By: Dale Weckbacher
Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
(ESV)
The horrific shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 left the
United States and the world stunned. As
someone that has attended many concerts, some of them outdoor events in my
life, the thought that some deranged individual could feel justified in picking
off innocent individuals enjoying themselves at a musical concert is
unthinkable. However, what is even more
horrific is that even while there were bodies at the scene of the shooting, gun
control advocates and celebrities supporting them began their usual cry for
more gun control. (1)
(2) Guns did not kill and injure people in Las
Vegas but it was the person pulling the trigger, otherwise the guns would have
turned on the law enforcement officers that stormed into the shooters
room. The reason the guns did not kill
or injure these officers is the one pulling the trigger took his own life. The real solution to stop these horrific acts
is not in outlawing the guns but in finding out why people use guns to commit these
shootings.
While motive is not an element of a crime it is something
prosecutors must show in court to get a conviction. (3) With the shooter in Vegas taking his own
life, there is no need for proving a conviction in court. However, to prevent other similar attacks,
investigators still make an effort to determine motive. However, the unfathomableness of crimes like
the shooting in Las Vegas find determination of motive difficult for most
people have difficulty believing someone could have such evil in their
hearts. (3) Further hampering the investigation in Las
Vegas is the shooters lack of social media presence and any prior run ins with
law enforcement. (4)
This lack of determination of a clear motive is helping
drive the erroneous speculations of gun control activists that believe
something must be done and see this tragedy as an opportunity to advance their
political agenda. The belief is that
more laws will somehow end gun violence but if that were true there would be no
more illegal drugs or traffic accidents for we have numerous laws to prevent
these crimes. Laws do not prevent crimes
but define certain activities as criminal so that those committing crimes can
be punished. Even God’s laws, the ten
commandments, could not prevent crimes but serve to show people how they have
violated God’s law and need a savior to save them in order to escape the
penalty for their crimes, death (Galatians 3:24, Romans 6:23).
The evil behind horrific crimes like what occurred in Las
Vegas is due to evil dwelling in the hearts of what appear to be ordinary people on the surface. Those with evil hearts and not
just ordinary sinful hearts are good at
1)
Creating confusion and contention (Acts 6:11-13)
(5) – This involves
twisting facts, misleading others, avoidance of responsibility, denial of
reality, concoction of stories, and the withholding of information.
2)
Fooling others with smooth speech and flattery (Matthew7:15) (5) – In many of the
cases of mass shootings we hear those that know them say they had no idea they
were capable of such a horrific crime. These
evil people are experts at hiding the evil in their hearts through smooth
speech and flattery, able to fool even those closest to them.
3)
Craving and demanding control (Proverbs 21:24) (5) – These individuals
reject feedback and accountability and tend to make up their own rules. However, those closest to them may view this
as someone having it all together and not as someone that could potentially commit
a horrific crime.
4)
Demand mercy without showing mercy (Jude 1:4) (5) – While demanding
others or society show them mercy touting the difficulties they have
experienced in their lives, they are quick to judge others committing evil,
especially evil committed against them.
5)
Demonstrate moral superiority while having no sense
of conscience or remorse (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) (5)– They present an aura of moral superiority which they use to justify their
evil actions against those they believe to be of a less moral standard.
While people harboring evil in their hearts can hide it from
us, they cannot hide it from God who knows then intentions of our hearts and
that these intentions are evil (Genesis 6:5).
The good news of the Gospel however is that the blood of Jesus cleanses
us from all sin (1 John 1:7). In
essence, God provides a transfusion of the Blood of Christ into our lives to
rid us of the evil inherent in our lives due sin. God then gives us his spirit to empower us in
spreading the news of the Gospel and help us rid our lives of the residual
nature of the flesh and its evil desires (Romans 7).
The process of ridding our hearts of evil begins with
accepting Jesus as our savior and allowing His blood, shed on the cross for our
sins, to cleanse us and forgive us of our sins.
If you have not already done this, I invite you to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know
that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).
I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
Your sins have now been forgiven but as we learned from
Romans 7, we still have a residual flesh in our hearts which is capable of
evil. Ridding ourselves of these desires
is a continual work in progress which is carried out by the Lord through
regular study of the Bible, regular attendance in a church where the Bible is
taught, and prayer. We also are called
to share with others what God has done in our lives so they can have the evil
in their hearts surgically removed by Jesus Christ. As we all do this we may be helping someone
planning some horrific attack rid their hearts of the evil driving them and
save lives.
1. Feldman, Kate. Celebrities call for gun
control after Las Vegas shooting. www.nydailynews.com. [Online] Daily
News, October 3, 2017. [Cited: October 8, 2017.] http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/celebrities-call-gun-control-las-vegas-shooting-article-1.3539734.
2. Siegel, Benjamin.
Democrats' call to action after Vegas shooting includes plea for 'moral
courage' on gun control legislation. abcnews.go.com. [Online] ABC News,
October 4, 2017. [Cited: October 8, 2017.]
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-call-action-vegas-shooting-includes-plea-moral/story?id=50265186.
3. Zandt, Clint Van.
Criminals' motives are elusive to investigators. www.nbcnews.com. [Online]
NBC News, February 21, 2006. [Cited: October 8, 2017.]
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11481546/ns/msnbc-the_abrams_report/t/criminals-motives-are-elusive-investigators/#.WdppAmhSyUl.
4. Ken Ritter,
Michael Balsamo, and Sadie Gurman. Secretive Life of Las Vegas Shooter
Stephen Paddock Frustrates Investigators. time.com. [Online] Tume U.S.,
October 4, 2017. [Cited: October 8, 2017.]
http://time.com/4970162/las-vegas-shooting-stephen-paddock-motive/.
5. Vernick, Leslie.
5 Indicators of an Evil and Wicked Heart. www.crosswalk.com. [Online]
Crosswalk.com, January 22, 2015. [Cited: October 8, 2017.]
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/5-indicators-of-an-evil-and-wicked-heart.html.
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