A life of no value?
So there we are – Raoul Moat has shot himself.
His story has dominated the past week and even on Friday evening there seemed no immediate end.
The week-end was coming and thoughts of many were more likely turning to the World Cup final or the British Grand Prix. Suddenly, shockingly, our attention has been pulled back to this distressing yet compelling story.
A man comes out of prison – after, let's remember, just a short sentence for assault. Within hours he appears to have caused death and wounding, while plunging a quiet community into fear and uncertainty.
Police are drafted in. Surveillance tightens on the ground and in the air. The media are everywhere. Possible sightings and real traces are found. Meetings are held and associates rounded up. Then, overnight, it's over. Cornered, Raoul Moat kills himself.
What can we say? Inevitably we'll have thoughts about the man himself.
He was only thirty-seven, for goodness sake. He had a family, he had friends – or at least people who, misguided or not, felt he was important enough to go out on a limb to help. He'd shown that he could make long-term relationships.
So why was it he wrote "Always in my adult life I have felt alone, estranged from my entire family, and needing to belong somewhere but never did." Why could he say "All my life I wanted death "?
A death wish is a terrible thing. You have to be very hurt inside for that. Add that Raoul Moat also said "I haven't got a dad… Nobody cares for me" and you get near to his inner self.
We all want to be loved. More, we all want to be affirmed as OK. You, me – we all want to feel that our creation, our being here, wasn't a mistake. We may not be the most wonderful but we matter.
That's why parents – what they say, what they do – is so crucial. What they convey to their little ones is literally foundational. And all the evidence shows that dads are key in this.
If dad is missing – physically or emotionally – it seems the main plank is pulled from our sense of solidity, our sense of self-worth.
That's why Jesus that – if people really got to know him – then they could really get to know their Father. Not an earthly, 'here now –gone in a short while' father. But their real, lasting-for-ever Father.
The One who said 'I'll never leave you, never let you feel that you're alone'. So sad that no-one conveyed that message to Raoul Moat.
Nigel O'Dwyer leads Goring New Life Baptist Church and helps co-ordinate churches across Worthing through Churches Together for Worthing. Nigel and Caroline have lived in the town for about nine years, the third generation in both families to do so.
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Weather for Worthing
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South west
