Within the past several months, our nation was hit by Hurricane Sandy along with an elementary school shooting in the quiet town of Newtown, Connecticut, which left twenty children and six adults dead...
A host of other tragedies from storms to acts of senseless violence happened as well.
Concerning the hurricane, however, my immediate area was mostly unaffected other than local power outages, trees lying across roadways, and no mail service for almost a week. Fortunately, my friends who live in the State of New Jersey made out okay, even though they live in some of the hard-hit areas. In fact, their churches ended up becoming places of refuge for those who lost their homes and had no place to stay.
But as for the most horrific and shocking event, the Sandy Hook school shooting, I don’t have much to say about it other than the men from my prison church are continuing to pray every Sunday and during the start of our weekly Bible studies for all those who were hurt by this tragedy, and were injured or suffered the loss of a loved one. Many of these men are fathers, too. And we have been asking the Lord to bring healing and comfort to the hurting and grieving.
Furthermore, with regard to Adam Lanza, the twenty-year-old man who committed such a violent act, he was obviously a deeply troubled young man. This was clearly not an instantaneous and unplanned event like a crime of passion, nor a case of sudden anger as happens in a case of road rage. Rather, it was, to me, the result of long brewing anger from deep within his heart and soul.
I am certainly not a psychologist. Nor am I an expert on human behavior, but it is quite obvious that there was a degree of anger within this young man, which, for reasons unknown, reached a ferocious and explosive level. And it would be pointless to speculate further on the causes for such anger, as countless “experts” are already doing this. Yet as far as I know, none of them have come up with anything concrete.
Suffice it to say, unchecked anger, according to the Bible, can open the door for the devil himself to enter a person’s life and eventually cause him to do harm. "Be ye angry, and sin not: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Now people can say what they want about this idea. But I do not believe it is mere coincidence, nor is it incidental that anger and Satan are mentioned together. Yet, who believes the Bible nowadays? Most mental health professionals do not. Few, I think, are even willing to consider what the Bible has to say about anger and violence, even though it has recorded within its pages the first murder to take place in human history. This being when Cain, in a jealous rage, killed his brother, Abel. (See Genesis chapter Four).
With Cain, it was a case of unchecked anger, left festering in Cain’s heart, that eventually led to bloodshed.
Well, maybe it is time for both lay persons and professionals to begin to delve into God’s book to see what it has to say on the subject? Yes, I think it is time.
D.B.
Concerning the hurricane, however, my immediate area was mostly unaffected other than local power outages, trees lying across roadways, and no mail service for almost a week. Fortunately, my friends who live in the State of New Jersey made out okay, even though they live in some of the hard-hit areas. In fact, their churches ended up becoming places of refuge for those who lost their homes and had no place to stay.
But as for the most horrific and shocking event, the Sandy Hook school shooting, I don’t have much to say about it other than the men from my prison church are continuing to pray every Sunday and during the start of our weekly Bible studies for all those who were hurt by this tragedy, and were injured or suffered the loss of a loved one. Many of these men are fathers, too. And we have been asking the Lord to bring healing and comfort to the hurting and grieving.
Furthermore, with regard to Adam Lanza, the twenty-year-old man who committed such a violent act, he was obviously a deeply troubled young man. This was clearly not an instantaneous and unplanned event like a crime of passion, nor a case of sudden anger as happens in a case of road rage. Rather, it was, to me, the result of long brewing anger from deep within his heart and soul.
I am certainly not a psychologist. Nor am I an expert on human behavior, but it is quite obvious that there was a degree of anger within this young man, which, for reasons unknown, reached a ferocious and explosive level. And it would be pointless to speculate further on the causes for such anger, as countless “experts” are already doing this. Yet as far as I know, none of them have come up with anything concrete.
Suffice it to say, unchecked anger, according to the Bible, can open the door for the devil himself to enter a person’s life and eventually cause him to do harm. "Be ye angry, and sin not: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Now people can say what they want about this idea. But I do not believe it is mere coincidence, nor is it incidental that anger and Satan are mentioned together. Yet, who believes the Bible nowadays? Most mental health professionals do not. Few, I think, are even willing to consider what the Bible has to say about anger and violence, even though it has recorded within its pages the first murder to take place in human history. This being when Cain, in a jealous rage, killed his brother, Abel. (See Genesis chapter Four).
With Cain, it was a case of unchecked anger, left festering in Cain’s heart, that eventually led to bloodshed.
Well, maybe it is time for both lay persons and professionals to begin to delve into God’s book to see what it has to say on the subject? Yes, I think it is time.
D.B.
