Be Wise & Righteous, Not Foolish & Troubled
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(20) Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. (21) Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.’ (Proverbs 13:20-21)
The recent conviction of Karmelo Anthony, for the murder of Austin Metcalf in April 2025 at a high school track meet, is a tragedy for both young men and their families. For Austin Metcalf, it is a life of promise cut short by a senseless act of violence; for his family it is the loss of a son and a twin brother that will likely hamper the joy of the family for many years. For Karmelo Anthony, a sentence of thirty-five years in prison at the age of nineteen means the summer of his life will be spent behind bars; even with the eligibility of parole at the age of thirty-seven what could have been productive and enjoyable will be restricted and confining.
Why Mr. Anthony did what he did, why he believed he had to carry a knife that day to a track meet, may or may not be revealed. One can jump to the conclusion it was perhaps his parents did not provide enough direction toward teaching him morals and societal norms, or that he simply got involved in the wrong crowd, those who, in today’s terminology, gravitate toward the ‘thug life’.
But that is an easy target, and while it may be correct to assume these as possible causes, it ultimately is due to a lack of knowing and understanding God’s Word by Mr. Anthony. God’s Word is about Righteous living, through the obedience of following Jesus’ Two Greatest Commandments of Matthew 22:34-40 that the Mosaic Ten Commandments can be summarized in: Love God, and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.
With these Two Commandments by Jesus, we can understand that ‘do not murder’, ‘do not steal’, ‘do not lie’ and the other Commandments given to Moses can be explained as, ‘if you love your neighbor, you’ll want to help him, not harm him.’ Who is your neighbor? Those who are around you at any given time.
People may say that Mr. Anthony, who walked into his opposing team’s tent, felt surrounded and antagonized by that team, that they weren’t being ‘neighborly’. Being neighborly is a two-way street; this is why Jesus states in Matthew 5:39, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” It is a call for us, not to be weak, but to be calm when opposed, to not be enticed into immediately responding into like violence or pettiness.
It is not a call not to defend oneself when threatened, but to engage first in deescalation of the emotion of the event. Both sides had the opportunity to do so; Mr. Anthony certainly was in the wrong for not leaving the opposing team’s tent when asked, and Metcalf and his teammate could have either simply ignored Mr. Anthony or called upon an official or a coach to have Mr. Anthony removed.
Why Mr. Anthony didn’t act in the way Jesus would have wanted, and instead murdered Mr. Metcalf, is an easy but regrettable answer; he likely did not know the Lord or His Word. As stated in Proverbs 13:20-21, had he been in with ‘the wise’, in fellowship with a Christ-centered church, he may have acted and reacted in a manner as Jesus would have. Instead, he walked the path of the fool, and caused harm to himself, his family, and Mr. Metcalf and the Metcalf family. His sin caused him trouble, and he is suffering the consequences for it.
We also see members of the community act out poorly; those in Mr. Anthony’s camp do not believe he should have been punished at all, and are threatening harm upon the Metcalf family and others. Those who are in the camp of the Metcalf’s believe the sentence was not harsh enough, and the Anthony family should be sued through civil action. While we can debate whether the consequences and punishment are sufficient or not, or whether the Anthony family should also be held accountable, those who are calling for the most extreme of actions are fools. The calls for violence and harm are not Righteous or good.
Mr. Anthony will need to face the consequences of his actions, and that sentence has been given and he is starting to serve his time. The time is now for Mr. Anthony to be provided a choice, as he still has hope – the hope of redemption through Christ should he decide to choose Him wisely instead of foolishly rejecting Him and suffer Eternal harm. For the Metcalfs, it must be noted that for them, it may be necessary to be prepared to defend themselves from physical attack, but they must also decide to wisely ‘turn the cheek’ and forgive Mr. Anthony or foolishly fan the flames of hatred that will destroy them and their peace.
Those that chalk this up to racial hatred are fools who are falling into Satan’s trap. The issue is not of race, but of tolerance of sinful actions, improperly based on race. Let’s pray for the Lord’s comfort upon the Metcalf family for their loss, and pray for the Lord’s Salvation and direction to fall upon Karmelo Anthony and his family to gain wisdom and understanding in following of God’s Word.
