Evil and the Tucson Shootings

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” ^ESV 2 Timothy 3:1-5

I was stunned as I heard about the senseless murders in Arizona this week that killed six people and injured fourteen others. How could such a heinous act occur? And Why? Why did innocent people die? Why are parents grieving over the loss of a beautiful nine-year-old girl? Why is a federal judge dead? Why is Congresswoman Giffords lying in a hospital room with a bullet wound to her head? Why?

As I watched the news the following morning, while still stunned by the facts of the event, I was initially amused by the reporting. My amusement quickly turned to dismay and then to anger when I saw the “spin” that the talking heads of television were putting on the horrible event. On more than one channel the “spin” pointed a finger of blame towards political opponents of the Congresswoman. Really? Give me a break! Does every event in this nation have to be politicized? Can we not call a spade a spade in this country?

My feet are firmly planted on solid ground when I say that the senseless murders in Arizona were not the blame of The Tea Party, The Republican Party, or any party or individual politician. No, the murders in Arizona are the product of the evil, sinful actions of an evil man, living in evil days, in a self-glorifying society that has generally abandoned God. The root cause of the Arizona murders is sin.

We Americans love ourselves. Not our neighbors necessarily, but literally ourselves. We want to do things “our way.” We want things now; not later. Held captive by self-love we begin to covet and become “proud, arrogant, abusive…ungrateful…heartless…brutal” and lacking even basic levels of “self-control.” And our scripture tells us that by loving ourselves so dearly, we become “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

The Arizona murders were rooted in the self-centered pleasures of an evil, sinful man.

I pray for the families of the grieving. I pray for the healing of the wounded. I pray for swift justice for the assailant. I pray that America would recognize sin as the blame. Lastly, I pray that this senseless act awakens America from her slumber and turns her (us; you; me) to God.

Will you be a lover of self or a lover of God?

Living Life Again

“…Martha welcomed him [Jesus] into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving…” ESV Luke 10:38-40

A good many people adore Billy Graham and regard him as a stalwart of the Christian faith in modern times. Certainly nobody denies his tenacity in preaching. Even near the end of his public ministry, he was still filling stadiums around the globe for his evangelistic crusades.

Now 92, Reverend Graham has slowed down, stepped out of the public eye somewhat and I presume has had time to reflect on his life. He shared some reflections with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News back in December. One of his comments stood out in my mind as particularly noteworthy.

Greta asked Reverend Graham: “If you were to do things over again, would you do it differently?” The Reverend replied forcefully and without a moment’s hesitation: “Yes. I would study more, I would pray more, travel less, take less speaking engagements; I took too many of them in too many places around the world. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend more time in meditation and prayer and just telling the Lord how much I love him and adore him…”

Reverend Graham’s words are stuck in my head as I begin a new year. As is so often the case when we turn the page on our calendars from December to January, this is a year filled with new and renewed aspirations; a year of new hopes and desires; a busy and full year.

I wonder though, is our true joy and fulfillment often lost in business? This year, will the truly important things in my life be crowded out by urgent things? If I were to ask 100 of you what your top priorities in life were, I’d venture to guess that God, family, work and health would rank near the top with almost everyone. Do your daily activities match the order of priority of these important things?

Mary prioritized her activity and focused on that which was most important; sitting at the Lord’s feet. Looking back, even Billy Graham would have re-prioritized some of his activities to focus on the most important things. How about you?

Today, ask God to grant you the wisdom, energy and discipline to focus your activities on those things which are most important this year.

God bless.