Find a good word to say about others or don’t say anything. What have you gained when you make a bad comment about someone?
Pray for those you are tempted to hate and be kind to them when you have an opportunity.
People reap what they sow and it’s not up to you or me to enact judgement.
God is in charge of the universe and as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “The wheels of God’s justice grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine.”
Of course, you call the police if there is a villain in the community. You call 911 if you fear someone is about to carry out evil. You can never be passive. “See something, say something” is a call to civil action. The consequences of ignoring danger or mental illness have ramifications that often end in death. In our society, we see what one crazy person can do to a school, a college campus, a church or a city. These acts impact our towns and our world.
Unfortunately, we cannot save everyone, but it’s worth a try.
Churches used to have a mission to evangelize everyone in the city to the message of the Bible. Today many churches are satisfied if a few people show up and keep the church’s bills paid. The highlight of their work is when they can all get together and eat dinner. Dinner is always nice but our society has too many people totally disconnected from reality and living in isolated depression. These people need to be saved from their despair, their loneliness and from becoming resentful toward others who are making a positive impact in the world.
What gets into the mind of a 22-year-old young man who causes him to kill another young man who is dynamic, intelligent and trying to contribute to society?
What happens to a young guy who hates his life so much that he decides to end it by killing children at an elementary school or at a church? Sitting at home, staring at a cell phone all day and fostering a deep resentment toward the others is poisonous to the person and to society when the poison is unleashed.
More than ever schools must encourage participation in activities that are geared toward helping youth to be affirmed, encouraged and to develop into contributing citizens. Every kid should be required to participate in something. Some schools and churches offer more than others but we all need to step it up some.
When I was a kid, all we had was basketball. For nine years, it was a life-saving routine for me. I had lots of exercise, coaching and a core group of activity that was meaningful and fulfilling to me. I also found inclusion and affirmation at church. My local church reached out to me and was very supportive as a teenager. Any kind of sports involvement or church participation for America’s youth is generally life-building during a critical period of formation.
Obviously it can’t be only sports. Many churches no longer offer much for today’s youth, so it may be music groups, physical education groups, academic societies, home making, gardening, fishing and more. Anything that gives our young people a positive place to be besides locked up in their rooms staring at their phones.
It’s also going to take more than schools and churches. It’s going to take local civic groups and county/city government involvement.
Most importantly and above all, families must work to keep their children out of isolation and despair by helping them find and discover life-building activities that enable them to develop a positive life and contribute to a positive society. The school, the church, cities and government are depending on you and your family to orchestrate and implement this dire initiative.
— Dr. Glenn Mollette is read in all 50 states. He may be emailed at gmollette@aol.com.
