Evil Cannot Be Legislated Away

The murderous rampage that left innocent movie-goers dead and wounded in Aurora, Colorado is, and forever will be, a black day in our history. It shows that tragedy can strike anywhere, at any time. But it shows something else as well, and that is that evil walks amongst us every day.

We would like to think/believe that in most instances evil does not reveal itself as this person has. But that would be predicated upon where we live because people living in certain areas of Detroit, Chicago, and California, to mention but a few, would beg to differ–and justifiably so.

I, in no way, want to minimize what happened in Aurora nor do I want to minimize the pain, suffering, and the emotional scars many will carry the rest of their lives. I have friends who live in and around Aurora; the reality of this horror is not lost on me. It is still well within the realm of possibility that I will find out a person or persons close to the couple dozen or so I personally know there, will themselves learn someone close to them was directly impacted by this evil act.

We ask why this happened. We ask how and why God would permit such an act. We look for answers and we ask what could have been done to prevent this heinous act. And, yes, we look for someone to blame.

The sad truth is that there is nothing that could have prevented this murderous rampage. Evil does what evil does and that is it performs acts of evil. Sometimes the acts are seemingly small and insignificant. Other times they are acts such this.

In the end, it comes down to what we do in the aftermath of crimes like this. And I’m not suggesting more legislation because evil cannot be prevented by legislation. If that were the case, evil acts would have ceased to occur long ago.

What we can do is pray for those grieving, those recovering from injuries, and for the police, fire, and medical workers who were/are so closely involved. We can perform private acts of comfort–even faceless acts of kindness. We can help with donations; we can help by setting up private scholarships; we can do countless other acts to help those who have been directly affected.

Often the act of overcoming evil with good is thought to dictate grand acts, but I am convinced that an act as simple as sending a sympathy card with words expressing concern and comfort would be appreciated.

The people directly affected need our prayers and acts of goodwill today, but they will need them years from now as well.

The people of Colorado have suffered unimaginable loss due to fire and now they have experienced this. If there were ever a time for the people who profess faith in God to step up it is now. The court system will attend to the perpetrator, but it is up to us to find ways to care for those suffering.

Let us ask our Father in heaven to pour down His comfort on those who seek solace. And may we seek ways to be ambassadors and missionaries of care, concern, and prayer to those who are suffering from these unspeakable tragedies, especially at this time.