May 17, 2022 – Click here to listen
I was saddened to see that a young white supremist man murdered 10 people and wounded another 3 at a grocery store in Buffalo NY the other day. He is the product of well-educated parents, both engineers with above average incomes. They have no idea why their son did what he did or from where his racism evolved. They say race was never discussed in their household and that they were unaware of their son’s extremist views.
A friend sent me a copy of the video that the shooter took to film his shooting spree. It was difficult to watch. It was filmed in such a manner that it enabled viewers to see the shooting through his eyes. He drove up got out of his vehicle and shot a woman who was standing outside the store and then sprayed a window. Next, he proceeded through the store shooting everyone he saw. In the video that I viewed he reloaded once. The 18-year-old, shot 13 people — 11 of whom are Black and two who are white
What could drive someone to conduct such evil? He posted a manifesto telling people why. It seems that he was radicalized online and appeared to adhere to a white supremacist ideology called, “replacement theory”. Through the 180 pages of his hate-filled writings that he posted online a common theme emerged: The notion that white Americans are at risk of being replaced by people of color. Ugh . . .
I prayed for his victims and their families. I also prayed for the family of the shooter and the shooter himself. It is a tragedy of epic proportions. So much senseless violence.
Immediately the politicians began a campaign of trying to score political points adhering to the “never let a crisis go to waste” ideology. Biden is scheduled to fly to Buffalo, the gun control advocates are seeking any live microphone they can find, professional racists are stirring their followers and so on. It seems no one is praying and seeking God.
News flash: this evil is not merely another racism issue; it is an epidemic of satanic influence that is pure evil. It is amazing to me how an incident like this can gain worldwide attention. Take a look at these statistics of the number of people who were shot in Chicago.
May to Date
Shot & Killed: 32
Shot & Wounded: 157
Total Shot: 189
Total Homicides: 32
Week in Progress (5/15 – 5/21)
Shot & Killed: 3
Shot & Wounded: 22
Total Shot: 25
Total Homicides: 3
Year To Date
Shot & Killed: 202
Shot & Wounded: 865
Total Shot: 1067
Total Homicides: 223
For the year, 1067 shot and 223 killed! This is primarily black on black shooting. I don’t see Biden rearranging his schedule to fly to Chicago and no one in the media seems to care.
It’s not just Chicago either, most big cities are experiencing similar violence. Baltimore City for instance recently outpaced it’s 2021 murder rate with 31 homicides in 25 days. People are being slaughtered every day in this country. It seems no one is seeking God and yet He is the only One who can solve this dilemma.
I am reminded of so many Old Testament prophets that preached and preached trying to convince people to return to God and yet they refused. They looked for a solution everywhere except to heaven. We need revival to end racism, trafficking, illegal drugs, and the violence that surrounds it. We need to spend time on our knees praying that God will forgive us.
That is what the prophets in the Bible said, but the people would not listen, and things got worse not better. So, are we doomed? Many of those nations repented after the warnings and for a while God put off judgment and life was good. And then new leadership came in and they reverted back to their old ways. Reminds me of getting a hog all cleaned up and at the first opportunity it goes right back to its favorite mudhole and wallows.
If we want the senseless evil violence to end, we must understand that peace and joy only come from God. Seek Him every day and you will find hm and His blessings.
John 8:44
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.