How should a leader respond? How should any of us respond? Of course I'm talking about the senseless killing of 26 people, mostly grade-school children in Connecticut. Is there a right way to respond? Today after worship, it was the subject of many conversations, including several at home. One thing I am convinced of is that our response depends on who is asking and what they are asking.
An incident like this creates conflicting emotions in us of confusion, curiousity, and concern. Most of us wonder why this happened, but most likely we won't every really know the answer completely. We can assume it was an angry young man who was very disturbed. Aside from that, we shouldn't try to make too much sense of it, because it doesn't make sense. It was an irrational act and not the action of a person whose mind was in the right place.
Others have expressed concern. Mostly we feel helpless because we are not in a position to minister directly to those who are hurting the most, the families and friends of the victims. We can pray for them. If we want to do something tangible, we could send flowers or cards. Maybe there are other creative ways we can let them know we are sorry for their loss, but there really isn't much we can do that really matters, other than pray. And, that does make a difference. We can believe that it does. But, what other response would be appropriate at this time?
The most challenging question we all have to deal with is, "What do we do with this?" What do we do with this tragic, surreal event, so that we can get on with our own lives, and not let it have a negative impact on us. True, this didn't happen to us, but it happened and it affects our worldview. It has happened before, many times now. It is happening with more and more frequency. What is going on here and what needs to be done about it? Something needs to be done, right?
In my children's school tomorrow, they will be asked to participate in an activity that the teachers "hope will provide some reassurance and faith in each other." Their other objectives are admirable, but even my 12-year-old son was able to see what was wrong with what they were trying to accomplish. They want it all to go away. They want everything to get better. They want everybody to like each other again and get along. But as he was able to understand, nothing is going to get better until we get better. In a passage most of us by now are familiar with, the Lord told Solomon and the people of Israel, "If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (II Chron. 7:14)."
No, I am not saying this is God's judgement on anyone in particular. I am absolutely not saying these children died because they had sinned. We are responsible, not them. They are innocent, but we are not. At times like this, our best response is to turn to God and ask forgiveness. We have to accept some of the responsibility for a culture in which young men turn out this way. There have been too many incidents similar to this, for us to turn away and pretend things aren't so bad. We can't keep saying that this is an unusual situation. And that is why some of us will continue to think about this and wonder about it and wonder if we shouldn't do something about it.
If we accept our own responsibility, confess our own sin, that will create space for God to speak to us and show us what He wants to do through this. Nothing that we try to do on our own will make much of a difference. We want too quickly to get past it and forget about it. Our efforts will be merely bandaids on a gaping wound. Though God did not prevent this incident from happening, He has promised that He can bring good out of it. He can bring about healing...for those who were most affected and for the rest of us. But, leaders especially must submit to God and ask for Him to lead us in our understanding of how we should respond. We must come before Him with humility and ask for His forgiveness and ask for Him to heal us, and to heal others through us.
Godspeed, Doulos
If you would be interested in a study on "Leading From the Heart" contact me at:
Email: eph411ff@yahoo.com
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/phillip-foster/36/130/5b1
An incident like this creates conflicting emotions in us of confusion, curiousity, and concern. Most of us wonder why this happened, but most likely we won't every really know the answer completely. We can assume it was an angry young man who was very disturbed. Aside from that, we shouldn't try to make too much sense of it, because it doesn't make sense. It was an irrational act and not the action of a person whose mind was in the right place.
Others have expressed concern. Mostly we feel helpless because we are not in a position to minister directly to those who are hurting the most, the families and friends of the victims. We can pray for them. If we want to do something tangible, we could send flowers or cards. Maybe there are other creative ways we can let them know we are sorry for their loss, but there really isn't much we can do that really matters, other than pray. And, that does make a difference. We can believe that it does. But, what other response would be appropriate at this time?
The most challenging question we all have to deal with is, "What do we do with this?" What do we do with this tragic, surreal event, so that we can get on with our own lives, and not let it have a negative impact on us. True, this didn't happen to us, but it happened and it affects our worldview. It has happened before, many times now. It is happening with more and more frequency. What is going on here and what needs to be done about it? Something needs to be done, right?
In my children's school tomorrow, they will be asked to participate in an activity that the teachers "hope will provide some reassurance and faith in each other." Their other objectives are admirable, but even my 12-year-old son was able to see what was wrong with what they were trying to accomplish. They want it all to go away. They want everything to get better. They want everybody to like each other again and get along. But as he was able to understand, nothing is going to get better until we get better. In a passage most of us by now are familiar with, the Lord told Solomon and the people of Israel, "If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (II Chron. 7:14)."
No, I am not saying this is God's judgement on anyone in particular. I am absolutely not saying these children died because they had sinned. We are responsible, not them. They are innocent, but we are not. At times like this, our best response is to turn to God and ask forgiveness. We have to accept some of the responsibility for a culture in which young men turn out this way. There have been too many incidents similar to this, for us to turn away and pretend things aren't so bad. We can't keep saying that this is an unusual situation. And that is why some of us will continue to think about this and wonder about it and wonder if we shouldn't do something about it.
If we accept our own responsibility, confess our own sin, that will create space for God to speak to us and show us what He wants to do through this. Nothing that we try to do on our own will make much of a difference. We want too quickly to get past it and forget about it. Our efforts will be merely bandaids on a gaping wound. Though God did not prevent this incident from happening, He has promised that He can bring good out of it. He can bring about healing...for those who were most affected and for the rest of us. But, leaders especially must submit to God and ask for Him to lead us in our understanding of how we should respond. We must come before Him with humility and ask for His forgiveness and ask for Him to heal us, and to heal others through us.
Godspeed, Doulos
If you would be interested in a study on "Leading From the Heart" contact me at:
Email: eph411ff@yahoo.com
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/phillip-foster/36/130/5b1
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