Introduction
In American culture February 14 is associated with happy and sweet things – chocolates, cards, roses, good meals at special restaurants, gifts of jewelry, marriage proposals. “Happy Valentine’s Day” is our greeting.
But for the host of people bereaved, injured, or traumatized by the shooting in Parkland, Florida, it’s going to be very difficult to think of February 14 as anything but a nightmare. Nikolas Cruz, 19, by his own confession went into the Stoneman Douglas High School and murdered 17 people that afternoon. Three of the victims were adults, and the others were teenagers. The adults were Scott Beigel, 35; Aaron Feis, 37; and Chris Hixon, 49. The kids were Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duke, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 15.
Every time these atrocities happen, a fiery debate erupts. Politicians and talking heads in the media start shouting back and forth about guns. But neither argument addresses the real problem. If you’re a staunch defender of the Second Amendment right to own and carry a firearm, how does your position stop a kid from becoming a murderer? And if you want the Second Amendment overturned, how would restricting access to guns stop a kid from becoming a murderer?
Almost anything can be weaponized. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 people in Oklahoma City. His weapon was a truck loaded with fertilizer. On September 11, 2001, 19 Muslim fanatics murdered almost 3,000 people. Their weapons were airplanes.
Mass murder has become characteristic of our culture. If it’s not an emotionally disturbed teenager murdering 17 innocent people in Parkland, Florida, then it’s a bitter atheist murdering 26 church-goers in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Why is this happening? And what can we do about it?
The Choices We Have
The people of Israel were encamped in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and across from Jericho. Moses would die soon. Joshua would succeed him as leader of the nation.
But Moses had one final task to do, something so important that the Bible dedicates an entire long book to it. That task was covenant renewal. God had met with Moses at Sinai 40 years earlier, but that generation was dead. The younger people about to enter Canaan needed to make a firm commitment to their Lord.
And so Moses said, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days” (Deut. 30:15-20).
This stirring challenge reminds us that we all have only two fundamental choices – life and death. Jesus talks about this in his Sermon on the Mount. He describes two gates, a narrow gate leading to life, and a wide gate leading to destruction. He also describes two houses, one built on rock, and the other on sand. The first house represents the person who hears and obeys Jesus. His life has a firm foundation. When the storms rage against him, he stands. The second house represents the person who hears Jesus but doesn’t really listen. When the storms rage against him, his life falls apart.
Here are a couple of important things Moses implies in this passage in Deuteronomy: First, absolutely every responsible person is choosing life or death. “Not me, man. I’m just doing my own thing, minding my own business. I don’t get into this deep stuff about life and death.” Sorry, but we make the choice whether we’re paying attention or not.
Second, the fundamental choices are shaped by everyday decisions. What characterizes the choice for life? Loving God and keeping his commandments (Deut. 30:20). And what characterizes the choice for death? Turning away from God, refusing to listen to his voice, and finding another god (vs. 18-19).
The Choices We Make
Someone may say, “Come on! This is 21st century America. We may reject the God of the Bible, but that doesn’t mean we’ve found a replacement. Oh yes, it does. Human beings are wired for worship. The Bible calls us to worship the Creator. In his vision on the island of Patmos, the apostle John sees God enthroned in heaven: “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created'” (Rev. 4:10-11).
If we refuse to worship the Creator, then we’ll find something to replace him. Maybe our God is money and the stuff it buys. Jesus says that we “cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24). Maybe science is our god. We listen with reverential awe to everything the scientists, the high priests of our faith, tell us. Maybe our god is a sports celebrity. Saquon Barkley is a Penn State football star. According to an ESPN piece, before every game Barkley’s father tells him: “Let them know you’re a god.” Or maybe our god is a political figure. In 2009, Evan Thomas, a Newsweek editor, was interviewed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC. Speaking of the new president, Thomas said, “In a way, Obama’s standing above the country, above the world; he’s sort of God. He’s going to bring all different sides together.”
Mass murder has become characteristic of American culture. We have chosen death. We have turned away from the God of scripture and found other gods. If we were to say, “God, why do you let such horrible things happen in our schools?” he might reply, “I’m not welcome in your schools. I’ve been expelled.”
We’ve stopped listening to God’s voice. It’s illegal to post the Ten Commandments on public school property. As a follower of Jesus, I understand that Christians don’t live under the Law of Moses. But the Lord included all but one of the Ten Commandments in his new covenant. How would it affect our school students if every day they walked past a plaque proclaiming, “I am the Lord your God. You shall not murder”?
The decisions to find new gods and disregard the commandments of scripture can be broken down into countless daily choices. So let me point out four bad choices that tempt kids to become murderers:
Divorce. Jesus says that what “God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:6). I certainly wouldn’t suggest that every broken home produces a mass murderer. But have you noticed the common thread in the family lives of the disturbed men and boys who shoot down innocent people? You don’t even have to wait for the reporters to tell you. You already know.
Abortion. When Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John the Baptist, her young relative Mary came for a visit. “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41). The Bible doesn’t call John a fetus or a blob of tissue. He was a baby. Since the legalization of abortion on January 22, 1973, Americans have killed about 60 million unborn babies. This terrible choice has taught our kids that innocent life has no meaning
Evolution. The Bible says that “in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day” (Exod. 20:11). It isn’t legal to teach this in our public schools. Our children are told that they have evolved by pure chance from monkeys into people. If a kid is a hairless ape, why should he feel guilty for taking the life of another animal? Does a pit bull feel bad about killing a poodle?
Violence. God destroyed Noah’s world with a universal flood. And why? “The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11). Violence is highly offensive to God. And yet even Christians entertain themselves with gruesome movies and video games. This gory entertainment doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. But you can’t look at a toddler and know whether violent entertainment will desensitize him to murder. You may not know until it’s too late. In the minds of some people, the line between pretending to blow off heads in a realistic video game and shooting at actual heads is very thinly drawn.
Conclusion
The world has always been a corrupt and dangerous place. Remember Cain? We can’t keep our kids in a safe little cocoon. In the 1970s, there were no school shootings, but children had to worry that the Russians might fire away with nuclear missiles at any moment.
Passing laws doesn’t guarantee our safety. Criminals don’t honor the law. That’s why they’re called criminals. Nikolas Cruz broke every law in the book.
But we can choose life in our own families. The mass murder in Parkland, Florida, presented a sharp contrast between good and evil. Between life and death. For instance, consider the incredible difference between Nikolas Cruz and Aaron Feis. Feis, a beloved 37-year-old football coach, died shielding students from gunfire. Would you rather be the parents of Aaron Feis or the parents of Nikolas Cruz? If I were Aaron’s father, I’d be crushed with grief, but I’d also be deeply proud of a heroic son who would give his life to save others.
What can we do in our own families to raise children and grandchildren who choose life?
Love God. Listen to his voice. Walk in his ways. If I’m too busy with ball practice and music practice to have a daily devotion with my kids, then I’m too busy.
Stay together – for the sake of the kids if you can’t think of anything else. If you need help, then get counseling. But stay together. Children need the stability of a united home.
Take every opportunity to debunk evolution and honor God’s creative power and genius. Debunking evolution is easy. It’s a silly theory that has been disproven at every turn. It’s also easy to point out how wonderfully intelligent God is. Evidence of his amazing design is stamped all over creation.
Guard young eyes from gruesome movies and games. This isn’t easy. Saying no to violent entertainment may make you seem mean and overly strict. But it’s a battle worth fighting. This is one of those things that kids thank you for later.
Protect the lives of unborn babies. An illegitimate pregnancy embarrasses a faithful Christian family. But never let personal pride matter more than innocent human life. It isn’t the baby’s fault. Welcome the precious child into the world and either raise him or find a good adoptive home.
Pray. The prayers of righteous people do a lot of good (Jas. 5:16). So pray for the safety of your own kids. Pray for all the students and teachers in your local school. And pray for students and teachers everywhere in the country.