Wednesday, June 15, 2022
by Reverend Dan on June 15, 2022I’m frustrated. And confused. And angry. And sad. Sandy Hook . . . Virginia Tech . . . Parkland . . . Uvalde. We relive the same nightmare over and over and nothing ever changes. Lots of political rhetoric and grandstanding. Commissions on the shootings. And plenty of blame is being thrown at everyone by everyone. But obviously, none of that works because a report from Everytown Research shows that from 2013 to 2021, there were 87 school shootings . . . EVERY YEAR . . . resulting in an annual average of 28.4 deaths and 59.6 wounded.
I purposely didn’t respond immediately to the destruction in Uvalde because it would have been purely emotion. And while emotions and passion can be good, they can also cloud an issue rendering people unable to see past the tears and anger. The problem is we’ve shed untold numbers of tears and heard impassioned “things have to change” speeches and promises every time . . . but it never seems to go past that. We tell the schools - full of underpaid and underappreciated teachers and administrators, people who are trained in education and not terrorism – to “fix it.” We tell the police – also direly underpaid and underappreciated – to “fix it” at the same time there are cries to defund them and officers are walking away in record numbers because we’ve tied their hands. We tell congress to “fix it” but seriously . . . they’re too consumed with moral indignation that everyone doesn’t agree with them and throwing verbal darts at each other to get anything done.
People are so busy fighting about the symptoms of the problem that we never get to the root of the problem. This isn’t a gun issue or a school issue or a police issue or a mental health issue. They’re all catching the blame and sure, there are things regarding these issues that can be addressed and changed (if Congress could find an iota of common sense, which at this point has long odds of happening.) You see, at its very core, this is a heart issue. It’s about evil in the hearts of men and women and even children. And God is the only One who can truly change hearts. With all the unity, grace, and love His Word calls for, all we have is division and hate. The world continues its downward spiral toward its inevitable destination (read Revelation), and we’re turning a blind eye to the One being – the ONLY One – who can truly help. The only time God is brought in, however, is to be blamed. Otherwise, He is ignored. For me, there is only one answer that is left. This country – and this world – needs to hit its knees, come together, and seek the redemption that only comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. It’s time to be washed under His blood that ran down Calvary so we can stop seeing the blood of children running in the schools. Nothing else is working, so it’s time to go where we should have gone in the first place: God.
backI purposely didn’t respond immediately to the destruction in Uvalde because it would have been purely emotion. And while emotions and passion can be good, they can also cloud an issue rendering people unable to see past the tears and anger. The problem is we’ve shed untold numbers of tears and heard impassioned “things have to change” speeches and promises every time . . . but it never seems to go past that. We tell the schools - full of underpaid and underappreciated teachers and administrators, people who are trained in education and not terrorism – to “fix it.” We tell the police – also direly underpaid and underappreciated – to “fix it” at the same time there are cries to defund them and officers are walking away in record numbers because we’ve tied their hands. We tell congress to “fix it” but seriously . . . they’re too consumed with moral indignation that everyone doesn’t agree with them and throwing verbal darts at each other to get anything done.
People are so busy fighting about the symptoms of the problem that we never get to the root of the problem. This isn’t a gun issue or a school issue or a police issue or a mental health issue. They’re all catching the blame and sure, there are things regarding these issues that can be addressed and changed (if Congress could find an iota of common sense, which at this point has long odds of happening.) You see, at its very core, this is a heart issue. It’s about evil in the hearts of men and women and even children. And God is the only One who can truly change hearts. With all the unity, grace, and love His Word calls for, all we have is division and hate. The world continues its downward spiral toward its inevitable destination (read Revelation), and we’re turning a blind eye to the One being – the ONLY One – who can truly help. The only time God is brought in, however, is to be blamed. Otherwise, He is ignored. For me, there is only one answer that is left. This country – and this world – needs to hit its knees, come together, and seek the redemption that only comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. It’s time to be washed under His blood that ran down Calvary so we can stop seeing the blood of children running in the schools. Nothing else is working, so it’s time to go where we should have gone in the first place: God.
