The tragic massacre in Connecticut this past week has inflicted horrible pain on the families and friends of those directly involved. It has also produced shock and anger in Americans everywhere else. It is difficult to imagine the feelings that I would have if one of my children were to have become a victim of such a tragedy. Unfortunately it seems that there are a number of people that find ways to react inappropriately with respect to this event. In thinking about this, the purpose of this post is to identify how not to react to tragedy.
One of the first reactions that spread was that gun control laws would have prevented this. Of course, these comments almost always come from those that favored gun control laws before the tragedy occurred. Unfortunately, some people do not see that in expressing their well-meaning desire to prevent gun-related crime, they are being insensitive. When someone experiences pain, the last thing that they want to hear is the equivalent of "I told you so." Gun advocates may mean well when they talk about their desire to restrict access to firearms, but claiming that legal restrictions would have saved the lives of victims is disrespectful.
Of course some people in reading this might be saying "that right-wing nut job ward preacher is probably just worried about his guns." I do not deny that I am a gun owner, and I confess that I find people blaming weapons instead of perpetrators to be incredibly short-sighted. If laws against murder have not protected people from being murdered, then why would laws against weapons protect people against weapons? Also, mass killings did not begin with the invention of gunpowder.
On the other side of the political spectrum, there have been individuals that want to blame video games for shootings. Just as those on the left are quick to find something to blame, so too are those on the right that believe that if only video games had not been invented, perhaps the tragedies that have affected schools and theaters would not have occurred. Such individuals point out how killing can be glorified in these games. Of course, the problem is that murder pre-dates video games, and has been glorified in other forms of media and literature (including the Bible) for longer than English has been a language. Though it is true that violence has been wrongfully glorified in many forms of media, there are many people who enjoy James Bond films or games without feeling the urge to shoot up a school. The motivations and causes behind those that do feel such urges are likely more complex than any one explanation.
Even among the most religious individuals, there exist some who claim that if only people were more accepting of God in society and in our education systems that he would have protected those who became victims. As well-meaning as these individuals may be, and as important as it is for individuals and societies to accept God, this is simply another form of "I told you so." Just as gun control advocates are misguided, so to are religious persons who think that citizens will be guaranteed protection with greater religious piety. Being a devout Christian can never be considered a 'get out of problems free card' or a path to life on easy street. Bad things happen to good people all the time.
How many good deeds do such individuals believe are enough to entitle them to unlimited divine intervention? Religiously speaking, almost no one has lived well enough to actually deserve protection from all harm or misfortune. The one person who did live flawlessly, and could claim that he deserved a life free from harm was the one who suffered more than any one else... That was Jesus Christ, and he in fact suffered because of every one else! There has never been a greater injustice than this, and it is fundamental to Christian faith.
As well as anyone may mean when they express condolences, regret, anger, or ideas for preventing similar tragedies in the future... none of these things can bring back the victims. None of these things have power to restore the lives of children to their grief-stricken parents.
In the end, there is only one power that can bring them back. There is only one power that can put life back into the children that have fallen, and peace in the hearts of those that lost loved ones. The name of that power is Jesus Christ.
When Martha professed to Jesus that if he had been there, her brother Lazarus would not have died, he replied with perhaps the most powerful declaration that has ever been made:
"...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die..." (John 11:25-26)
Jesus Christ defeated death itself when he was resurrected. He extends his power to every man, woman, and child that has ever lived on the earth. Additionally, his power can bind husbands to their wives and children to their parents such that family relationships do not need to end at death. He literally has power and authority to heal every wound and restore everything that may be lost in any calamity.
Particularly for those of us who are indirectly affected by shootings, our role is not to trumpet "I told you so" or any of its equivalents. Our role is not to find something to blame or come up with a solution to every problem.
It is so much better to exercise faith and offer prayers to the one that already has a solution to every problem, a plan to overcome any difficulty, and the power to restore everything to its proper place. It is our role to help those that have been hurt as best we can until they receive every gift that Jesus Christ has prepared for them.
