Shooting: Gotta get more God
As we mourn the assault on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and pray for the victims and the survivors, we also ask ourselves how this can happen in our nation. We ask over and over again "why does this happen?" We try to put the pieces together and make sense of it. Over, and over again, "how can people do this to people let alone children?" Well, I think I have the answer.
Our nation, as a whole, has kicked God out of our classrooms and our homes and replaced Him with movie stars, rappers and rock stars, and arrogant politicians. We've made it next to illegal to mention His name in certain places. We've made it a taboo to discuss Him in public. Additionally, we've relinquished our parental rights and responsibilities to our children and handed them to the government controlled education system, to Hollywood, and to the music industry.
We've given up our roles as mentors and said "the school can handle the tough stuff. I do the providing at home." We've replaced spending time with our kids with putting them in front of a television or a video game while we toil with work, bills, or other things that really won't matter in the next six months. Well, America, we see where that gets us. Time and time again we are seeing exactly where that gets us.
When you don't teach your children about Jesus Christ and self sacrifice and only focus on the wants of the child, that child grows up believing they are the center of the universe. That child becomes a child in an adult's body and believes whole hearted "if I want it, I can have it" and "if I want to do it, I'm going to do it and no one can stop me." They don't care who they hurt, as long as they get what they want.
It seems that our nation has and is still in the process of booting God out of our culture, our schools, and even out of our homes. Yet we continue to ask "why is this happening to our nation?" Well, that is what happens when you replace God, self-sacrifice, love, and understanding with "me, me, me, me." That is what happens when you stop being a parent and you expect the "system" to teach your child about love and sacrifice. Yes, the education system can teach your child to do math, understand science, and speak grammatically correct in several different languages, but the school can't raise your child to be a moral loving person, or teach your child about Jesus Christ and His message of true love, dying to self, living for others, and loving God. Our nation has abandoned those messages and in doing so we have tragedies like last Friday's.
You want it to stop? You want the heartbreak to end? Parents, talk to your children. Spend time with your children and don't be afraid to have tough conversations with them. No one likes talking to their kids about the ugliness of the world, but it seems we have to in today's society because kids are teaching kids about it all before we can.
Additionally, don't be afraid to discipline your children when they disobey or break the rules. It's OK to do so and they are not going to hate you for it. I'm not saying beat or mentally abuse your children when they misbehave or break the rules. I'm saying discipline them. Teach them that their poor decisions and behavior have consequences. Discipline them, then show them you still love them. Be a parent to your child and not their "buddy." It's up to you to teach your child that when they enter the real world breaking the law is going to have consequences. By doing so, you are loving your children. Sometimes love is very difficult, but when you love someone you do what needs to be done for the better in the long run.
So parents, It's up to you to teach your child about Jesus Christ's message of love. Don't leave it to the education system, the television, the radio, or the government. It won't get done. We as parents are the examples for which our children model themselves. You want your children to grow up respecting others and respecting life? Teach them what it means to love, respect, and serve others as Jesus Christ taught us. Invite God back into your home and into your lives. Live for Jesus Christ and live for others and teach your children to do the same. That will end this madness. Turn off MTV, Comedy Central, and other trash television. Turn off the radio with its explicative suggestive lyrics. Turn off the Hollywood violence that promotes the "gotta get mine" attitude and promiscuity. Turn it all off and turn on a relationship with Jesus Christ and your children.
Will this guarantee nothing bad will ever happened to your children? Of course it won't, but it will greatly decrease the chances of them hurting others. Will it guarantee they will always make the right decision? Again, of course it won't, but it will help them make the right choices more often. If we all take this approach the chances of things like Friday's shooting happening again, and again, and again will decrease dramatically. If we all start doing this I believe we will turn this nation around and parents will reclaim their children.
Let us put God back into our lives, our homes, and yes, even our schools. It seems to me, things were much better when He was around.
Jeff Langford is a Coeur d'Alene resident.