Vince Deagler

hi all.  haven’t blogged in a while, and am a bit hesitant to jump into the current cultural reality since the shooting in AZ on saturday.  it’s not because i don’t have thoughts on the matter, more because 1.  i try to interject a christian ethic in my thoughts.  2.  my thoughts are easily misunderstood.  3.  they may not be politically correct.  but, let’s wade in anyway.

have you heard about these shootings?  a young man went to a congresswoman’s public event, waited in line to speak with her, and then opened fire.  the congresswoman is in critical condition, i believe 6 people have died, others were wounded, and we are left to speculate on questions like…why did this happen?  how can this be prevented?

please don’t misjudge me, i am not surprised this happened.  i am surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.  i am not an advocate of violence.  i’ve mentioned this before.  as a christian i pray for our leaders, to lead us well, so that i as a christian can lead a quiet and peaceable life (1 tim. 2:1-2).  i also know there are quite a few deranged people running around loose in america.  if you follow current events, you realize the news cycle is littered with deranged people committing horrible acts of violence to avenge some perceived wrong.  in my life i have seen presidents and people running for president shot.  civil rights leaders shot.  children going to school and shooting their classmates.  citizen’s going into malls, workplaces, museums, and other places where the public gathers and opening fire.  we even coined the term “going postal” as a result.  last year an army major went to his base and murdered a number of his fellow soldiers.  as i said, the news cycle is littered with this kind of stuff.

am i sad about this?  yes.  but no more than the sadness i feel for any other type atrocity that occurs.  just because this was a congresswoman doesn’t make it worse in my way of thinking.  i don’t feel our way of life and style of government is threatened by the actions of some kook.  i think it is a mistake to accredit this to some political motivation.  to do this means if only government had acted differently, if only this congresswoman had voted differently, if only we followed a different political agenda, this wouldn’t have happened.  i think when all the facts come out, it will be evident this guy was violent and unstable.

here is what our culture needs to hear.  this problem has been around since genesis 4 when cain killed abel in a jealous rage.  we are not intrinsically good.  we are born totally depraved.  i often ask parents if they ever had to teach their children to misbehave.  never.  we are selfish, we throw tantrums, we lie, we take, etc because we are born sinners.  the essence of sin is a rejection of god’s rule in favor of self rule.  this fellow had an issue with this congresswoman that was so great in his mind he felt it reasonable to shoot her.  am i worried the average american will follow his path?  not really?  we are too civilized.  but we all too often see the same commitment to self demonstrated all around us, all the time.  it is inescapable.  from the harmless taking 16 items through the express check out line where you are limited to 15 items, parking in the handicapped spot, exceeding the speed limit because we are in a hurry, to murder, the story is the same.  we all have a deeply ingrained sense of self.  i can treat you with disrespect, cut you off in traffic, or lash out at you in anger all because “i” am involved and feel i am entitled.

thankfully there is an answer.  his name is jesus.  when we turn from self rule and accept god’s rule in our life, a wonderful process of transformation begins.  don’t get me wrong, this is a rest of your life process, it doesn’t happen overnight.  but it does happen.  gradually christ makes me into a new person.  as i discover the teachings of christ in scripture the holy spirit leads me to put off the old man and put on the new.  and as a new man, i can do what god wants me to do…be angry and sin not.

this was a tragic day.  but its roots go back to the garden of eden when man chose to reject gods rule, not some political issue.  and the answer to sin is not more education, legislation, or civility.  its jesus.  love to hear your thoughts.  peace.