I don’t like the trend

On April 20th, 1999 - twenty four years ago, America witnessed something novel as two teenagers walked into their school with shotguns, and then proceeded to murder 12 of their classmates and injure 21 others.

Columbine.

Since then, school shootings have become increasingly regular, and just last night there was news of yet another “active shooter” at Morgan University.

Often, the perpetrators of these evil acts of violence are young adults. Why?  WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD?!  Clearly it is changing for the worse, but what are the causes?

Well, for starters, Pew Research says that of Millenials (those born between 1981-1996) polled, 49% identified as Christian and only 35% attend regular church service. 

It’s worse for Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012).  In that bracket a mere 34% of them claim ANY religious affiliation at all.

In a March 24, 2022 article by David Cox of the American Survey Center, Cox claims that research has shown those who do not identify with a religious organization typically feel more lonely or isolated than those with that connection. Further, he says that Americans who regularly attend church services are far more engaged in community life than those who seldom or never attend such gatherings. 

These days, kids are more often found online, either on social media or in some sort of video game.  And parents often turn to “technology” as a babysitter.

But the Bible says this:  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” - Psalm 127:3

And “Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old they will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6

Children learn by example.  If their parents don’t go to church or make God a priority in their own lives, kids won’t either. 

And if they’ve never learned the lessons of  “love your neighbor”, “thou shall not kill”, or “Jesus loves you”, then even if they don’t end up with a gun at a school,  their isolation, loneliness and lack of social connection can have devastating consequences. 

It’s time to make our kids a priority…not in the “I’ll go to every soccer game - even when it’s on Sunday” sort of way, but in the “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33) sort of way.