What I Want You to Know About Deadly Shootings & the Broken Culture of America

The Buffalo massacre, the California church attack, and God’s solution to a land filled with depravity.

Maybe I do have a one-track mind. But I can’t help it. In fact, I’m wondering why all of America isn’t as obsessed about the same things I’m so fanatical about.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I saw the Oklahoma City bombing unfold on my television screen. But now that I think about it, it’s been almost 30 years. Just a few years later, in 1999, two depraved teens shot up a school in Columbine, Colorado, killing 13 people.

I clearly recall the shock of it all. The horror! The utter surprise! It gripped all of us right in the gut because we feared that it signaled a new era in America when life was no longer precious. I think most of it saw it for what it was — a new age when reason, sanity, and righteousness were no longer the principles that guided us.

If you thought that then, were you ever correct in your assessment of where our country was headed. Many of us prayed that things would get better, but they haven’t.

Now, these displays of moral bankruptcy have become all too common. Just this past weekend, several unconnected mass shootings occurred within a span of only a single day.

A confused and depraved white boy calmly walked into a supermarket frequented by African Americans in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire, killing 10 innocent shoppers. Later, a gang war erupted in a Houston flea market killing two and injuring several others. Then a mentally unstable Chinese man opened fire on congregants in an Asian church in California.

It’s so common that we aren’t even shocked anymore. That is almost as sad as the acts themselves. I mourned the day when we just wouldn’t be gut punched by incidents like these, and now we are there. We don’t like it, but it seems as if we have accepted depravity as a way of life. It’s just the cost of doing business in the USA, I suppose.

So maybe I am obsessed. But if I am, it’s only because I can’t accept this kind of evil as the status quo. That’s because God opened my eyes many years ago that there is another way to live — another way that gives meaning to my formerly meaningless life.

Yes, it’s true that I am preoccupied with a nation that seems hell-bent on self-destruction. But it’s only because I know of the other way, the way to purpose that comes from following the one who died and was raised so that we could live with a single-minded devotion to righteousness.

While I pray for America to repent and turn back to God, it can’t be done until we admit that we have turned from him in the first place. That’s because we can’t really repent until we wholeheartedly embrace what the Apostle Peter understood when he said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)

We aren’t the first nation to turn our backs on God, as if that’s any comfort. Israel had a nasty habit of doing the same thing — time after time throughout their history. We should learn from their mistake. When they abandoned God, he would always pull back from them, expecting that when his presence was withdrawn from Israel, they would recognize the stupidity of their sin and turn back to them.

If God’s nature was not clearly displayed in his willingness to plead for the return of sinful people to his throne, it would be impossible to serve God. That’s because we are all sinners. Only he can fix what’s wrong with us. Thankfully, he is a merciful God who even sacrifices himself in order to get our attention.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, he told his people, “Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.” (Jeremiah 7:3)

If you are like me and are worried about our future, this is God’s solution to a land filled with depravity: Come to terms with the fact that your evil heart is both destroying you and dishonoring God. If we want systemic change, this is it — abandon self, and embrace God.

I know that a lot of people would accuse me of simplistic thinking. I’m okay with that because I am not ashamed of seeing the Gospel for what it is — a clear path out of the muddy water that Satan has used to confuse us. Jeremiah’s message is as clear and simple as it gets: Either you continue in your acts of rebellion and suffer the consequences, or you turn to God and receive life.

I praise God that he has allowed me to choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

So, here is where I am, in the midst of the moral chaos that is all around me. The culture of America is broken, but Christ isn’t. And neither am I. I still have the same job — to tell the world about the God who changes lives.

The Apostle Paul laid it out clearly in the following passage:

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” (Philippians 2:14-16)

That’s how I try to live. This is the source of my joy. While the world around me is toxic and depraved, I stand firm because of what God has done for me. Sin abounds, but his grace abounds even more. I live in a crooked and perverse generation, but I boldly hold out the word of life.

I look at the current state of affairs in America and see it as an opportunity to spread the word about Jesus. I consider it the highest honor to be his ambassador to the lost world I live in.