This Message was originally posted in March of '98, days before two boys opened fire in an Arkansas school. Now it is April of '99, and again we look back in horror and disbelief on events in Littleton, Colorado. Again, two boys commit mass murder in a school, and again the media looks for reasons. Again and again, pundits parade onto the screen and give us psycho-babel about the motives, and secular fixes for the problem. Pass laws, change some regulations. But the true motive and the true cure is the same as it has been for 6000 years, "And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Gen 4:6&7 KJV)
SIN is the problem, and the cure is the CROSS. All the counseling and psycho-analysis in the world will not stop the killing. Banning guns, video games, movies, music, et.al. can not fill the void in these young peoples hearts. Only Jesus can do that. This message is even more needed today than a year ago. Only Love can stop the violence, only the Love of Christ, the Gospel of Peace.
Violence
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before
me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis
6:13
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the
Son Of Man be. Matthew
24:37
Violence, it's the hallmark of modern culture. Every area of our culture is permeated by it. The buzz word of the 90's is IN YOUR FACE. We are assailed by this attitude of violence to such a degree we are becoming desensitized to it. Young people have never known anything else. When I was a kid, Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Sterling could give me nightmares for a week without showing one drop of blood (and no profanity). Then we had Freddy Crugger, Jason,and Pin Head. Today the more bodies, blood, violence, nudity, and profanity the better, and that's on MTV.
The constant assault on our culture is taking it's toll. Tattoos, body piercing, games like mortal combat and Postal, bands like KoRn and Marilyn Manson, serial killer trading cards, the list goes on and on. The internet is making all this violence and paganism even more available to ever younger audiences. As with everything else, however, there is nothing new under the sun.
The Scriptures tell us the earth was filled with violence in the days of Noah, and will be again in the End Times. This is a sign of the end, the coming of Antichrist. It is writen that in the end time good will be called evil and evil, good. This is happening now. Our whole moral fabric is being torn and twisted by this culture of violence. Todays cultural norm is do unto others first, if someone strikes you on the cheek beat him to the ground and stomp his face in. Hate has taken the place of love in our list of favorite emotions.
So where does all the violence come from. Satan. He was a murderer from the beginning, a liar and the father of all lies. But on a more physical level we are to blame. We are seeing a generation raised in day cares and after school programs. A generation of divorce, infidelity, abuse and neglect. The progeny of the ME generation, too wrapped up in ourselves to raise our own kids. Kids and young adults who are more comfortable with video screens than with their own parents. Who known more about Java than Jesus.
I am not saying that the so called X generation is lost. GOD forbid. The Lord has wonderful plans for this generation. There are a lot of young people out there on fire for Jesus. They will do miraculous things. The Holy Spirit is moving among the Xers in a powerful way and I believe they hold the key to the next great revival. Because of this, they are also being assailed by the enemy unlike any generation before. We must stand for them and support them with our very lives.
This generation has grown up in what has been called the post- christian era. They are inherently insecure and fatalistic because they grew up in an environment created by a society of consumption. But they are spirtually strong beyond their years yet very much searching. That leaves them vunerable to the enemies lies and manipulation unless we show them the right path. They only lack a direction.
This can not be accomplished through words only, but actions. First we must rebuke the violence and offer love and nurture. If we are to talk the talk we must walk the walk. We must shine our light as a beacon for the next generation to follow.
March 29, 1998
Because of the recent tragedy in Arkansas I have decided not to update last weeks message. I will leave it until next week. I feel this is an important message for our times. It is important that we recognize the true nature of our worlds moral decay. It does not lie in guns being too accessable but in children not being taught right from wrong or the ramifications of their actions. In todays culture there is no responsibility taken. Addicts blame their mothers for not breast feeding them long enough, killers blame broken homes or child abuse, homosexuals blame genetics. Everyone blames society for their personal sin. We make the society we love to blame. We are the culture. Each person must accept who and what they are, repent of their sinfulness and seek salvation. 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD'. 'None are righteous, no not one'. 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'.
All those involved in the tragedy in Arkansas need our prayers. That includes the young boys responsible. They, and their families need our prayer perhaps more than anyone. The victims and their families will receive an outpouring of love and support in the hard times ahead, but the two boys are hard to pray for. Their families are easy to blame. Such a horrific act is difficult to forgive. But we must remember our Lords words on the cross "Father forgive them they know not what they do". This is not to say they should be held blameless. They must stand accountable for their actions as must we all. It is, however our responsibility as christians to love and pray for them.