The recent shooting and killings at the naval ship yard
(http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/16/20522196-gunman-kills-at-least-12-at-washington-navy-yard-gathering-weapons-along-the-way?lite) has re-energized the dialogue on gun violence. We have long talked about the effects of TV violence on children, but what about the effect on adults? (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9523930/tv-violence-problem) Many people who oppose “Christians” voicing their negative opinions about too much violence will often times point out how violent the Bible is. Therefore, what gives us the right to speak up about such atrocities? One thing we can all say with certainty is that the acts and severity of violence has been ratcheted up beyond belief (http://www.infowars.com/11examples-of-the-escalating-crime-and-violence-that-are-plaguing-communities-across-america). In Gen. 6:11 the Bible states, “Now the earth had become corrupt in God’s sight and it was filled with violence.” Have we become more numb to violence once again?
Jesus predicted that the end of time would be "as the days of Noah where" (Matt. 24:37-39). Though the earth will be filled with wickedness and violence, mankind will be preoccupied. Maybe this preoccupation is our way of keeping jaded about the frequency and severity of violence? We might not even want to face the definition of violence: Violence is "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence)
I don’t want to regress to being quoted as a dooms day prophet but the world we live in is not getting less violent. I can remember being in a funk for about a month after the Sandy Hook school shootings. My heart was more than sick, thinking about elementary students lying dead in pools of blood where once vibrant conversations, curiousness about the future, and the talk about possibly being the next president of the United States took place. At the same time if I let every single act of violence in the world preoccupy my every thought, I would end up in a mental institution surely contemplating suicide. Why? Because maybe most of us hate this violence so much yet we can do so little to stop what started (sin) in the garden long ago.
But God's people will not be numb to the wickedness: they will "sigh and cry over all the abominations" (Ezk. 9:4). Violence should be a stark reminder of how a lost and dying world needs a Savior. Violence should pierce our hearts and shock our minds into the reality of how diabolical Satan is. Violence should also help us realize that with every act of violence there are victims who need the lifesaving blood of Christ.
May God grant us Christ's tender heart so that the wickedness and
violence of the world will never become our “new
normal!"
