Twelve year old girls trying to kill a friend…where did we go wrong?

My heart is so heavy today. I read about the twelve year old girls that tried to kill a friend in order please a fictional character (a video game character), and it felt like someone grabbed my gut and began to squeeze. 

I hurt for the situation, the three girls involved, their families, and their community, but I am struggling for the whole of our society as well.

I am overcome with emotion. I sympathize with the physical pain the one young girl is experiencing from being stabbed 19 times. I empathize with the emotional pain and confusion that she feels along with so many others. I identify with the confusion that surrounds the event, but I also find myself angry. Not at the girls, but at our culture.

We look at events like this and realize something is broken but we aren’t willing to recognize and take action on the building blocks of these tragedies.

I realize I am going to sound pre-historic here, but I recognize trends. Trends with violence, and fear, and fascination with horror and brutality that have been chipping away at our innocence…leading us down the road to an angry, aggressive, unloving, self-serving, and impulsive society that highlights evil while ignoring the true source of good.

In our culture we amplify horror while ignoring hope.

We emphasize fear at the expense of peace.

We glorify hate while we distort true love.

Our society has sacrificed their convictions and their desire for the good, holy, and pure things on the altar of entertainment and it is destroying us. The compromises we have made in the areas of morality, aggression, horror, and fear in order to be entertained have been our undoing.

The lines between reality and fiction have become blurred. We pursue what is not real so aggressively that we have left behind what is real.

We have convinced ourselves that it isn’t “that big of a deal”, yet it is these little rationalizations over decades that have led us to the place we are. The things that used to make us blush now make us cheer. The things that used to make us cringe, now make us squeel with delight.

And the result? We have a society that is full of all of the things we thought were entertaining and funny but never thought would impact us personally.

So, as I write this, I am not sure I know how to stop the slide. We can’t go back in time. However, there are some things I am more determined to do than I was yesterday. Here are my takeaways from this weeks tragic events.

• First, I am going to make sure that I am vigilant with my entertainment and the convictions that I have. I am going to “guard my heart” because I know it is the wellspring of life. Some may think I am old-fashioned. Others might say I am legalistic, but I am going to take an inventory of my own life and make sure I haven’t allowed any compromise that will affect my ability to love God well and live in a way that I know will please Him.
• Secondly, I am renewed in my conviction to talk with my kids about their choices. They are at a station in life where I can’t dictate everything to them, but I am going to help them understand that evaluating the long-term consequences to their choices in these areas is very important and living before the Lord in such a way where we let God help guide our entertainment decisions even if it is contrary to culture is the wisest way to life.
• I am moved to pray even more aggressively for the young people in our nation and the world. Asking God to protect them and draw them to Himself. Asking Him to make up the difference when their parents were imperfect or absent. Asking that God would increase their conscience and convictions and not allow them to justify the things that will prevent them from being who God wants them to be.
• Lastly, I am going to continue aggressively pursuing my mission to flood media with truth, hope, and love. I am tired (miserably exhausted really) as I continue to see the glorified evil, the glamorized horror, and the hyped immorality. I may not be able to make a dent in a society accepting it and pushing it, but I (Groundwire) can continue to balance it.       We will continue to buy commercial time on TV and Radio to lift up the name of Jesus. We will continue to promote the love, hope, and peace found in Jesus. And, we will continue to show that Jesus is the One who can heal the heart, answer the questions, and bring value.

So…my anger has turned to determination. I still sympathize and empathize with the pain, but I am not going to hide in a corner. I know there will be other tragedies, but I also know that with Christ’s help we can prevent many. We will rescue the lost and help the hurting. And, we will provide hope to those who have lost their way.