“I am the generation that has always known violence in schools.” That sobering statement was made by one thirteen-year-old survivor of the Florida shooting.
We have all watched in sorrow and felt the outrage at the most recent school shooting. Everyone has an opinion, a solution to offer. This past week, I have heard some civil and not so civil conversations as people wrestle with trying to understand, and solve an abhorrent trend in our culture.
Plans offering arming teachers in schools, staffing more law enforcement on campuses, changing gun laws, providing training to recognized signs, better mental health treatment options will be debated for months to come. The range of discussions highlight the need for a very complex and holistic solution.
In the midst of this maelstrom of pain and suffering another event occurred, the passing of Billy Graham. Mr. Graham from the time he was sixteen to ninety-five dedicated his life to telling people that there was more to life than what we can see. That every life has infinite value and worth because each life was created by a loving God who desired each of us to know his son Jesus, and in the knowing be changed- both now and for eternity.
I stopped to ponder the juxtaposition of these two messages. One a message of confusion, uncertainty and hopelessness; the other a message of love, hope and the power of re-creation.
There are many reasons that come into play that can cause someone to perform such heinous acts as we have seen in Florida, and repeated in far too many schools- and communities. It struck me that one reason I have not heard proposed in any of the moderated discussions is that of a broken moral compass we each carry that would allow someone to contemplate and perform such an act.
There are many contributing factors to violence and the solution needs to be multifaceted. All the laws put into place, all the resources made available, all the preventative solutions provided will still fall short unless the moral compass within us is redirected. It is that compass which regulates the choices we make in our lives, and choices have consequences. God created us to be physical, emotional and spiritual beings and all those pieces need to be addressed in order to be whole. Mr. Graham and others like him understood that truth, and that is why he spent his life addressing the spiritual side of life which is so often neglected.
Solutions will be debated. Meanwhile families and a community will still grieve. The nation will move on, but this tear in the fabric of our individual and collective morality will continue to grow and we will continue to unravel. The good news is that through God’s remaking of our spirits through His son Jesus, help is available.
May that help be invoked for those who are grieving. May that help be invited in by those looking for answers to stop these events in the future.