by: Allen Domelle
At 9:20 AM Pacific standard time, Paul Anthony Ciancia entered the LAX airport and began shooting TSA agents and private citizens on a suicidal rampage. This mindless senseless mentality of a person like this makes me wonder of what has become of our society. There are no words to describe how terrible and tragic this event is.
It seems that this young man targeted TSA agents. Though many people do not like the TSA, let me remind you that these agents still have families. My heart goes out to the family of Gerardo I. Hernandez, the agent who was shot in the face and killed. We may not like the TSA agency, but the people working for this agency are not bad people. These agents are people like you and me who go to work every day to pay the bills and feed their families. Every week I go to an airport and see TSA agents with whom I’ve become very friendly, and my thoughts went to them and what they must be thinking as the events at the LAX airport unfolded.
We ask ourselves, what is becoming of America when tragic shootings like yesterday’s at the LAX airport are becoming a common thing in our society? Are the guns truly the problem? Should we focus more on gun control? Do we need to start psychoanalyzing every person who has suicidal thoughts? You can be assured that the finger-pointing and the politicizing of the event will start this weekend.
I believe that the reason these things will become more of a common theme in America is because we have removed the pillars of truth. According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is the pillar of truth. This verse says, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Society looks to the church to determine what is right and wrong. When the Bible, which is the source of truth, is pushed out of society, why should we not expect people to go on suicidal rampages as we have seen in recent history? When Hollywood portrays the church and the Bible as out of date and out of touch, then where is the pillar of truth? When news analysts portray those who base their positions and decisions on the Bible as out of touch, then you can’t be surprised that people would not have a horizon of truth. When the Bible, the source of truth and civility, becomes evil in the eyes of a society, then you can’t be shocked when tragic events happen.
Instead of judges ruling that it is unconstitutional to allow God in our public arenas, we need to have a revival of God being pushed back into our public schools, government, and public places. Instead of taking the 10 Commandments out of federal court houses, we ought to place the 10 Commandments in every public place so people are daily reminded of truth. Instead of teaching sex education to our elementary students, we ought to be teaching them the 10 Commandments and the Word of God so they understand there is a source of truth where they can learn what is right and wrong. Instead of trying to push an enlightened age that excepts everything, we need to get back to the day where gray areas are pushed out and the right and wrong of the Bible is trumpeted from every authority.
The Scriptures say, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12) As long as we push God out of our society, then our society better brace itself for more of these types of tragedies. The problem is not a gun control problem or a psychoanalysis problem, the problem is that God has been pushed out. The problem is that the Bible teaches that there are evil people, and our society ignores the what the Bible teaches for pseudo psychologists who want to blame wrong on others. When the day comes that we make God our focal point in society, then we will have a day when people will understand there is right and wrong, and there are consequences for every action. When we get to the point that we teach there is a real Heaven and a real Hell, then you will have people second-guessing whether death is truly desirable.
Let’s certainly pray for the families of those who lost their loved ones in the mindless event, but let’s also stop pushing God out of the public arena and place Him in every part or our lives.