The problem with this thinking is that it buys into the
premise that this horrific act was singular in nature. Someone snaps, and let the chaos
commence. But that is seldom true isn’t
it? Time elapses; quite a bit of it
usually between the source stressing factor, and the time of the carefully
planned “revenge”. You can hardly call
something a rampage which implies spur-of-the-moment, that takes days or weeks
to prepare for. Think of it, entire days
go by, with the same nut bag meticulously plotting the how’s, where’s, and
when’s for his little attention grabbing hissy-fit. People, most of which the killer may not even
really know, will die all in the effort of what? – soothing your pain? Easing your suffering? Where does the bloodshed in these events
accomplish anything of real value?
And why does the news media fan the flames of these
tragedies so insuring there will be future such events? If these killings got a 2 minute summary
coverage once on the primetime news spots they would all end. I don’t say this because people will become
less nutty. I say it because people
would realize that even their most extreme horrific antics do not warrant the
attention they seek. If you handled news
stories in this way, and combine your approach with giving extensive coverage
to people who serve others – I dare say the model of society might just turn
over on its head. Positive reinforcement
without creating super-villains that hog ALL the news coverage for days on end
might just put a stopper in the process.
To say nothing of allowing the victim’s families, friends, and
communities to grieve without a barrage of reminders of just how horrible the
event was – replaying footage over and over again.
But make no mistake the motives behind every single killing
of this nature is ultimately the same – self interest. Killers may not seek financial rewards,
obviously they realize social inclusion after this event is impossible, but in
the blood thirsty act they believe they can satisfy their selfish need for
revenge (they call it “justice”). You
see in the minds of the killers, they believe it is they who have been
wronged. The actions they take are
nothing more than what is required in their minds to right the wrongs they have
incurred. They think of it as “getting
even”; though we outsiders look at it as shear madness.
And truth be told, the killers have often been wronged. The Columbine killers were social
outcasts. No one was seeking them out
for friendship, and in fact were likely making their day-to-day lives less easy
than more easy. Everyone thought it to
be OK to simply ignore the plight of others unless it directly impacts
you. Leave the nut bags alone and maybe
they won’t bother you. But isolation is
hardly the solution for social awkwardness.
And had these 2 students been surrounded by an atmosphere of true
Christian love and acceptance they might have had alternative ideas to hate
that ends up taking lives. We are quick
to blame them for the deeds they did commit, but seldom look beyond them to see
if we might have been instrumental in guiding them away from their heinous
crimes.
What killers do, represents the epitome of
self-indulgence. They focus on thoughts
of pure self-gratification through means most of us call insane, and most
importantly to the exclusion of how ANYONE else will feel about what they have
done. They are out for themselves, no
one else. In Ft. Hood this week the
accused killer appears to have been an extreme Muslim who yelled God is Great
in Arabic prior to shooting. Indeed God
is great, what has that to do with the level of selfishness you are about to
employ? Anger with an idea, vented in
bullets to those who have done you no harm, what could this be other than pure
self-indulgence. And to call God’s name
into it? Blasphemy.
The Muslims believe they serve the God of Abraham. If this is so, then they must realize how God
felt about Cain killing his brother Abel.
Even the life of Abraham itself is one of patience faith and long
suffering. Abraham did not achieve God’s
promise of the Promised-Land it two minutes.
It took time. It took
effort. And God was faithful, not by
Abraham simply killing anyone and everyone who did not like what he was
doing. By a Muslim’s own belief system
the shedding of innocent blood is strictly forbidden. And to do it in God’s name defines Blasphemy
even in their own belief system.
No, religion is not to blame for these heinous acts, it is
pure self-indulgence. And ironically
religious people somehow believe that a certain amount of self-indulgence is OK
in our lives. It is as if we could
accept a certain amount of plutonium in our food and ignore the effects of its
poisonous nature. We accept
self-indulgence if we can balance it with temperance (another failed idea). But like eating plutonium will surely give us
cancer, accepting self indulgence will certainly lead us to evil. We may not climb high-rises and begin opening
up fire on former co-workers, but we may flirt with the idea of having an
illicit affair, or stealing from an employer, or simply compromising our values
for expediency.
Christians should know they are not to have the role of
“judge” in the courtroom of the Lord.
That role only God Himself can handle.
Defending attorney belongs to Jesus, the jury or mere courtroom
attendees may be the unfallen angels, Satan is our accuser, and of course we
are the defendants. And we are ALL
guilty as charged. None of us are clean
or stand perfect against the truth of Satan’s list of evil we have embraced in
our lives. However our attorney steps
forward and accepts the sentence for our crimes. We must allow Him to do so, or suffer the
fate we deserve. Nowhere in the entire
scenario do humans ever play the role of sanctioned “executioner”. Christians who commit heinous acts of killing
are merely committing evil, not involved in anything remotely related to
righteousness. It is not our role to
kill by intent.
Arguments can be made about killing in different
circumstances like in self-defense, to save others, in times of war, etc.. You can debate the merits of lack of them
under these conditions, but nut bag killers are deserving of no such
debate. They simply act in a mode of pure
self-interest, which they have generally nourished for a while before committing
their crimes. In order for the moment to
be truly unplanned, it would require being already armed for a different
legitimate purpose, encountering a situation that is beyond the mental capacity
of the killer to accept, then taking action without thinking about anyone’s
safety or wellbeing including their own.
If they have to go home to get the weapon, it is premeditated. If they have time to cool down and do not do
so, it is premeditated. If they can act
and still be cognizant enough to preserve their own safety. It is
premeditated. Just like all the sin in
our lives today – it is premeditated.
Our God looks on in horror and GREAT sadness when these
events occur. His heart breaks when
people use His name or question if it was His will that these things happened
at all. But our God sees beyond the
existence of this world, and takes account of our lives beyond the scope that
we can see. Even when our time in this
existence is over, perhaps ended by the free-will choice of another nut bag,
our entire existence is not over with these acts of evil. Having accepted the gift He offers, we are
sure to resume our existence in a world made new, and devoid of all evil, of
every pain, and most of all – absent self completely. Service will be our mantra, and love our
method of existence. Praise God our hope
is not confined or controlled by the nut bags we are surrounded by …
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