WHY?

James Holmes

I watched an interview with Dave Cullen on the news this morning. Cullen wrote the book on Columbine. After 10 years of research following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Jefferson County, Colorado, Cullen had this to say this morning:

“We know these two kids were loners, outcasts, members of the trench coat mafia who had been bullied for several years by jocks, and were acting out a huge revenge fantasy against those jocks... that's what we know, but every single one of those things is wrong.”

What Cullen discovered, mostly from personal journals, was that Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold weren't loners at all, and that most of the speculations about them reported on in those first few days after the shootings painted a very inaccurate picture. But by the time the real truth about the two had emerged, it was too late to correct the public perception. The early work done by reporters trying desperately to piece together a narrative of these two young men as “angry loners who hated jocks” was now “embedded in the public consciousness” and remains so today.

What Cullen is doing now, following the horrible shootings in Aurora, Colorado this past weekend, is urging journalists, and the public, not to jump to conclusions, rushing to explain the situation and the mind of James Holmes and why he would, and how he could, perpetrate such unthinkable acts of senseless violence, killing and wounding all those innocent people.   

It is certainly good advice not to jump to conclusions. That’s for sure. So why do we do it? One could argue that we do it because we are so desperate to understand and to know why. As the old saying goes, “desperate people do desperate things”, and that would include jumping to conclusions.

But I believe there’s more to it than that. We are desperate, but we are not just desperate to know why. We are desperate to come up with a ‘why’ that makes us feel better. We want people who do these kinds of horrible acts to be loners and misfits because we don’t want them to be like us. Can we be honest? We don’t watch the news just to find out what’s going on in the world. We want to know how wicked or how stupid someone else is. If I can confirm how messed up other people are, then maybe I won’t feel so bad about the stupid things I do or the wicked thoughts I have. I might not be perfect but compared to that guy, I’m a saint.

I’m not saying this is our total motivation, only part of it, but a part. We’re trying to escape being indicted ourselves by our own conscience. We’re in it for the validation! So we have to find something out about these people that separates them from us so that we don’t have to own them or their depravity. There has to be something that will put distance between us and them, and the farther the better.

But, that is not what the research shows. Here is what Cullen’s research showed him…

“This is what the mind of a mass murderer typically looks like... a deeply depressed kid who is conflicted, has a lot of love in his heart but also a lot of anger, a lot of self-loathing and is torn apart by this and doesn't know what to do with it and eventually plans and enacts some horrific act, sort of lashing out at the world.”

That doesn’t sound like a monster. It sounds more like a broken person living in a broken world. It sounds more like me! What am I saying? I’m not saying that people who commit such acts shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I believe James Holmes, if found guilty, should forfeit his life. What I am saying, though, is that such horrible acts should leave us with less a sense of personal judgment and more a sense of our own need to repent, because we don’t just live in a messed up world, we’re part of it. God help us.

Summer Slump Solution

[This is actually a repost from last summer but I thought it was worth highlighting once again.]

I love summer. Some people really mind the heat but, even though I admit it can be a bit oppressive at times, as weather goes, this is my favourite time of the year. But every summer we find ourselves feeling the need to issue a warning. In spite of how wonderful summer is, it can also be a time when people slump spiritually. It’s true. Beware of the summer slide. Each year we watch as people start sliding in their spiritual commitments and what should be a season of blessing becomes a season of regret.

So, I thought I’d offer just a little bit of pastoral advice to anyone who might care to be reading these words. The danger is real but so is the solution. The summer slump is preventable but it won’t be avoided simply by a resolve to try harder or anything like that.

Here is my advice - change it up. Being flexible and adaptable is part of spiritual wisdom. It is a recognition of the way that life time is broken up into seasons. Our living in the time of planting can’t look quite like it does in the time of harvest. It is important that we tailor our approach to summer in a way that is appropriate for what the season consists of. In our context, summer is a time that includes a significant break in work and school, and many of the patterns that characterize our lives at other times. If you simply try and hold the line, the summer break will likely end up breaking you. You need to adjust your approach. For example, the answer is not to stop reading the Bible. But, neither is the answer likely for you to keep reading the Bible the same way or at the same time or in the same place as you would normally do. Change it up. Don’t just stop doing those critically important spiritual disciplines of life. That is the worst thing you can do. But change them up. Break the routine by changing the way that you would otherwise engage in vital spiritual activities so that summer becomes a time of refreshing.

As an example of what this could look like, with so much more ‘free-time’ available than normal, you may want to consider doing more Bible-centered, prayer centered, or other types of devotional time, with your children or grandchildren. Or you might want to use some of the amazing teachable moments that come during some of those great recreational or travel experiences to draw yourself and/or your family closer to God. A summer trip can also be a spiritual pilgrimage. It’s all a matter of your approach to it.

God has built rhythm into His creation. Life has an ebb and flow to it as they say. Don’t try and fight against what is definitely part of God’s order. To illustrate the point, consider this question – Which is the way of spiritual life and vitality – consistency or change? The answer of course is both. But how can this be, seeing they are seemingly opposite to one another? Here is the wisdom of the principle we are talking about - We need to be consistent in doing the things that keep us connected to the Lord and His will for our lives. But we need to change up our approach in accordance with the seasons or changes in our lives and the situations we find ourselves in.

Get creative, and may God give you wisdom this summer so that the fall finds you spiritually refreshed and invigorated.

The Power of Association

My post last week dealt with the concept of association, meaning that principle of life where we tend to come to our opinions about things by what we associate them with. There is another important life principle that can also rightly be called the principle of association - who we associate with will very much influence the direction our lives take. Rather than try and expound on it myself, here is a quote that I came across from former US Secretary of State Colin Powell. I think he says it pretty well.

“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you. Consider this: Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who is not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening, with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl, but if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. ‘A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.’ The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad.”   Colin Powell

This can also be called a biblical principle… 

“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”  Proverbs 13:20

Chicken Noodle Soup For The Soul

I grew up on Mom’s good home made meals and I would never choose prepackaged over homemade normally. Kraft dinner has no appeal to me whatsoever. But I have a strong affinity for Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Just the aroma and I instantly feel better.

When I was 16, a friend and I decided to hitchhike out west. I know, you’ve heard it all before, and yes, we ended up broke, hungry and far from home. After going without food for a couple of days, we managed to make it to Humboldt, Saskatchewan, where a sister to a cousin’s wife lived with her husband. As ‘luck’ would have it, they were away for the weekend. Left without a lot of options we hunkered down in the garage. After what seemed like an eternity, the lady in the house next door spotted us. A little apprehensive at first, she quickly realized we were pretty harmless and took pity on us, inviting us into her home where she fed us. And I’m sure you guessed it, after a couple of days without anything to eat, we had Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Isn’t it amazing that something can actually taste better because of a memory!

It’s called association, and it works both ways. It was a long time before I was able to enjoy the taste of beet greens again after finding half of a large blow fly in my mouth years ago during a big feed of them. It’s an important part of how we understand things; how they are connected to everything else in our memories. We don’t just understand, we relate.

In thinking of this, I am caused to wonder how different people think about God. Since God Himself is a transcendent being, how would most people have a knowledge of Him? It’s largely by association. And to what do people associate God? Most likely it is all of us who claim to know Him and speak His name. All of this helps me to understand how often we have an uphill battle when we want to get out the Good News. We desperately want people to make a connection with God, but so often the connection that people make isn’t leaving them with a very good taste in their mouths.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:13-16