All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3
I'm trying to wrap my head around why people become mass shooters. Not a pleasant thought to think there are those among us who become so hate filled they want to kill people. Fortunately, the vast majority of us are law-abiding, but it really doesn't take a lot of individuals to inflict trauma and emotional pain on the world we live in, not with 24-7 news coverage so prevailing in today's society.
As I started reading articles of about the recent shootings, I remembered a verse from the 2 Timothy about the Apostle Paul reminding his young protege, Timothy these words:
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.
I don't think anyone would disagree that there have been some terrible days since September 11, 2001.
I remember, as a child in the 60's living through the Viet Nam war, watching college students protesting while chanting, 'make love, not war.' I also remember the gas wars of those years when we saw gas prices going over the dollar mark for the first time and the long lines of cars waiting to gas up. I remember how frustrated my dad was forking out money to fill his tank while whispering under his breath that he would stop driving when the gas price moved over the one dollar mark.
I remember how popular heroin, LSD, and Marijuana was becoming and how a little-known Psychologist named Timothy Leary was raving about the mental health benefits of LSD.
This was also the decade where for the first time people were beginning to question the existence of God. The door was ajar and lawsuits were filed to prevent public schools from permitting prayer in the schools.
As more and more people stopped believing, they turn to other things to fill the void in their God-shaped hole in their heart- drugs, alcohol, gambling.
The 70's became the decade when women made their way into the working world, and shortly thereafter a new cottage daycare industry was developed to care for their children. Now that their income doubled, they were no longer satisfied with the small rambler homes made famous in the post World War 2 years, so bigger homes became the norm. Because those homes required all of both incomes, there was little time for communication which leads to marital separation and divorce and an endless number of children wondering 'if they were to blame' for why mom and dad no longer love each other.
They grew up in this empty void, they filled their time with drugs, alcohol, or illicit sex. Because they didn't know that God wanted a personal relationship with them they gravitated to the darker side- things like Satan worship, cutting, sinister looking tattoos, and the Goth subculture just so they could fit in.
The latest shooter came from an economically successful family. Early on in his childhood, he went to a Christian church. As one former Facebook friend of his said, 'he was a likable guy early on and they had fun together, but in the past couple of years, his posts were becoming darker, unlike the friend she once knew.
My thought is we are paying a price when we deny the existence of God from our lives. Instead of worshipping God, we're worshipping money- the more we accumulate the happier we are. We forget those who retired on top with endless riches reaching the top uttering those words, "is this it?"
As a child in the 60's I have fond memories of going to Church and worshipping God or praying before bedtime. I have memories of attending Sunday school and learning that God loved me so much that he sacrificed his son, Jesus, on the cross for all of our sin's. I learned that all it takes to know God is to personally invite Jesus into our hearts. As we celebrate the holiday's we are reminded how much He wants to have a personal relationship with us through his son Jesus Christ.
The latest shooter came from an economically successful family. Early on in his childhood, he went to a Christian church. As one former Facebook friend of his said, 'he was a likable guy early on and they had fun together, but in the past couple of years, his posts were becoming darker, unlike the friend she once knew.
My thought is we are paying a price when we deny the existence of God from our lives. Instead of worshipping God, we're worshipping money- the more we accumulate the happier we are. We forget those who retired on top with endless riches reaching the top uttering those words, "is this it?"
As a child in the 60's I have fond memories of going to Church and worshipping God or praying before bedtime. I have memories of attending Sunday school and learning that God loved me so much that he sacrificed his son, Jesus, on the cross for all of our sin's. I learned that all it takes to know God is to personally invite Jesus into our hearts. As we celebrate the holiday's we are reminded how much He wants to have a personal relationship with us through his son Jesus Christ.
In each of the recent mass shooters, the common thread that connects these shooters are individuals who have forgotten God, filled their God-shaped hole with a fascination with guns, a dark subculture, and many harmful addictions. If those of us who know Jesus personally will reach out to those who do not, I believe God will cause such a revival to occur that it would revolutionize the world we live in.
Only then, will this country experience true revival.
Only then, will this country experience true revival.
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