’t.

As a father, I’ve been angry, what father hasn’t? As a father, I understand how children can wear on your last nerve. How many times can you hear “Are we there yet?” as you drive down the road on a long trip? But, to kill you children? To burn their bodies? To hide their bodies in the woods?

What sickness causes that? What evilness enters a person’s heart to cause this damage to be done? The answer is fairly simple: the cause is sin, the origin is satan himself!

In less than an honorable moment, I began to think that this man should be tortured as he did his children—killing him and then burning his body. I don’t think the man should ever see the light of day again, whether he is thrown into jail for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole or he is executed by the prison system in Texas, either way, his fate should be sealed quickly, and he should be severely punished.

Okay readers, what do you think? I’ve told you my less than honorable thoughts. How would you handle this man’s case, should you be on the jury or be serving as the judge? What should his earthly fate be?