Bullets, The Bride, and The Covenant Lost

Grieve deeply. Mourn brokenness. Speak slowly. Listen carefully. Pray fervently. Weep for the lives stolen today.

AND THEN, BY GOD, WAKE UP. SPEAK UP.

 

We are sin-sick. Talk about gun-control, rally, legislate. Whatever. But realize it’s only behavior modification. Harder conversations are required about the darkness we’ve embraced, the devastatingly minimal value we place on life, the culture of death we glorify, the disrespect we have for faith, and the fear we do not have of God.

 

We have celebrated preying on children in the worst possible ways over the last few years. My God, why would children value children, when the adults do not?

 

Start addressing those things or you will find us unarmed and killing each other with our bare hands and sticks. We are devolving in reason and morality. We are continuing to shed social (much less Scriptural) norms and boundaries, it was only a matter of time before we saw those things shed in the demographics of shooters. God help us.

The guys are not okay.
The girls are not okay.
The kids are not okay.

AND ONLY THE ADULTS CAN FIX THIS.
It’s not as much a gun, social, legal issue as much as it is an “adults have forsaken children on every level” issue.

 

All day long we heard how clearly mental illness must be a present factor. Then we hear the shocking news that the shooter was a woman, “…no telling, maybe she was abused there…” Maybe she was. If I can confess my sinful flesh, right this minute I don’t really care one way or the other. You do not shoot innocent third graders (or anyone) over teenage trauma, if in fact there was. I don’t care if you’re “triggered” by recent legislation… EVIL IS NEVER A RIGHTEOUS RESPONSE. Ever. Don’t try to empathize with it or justify it. It’s not. Period.

 

But let’s revisit that mental health issue we felt so comfortable diagnosing all day long–before we quit talking about Nashville’s inconvenient narrative and start wringing our hands at the potential hate that will be directed at the trans community.  You bet your *drag* there’s a mental health issue. And we have normalized it, celebrated it, and demanded acceptance of it. Though up until the last few years it was plainly included in medical and psychological journals as such.

 

I swear if I hear, “this is understandable because people are speaking out against…” What? Speaking out against a radical agenda that is destroying and mutilating an entire generation? That’s so “Screwtapey.” Evil in this area is so entrenched that when people finally waken enough to renounce it… they are then evil? Well played, Satan. We not only embraced this principality, but we also defend and protect it.. because it’s so vulnerable. Psshhh. We are fools.

Why does this keep happening? This keeps happening because we are unrepentant idolaters.

And we continue to be surprised and offended when sin sure enough has consequences.

 

And the Church is not okay either.  Or innocent. There is a loving liberal faction that wholeheartedly endorsed the wider way.

 

Just yesterday, Jen Hatmaker had a post that was a primary example of how we got to where we got.  And it was just breathlessly praised. 13,000 likes , almost 800 comments. All my tribey, bougie, progressivy sisters in Christ  just “Amen’d” their hearts out. “Thank you, Jen! Ugh, louder for the people in back. Truth, girl…” Followed by lament over recent legislation aimed at preventing life-altering surgeries in children. Tremendous.

 

File this under “Things That Will Not Age Well.”

“Notice who the typical scapegoats tend to be. Who do some of our leaders want us to fear? Who gets blamed, dehumanized, targeted, and scapegoated? When vulnerable people are cast as dangerous, our alarm bells should go off, not as members of any political party but as members of society. Refugees are not rapists climbing over the walls o take our jobs and dodge taxes. Trans kids are not identifying as such to win high school track meets. Teachers teaching our actual, factual American history aren’t creating racism. And drag queens aren’t pedophiles out to compromise America’s children. The narrative that tells us we are in danger from them begs the questions: who is “we” and who is “them” and how are we actually in danger? Spoiler: we aren’t. But these policies and this language sure puts our vulnerable neighbors in danger. Thank you, my love. Do Texas next.”

Repent. There actually is a cost to poor theology.

It’s policies, people. Policies and prejudice are the enemies. Mmm… Nah, they aren’t. Not at all. Principalities, my topo-chica priesta.

PRINCIPALITIES… demonic activity with a goal to steal, kill, destroy, confuse, and damage God’s creation–with a purpose to hinder and disrupt God’s will… AND TAKE AS MANY PEOPLE TO HELL WITH THEM AS POSSIBLE. We have a very real enemy and he laughs at the weight we give to laws and man.

 

And false teachers have glamorized and humanized the principalities and powers that seek to devour us. Dressing them up in tolerance, love, and mom hugs and bringing them straight to the sheep to slay all day. Literally bowing at their feet in humility.

Not as members of a political party, or even society… but as the Bride of Christ Almighty, we actually are in danger.

Do Jude Next, Tyler.

 

There are worse things to fear than guns or governors. Like judgement before the Just Judge and Holy God.

 

Prayerfully consider Jen, what if you’re wrong? What if the voice you were hearing wasn’t the Lord’s? What if it was pride and rebellion welling up within and not righteous courage or indignation? What if the Spirit was not leading you, but flesh and feeling? What if the community you were welcoming with open arms were being drawn from His fold and flock? Prayerfully consider it. What if that is actually the truth? Surely, you can see how wrong you were yesterday. Surely, you can see how today’s tragedy entirely undid your tidy ideology.  Surely, you can see that God’s timing in allowing your post and this event back-to-back, is not chance. He could have shut mouths and spared trouble. But He didn’t. What if in this awful tragedy, our gracious and good God is trying to reach you and extend His helping hand? I pray those same alarm bells are going off now.

 

There will be a reckoning for a culture that embraced and elevated a lifestyle that was always going to prove fruitless, because it was contrary to God’s best, and encouraged it for vulnerable, searching, and broken people.

 

Unfollow me now, people. It’s unlikely I’ll be less salty tomorrow. Spoiler… millstones, people.

Millstones for those who lead astray and for those who say nothing to those leaders.