How Christians Should
React to Mass Shootings
I long
for the day when Christianity will become more about following Christ than
about following a political agenda. I long for the day when Christians will
drop politics and pick up a cross to carry. I long for the day when Christians
will value the lives and souls of individuals more than our own comfort and
desires. I long for the day when all the words and actions by Christians converge
to form a Gospel-centered response to sin. After all, in the Christian
worldview the root of all evil is sin, not a political agenda, not access to an
object, not a philosophy, not a geographical area, etc., but sin—sin is the
great demise of the physical world and our spiritual lives. Sadly, instead of
focusing on the sin which initiated these mass shootings, many Christians take
to social media and personal conversations to engage in dialogue about
inanimate objects, philosophies, geography, culture, etc. and never speak to
the thing that every part of Creation is truly at war with: sin. Christians MUST react differently and Christians
MUST have a Biblical Christocentric reaction to these mass shootings.
1.
Put Down the Keyboard and Pick Up Your Sword
Our first reaction to tragedy is
to combat the tragedy through our keyboard—we want to speak into the tragedy
before allowing the Lord to speak to us. Instead of picking up our keyboards
and writing, we should first pick up the Sword (Word of God) and allow it to
shape us before turning it towards others (Matthew 7:1-6, Hebrews 4:12). The
most foolish of speech is the speech that is guided by man’s thoughts and
desires in rebellion or ignorance to the Word of God. We should constantly be
full of the Word of God, and our speech should reflect that. (1 Peter 4:11) The
world needs to hear from God, because only He can save, redeem, make new, heal,
comfort, etc. Be faithful to your own discipleship to be faithful in speaking
into the lives of others
2.
Focus On the Spiritual to Change How We Handle the
Material
Throughout my newsfeed on Facebook
and Twitter, Christians have already engaged in the debate about gun control,
even though these Christians know the problem isn’t a material one but a
spiritual one. Here’s an idea: quit focusing on material items and focus on the
spiritual problem that causes people to sinfully abuse material items. Quit focusing on objects that fit in our hands and focus on the heart and soul that causes the hands to act. For a
Christian to solely focus on dealing with political reforms focused on handling
materialistic objects while neglecting to deal with the spiritual brokenness of
our world, is to push away Christ in order to make our own desires, agenda, and
idols a priority. People don’t need to hear from you about your political
stance, people need to hear about the hope found in Jesus. The call to follow
Jesus is synonymous with sharing with others about Jesus. Jesus did not say in
Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and wait till it’s politically advantageous to fish
for men (share the Gospel).” No, he said, “Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men.” These mass shootings and other tragedies are a perfect time to
“fish for men,” and to reveal the glorious story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus can change the spiritual nature of a man in order to change how he
handles the material. Don’t blow these opportunities! Talk about the Gospel, it
impacts both today and eternity—politics
does not.
3.
Pray Before You Speak and Write
Prayer not only unites us with
God, but when we pray for people, God gives us love, compassion, sympathy, and
the right heart to both speak and act towards them in a situation. Before we
respond to any mass shooting, ask yourself, “Have I prayed about what to say
and/or do? Does what I want to say and/or do glorify and magnify God?” Chances
are, if you haven’t prayed about it, it’s not going to be Godly. Why? God says
in Isaiah 55:10, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Chances are, if you have not united
with God in prayer, your words and actions will also not be united with God. Our
sinful hearts can often cause us to say and do things which are either wrong or
done in the wrong method, but when we pray for the right words, actions, and
heart to say them, God makes us more able to properly minister in a situation. Above
all, pray for God to move regardless of what you say or do.
4.
Make Little of You and Your Opinion and Make
Much of Christ
For some reason, God decided to
use you and me to spread His glory across this world, but that does not mean
that you or I may make more of ourselves than of Christ. John the Baptist, in
preparing the way for Jesus’s ministry said, “He must increase, but I must
decrease.” (John 3:30) In case you don’t know the story of John the Baptist, he
was beheaded because of his continual witness for Christ. His life did not make
much of himself (he lived a tough lifestyle) or his opinion (he was too busy
talking about Christ), and it cost him—but his reward was far greater than his
self-esteem or praise from men. Yes, making much of Christ costs us, but it
costs us and others far more to make little of Christ. (Luke 14:25-33) Make
sure whatever you say and do points to Christ and not to yourself or your
opinion.
5.
Serve
Needs Instead of Only Seeing Needs
Mass shootings cause a
humanitarian need for comfort, counseling, a shoulder to cry on, food,
security, etc. and the Church should be on the frontlines providing these
things. The old saying is true, “No one cares what you say if they don’t know
that you care.” Taking care of people’s physical needs is also a part of the
Gospel as God is not just seeking spiritual renewal and healing, but to restore
everything back to the Garden of Eden’s status of well-being and wholeness in physical
and spiritual. Serve in
love to share Christ’s love.
Christians are commanded by the
King of Kings to be His witnesses to the world, and for us to do any different
is to rebel against His commands. Every day there are opportunities to share
the life-altering Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, and these mass shootings should
be a clear opportunity for us. The world does not need us to make more laws for
them or to debate current laws, the world needs us to share about the way out
of “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) and how to obtain the perfect law of
freedom in Christ. (James 1:25) Will you pick up God’s Word before you speak?
Will you focus on the spiritual need of people? Will you pray before speaking
and writing? Will you make much of Christ?
Please comment on and share this blog.
Thanks for reading!
Ryan Ralston
Please comment on and share this blog.
Thanks for reading!
Ryan Ralston
