The School Killing Fields?

Four more victims lie dead in the halls of another school, this time near Atlanta: Two teachers, two students, plus nine physically wounded. Our schools are being bathed in blood and baptized in tears. Our hearts mourn with and for the victims and their families. We all are asking why, looking for answers, clamoring to have our voices heard, shouting into the wind, praying, screaming, and crying. We ask why as though a motive will clear things up for us. There is always an answer to why; however, it is seldom apparent. We blame guns, parents, the media, video games, music, the hate culture, the respect culture, the street cred culture, politicians, law enforcement, God, humanity, counselors, social services, and a host of assorted villains and their organizations. It seems it is never us we question.  

But it is us. A society that has allowed the language to be filled with violence, degradation, sexual vileness, and hate. A society that, in a desire to be open, has opened herself to the spirit of evil. A desire for respect has led to road rage, fist fights in malls, and shootings at parades and High School football games. A desire to be sophisticated has led to open acceptance of language and hatred so vile it would make anyone sick. I have witnessed fights in parking lots over parking spaces and workers in profanity-laced shouting matches in fast-food restaurants.

I listened as a retired Detroit area Police Chief tried to explain the unexplainable. He was at a loss for words except to say we needed to tone it down. After listening, I wondered what Jesus would say. In Matthew 5:21-22

²¹ “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell,

JESUS

Jesus links murder to the heart. It is in the heart, the soul, the internal, where hatred builds. In our society, we allow hatred to spew across our airwaves, and if it were weighable, it would be measured in metric tons per household. It weighs on every level of society, from youth to adults, preachers to politicians, teachers to students, employers to employees, white collar to blue collar, poor to rich, and rural to urban. It saturates us and weighs us down. In a country of free speech, what do we do?

It is true, we need to find a way to keep children from guns. The improper storage and the wide availability of guns is an issue. We need to have more emphasis on mental health. We need to do what we can as a society to make it less likely for these shootings to occur. I don’t have the solution, but as St. James tells us: faith without works is dead. We must do more than pray about it, we must pray AND work the problem.

Jesus says to prevent murder, work on your anger. To prevent violence, work on the language that comes from your heart. The answer is for leaders to take the lead and follow the advice of a retired Detroit Police Chief: Tone it down. It is for you and me to become more civil, more understanding, and less demanding. It is not toning down passion. It does not mean to agree with everyone. It does not allow differences to reach the extent of such hatred; it leads to violence. It doesn’t allow a student’s needs and loneliness to go unnoticed.

There will be violence and hatred until our Lord returns; however, in our corner of this glorious planet we share, let’s try to do better together. Our children are counting on us.

May God bless you.

Dr. James D. Allen

Overflowinghope180.com