August 7, 2019
Leadership Notes
Two more shootings causing multiple deaths. The cycle continues. It is a cycle of sin and evil. We live in a broken and fallen world, where sin flourishes. In so many ways, the world is shaded by a culture of death. Evil is real.
In the aftermath of the horror visited upon El Paso and Dayton, the demagogues among us can't find enough fingers to point. People want explanations. People need reasons. And if you listen carefully, too many times the reasons and explanations reflect a person's politics. But there are no easy explanations. I'm always amused by how quickly politicians and celebrities use tragedy to push their agenda. Beware quick and easy answers.
There were mass shootings during the Clinton Presidency, and Bush and Obama and Trump. I've never connected the dots to any one of them. It's not within my nature to be intellectually lazy and/or dishonest.
As one criminal justice expert put it, most of the chatter we're hearing right now from politicians and talking heads is a distraction. Yet we want to give rational thought and reason to irrational actions.
Here is a sobering thought. The best estimate is that about 1% of the population is psychopathic. There are roughly 330 million people in the U.S. So there are about 3 million psychopaths running around America at any given time. They are from all walks of life and found in every profession. Some are pastors. Some are doctors. Some are lawyers. Some are business leaders. Some are auto mechanics. And so forth. Most are not ghoulish murderers. But they are out there.
Psychopaths are born with a brain glitch. Often you don't know who they are until they've left a path of pain and destruction. So tell me, politicians and talking heads, what is your solution? What is your plan?
I grow weary of people who spout simple platitudes and peddle lazy insight.
My mind always returns to what Jesus said about tragedy. Jesus said because we live in a sinful, fallen world, bad things will always happen. The biggest question is not, "Why?" The biggest question is, when bad things happen, will you be ready? If the Tower of Siloam falls on you, will you be ready to meet God?
Let's be vigilant and faithful,
Richard
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