A Horrifically Tragic Event
Last week, there was a tragic shooting at a Texas school where over 20 individuals lost their lives.1 Certainly, a time such as this one should consist of mourning for the loss of life and prayer for the families. Individuals should be seeking to help those in grief in any way possible and we should weep with those who weep. However, the Left has taken this as an opportunity to promote their radical anti-gun agenda. This means, my friends, we need to bring back a good old-fashioned term, namely, “scapegoating.”
A quick Google search gives a simple definition of scapegoating based upon Oxford Languages:
“A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.”2
Please notice the last portion of this definition, “especially for reasons of expediency.” Let’s be honest, if you look at the particular ideologies of the left, on the surface, it is expedient for them to use a mass shooting that happened to call for more gun control. However, it is not logical or sane. As a friend of mine said, arguing for more gun control because of shootings that happen in gun-free zones is not exactly a solid line of argumentation, to put it nicely. Yet, in an age where attention spans are incredibly short, many individuals can “gain points” in the eyes of the public by using scapegoating arguments that make a good headline but do not hold up under scrutiny at all. But, why blame the gun? Why would the left look at the gun as the issue and not the human heart?
Leftism Has No Solution For Sin
Let me be clear, secular leftist ideology has no solution for the problem of the human heart. The secular leftist worldview and belief system has no saving gospel for it does not hold to Christ. Some of you are going to be very displeased with me for making these statements, but hear me out. If you hold to the secular leftist worldview which does not believe in Christ as the Divine Son of God and Sovereign Lord, if you reject the true Gospel, if you reject reality as God has made it, then you are going to be engaged in pointing to everything but the main issue.
How could the left, which supports the murder of babies, even contemplate pointing to the sinful heart of the murderer in the shooting as the prime problem? They go to gun control, they point to the weapon, they talk about policies and ideas, but they ignore the heart of the problem because their worldview is faulty at the core. Just like they ignore the moral issue of murder on the subject of abortion, so they ignore the heart of the issue when mass shootings arise. Pointing to this issue, then that one, and the next they keep going on and on and on about all these different scapegoats while dancing all the way around what really lies at the center . . . humanity’s sin and rebellion against the holy God!
But, all of these realities bring me to my point, it is only the Christian worldview which can give true answers in the midst of horrific events like mass shootings. If you’re a leftist reading this post, don’t think I write these things because I hate you or anything of the sort. I am writing because I love God, I love His Word, and I love others enough to do my humble best to speak the truth on these issues. Sin is an affront to God and those who die apart from Christ will spend eternity suffering His judgment. It is love that should lead believers to proclaim the truth. And, the truth is that the leftist worldview is not able to provide any answers to mass shooting events because the leftist worldview is not true. Therefore, they dance around the real issues and provide all kinds of scapegoats because they have no solution for the sinful human heart.
The Response of Biblical Christianity
So, how should we as believers respond to mass shooting events? First of all, we should be grieved by the fact that over 20 human beings made in God’s image lost their lives. We should spend time in prayer, we should show exceeding compassion and concern. If each one of those individuals who were brutally murdered were intimately close to merely 10 people, that means 200 individuals are intensely grieved by the loss of a close friend or family member. I find it impossible to imagine those individuals are watching CNN, Fox, MSNBC, or any other news station to try to see how the country is responding. No, they are grieving with tears streaming down their face at the loss of someone they loved. We should be weeping with them showing sympathy, kindness, and compassion as well as spending time in prayer for them.
Secondly, as it pertains to matters of public policy, we must realize that human beings are sinful. If you outlaw guns, murderers will use any other means they can obtain to undertake the evil in their hearts. Cain managed to murder Abel without a gun (Genesis 4:8). Therefore, we must look deeper than the weapon used when thinking about murder. What humanity needs is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the full counsel of Scripture. Men and women need to be set free from the bondage of their sin to walk in the freedom of Christ. They need to be redeemed and taught the commands of God’s Word. Banning guns fixes nothing and Scripture certainly would encourage no such action, but the widespread declaration of the Gospel and teaching of God’s Word, that is incredibly powerful for bringing about transformation in the hearts of men!
Finally, we as the church need to be the church. The spread of evil in our country is a direct reflection of the fact we have not been preaching the truth as diligently as we should. I am not saying that we are responsible for every mass shooting or horrific crime, but I am saying that the spread of ungodliness and evil ideologies in our nation should prompt us to ask a heart-wrenching question. Have we truly been faithful stewards of what God has given to us? We need to repent and move forward steadfastly holding to the Lord. Our mission is to bring glory to Christ by preaching His Gospel, declaring the full counsel of Scripture, calling the nations to bow down before King Jesus in every realm, and living obediently in our own lives. May we press forward working with diligence for the everlasting Kingdom of God unto His praise and glory!
Sources
1 https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-school-shooting-police-response-salvador-ramos
2https://www.google.com/search?q=scapegoat+definition&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS881US881&oq=scapegoat+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l9.4580j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
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