Through a Glass Darkly

Two separate but possibly connected shootings took place yesterday (Sunday) against Christians in Colorado resulting in at least 5 dead, including the gunman in one of the attacks. Another 5 were wounded according to MSNBC reports.

Details on the attack at Faith Bible Chapel can be found here, and details about the attack at New Life Church are here.

The article about Faith Bible Chapel opens and presents the facts in such a way that the shooting can be interpreted as resulting from being denied shelter for the night. I suspect that’s not the case.

The article reports that some present felt the shooter came with intent to shoot. I wonder if he wasn’t trying to gain access to a larger group of people in the living quarters under the guise of needing a place to stay. His being prevented by the rules that were apparently in place probably saved lives.

According to the article, the gunman ended up shooting through a hallway into the living quarters. Possibly a last ditch effort to pull off what may have been a broader attack. Thank the Lord more weren’t injured or killed.

Let’s pray for those involved, especially the families that lost loved ones.

Let’s also not miss a lesson from it.

Moses prayed:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (Psalms 90:12 KJV)

Tragic incidents like these remind us that our days are numbered. God, in His infinite wisdom, doesn’t tell us that number. Therefore, each day, from our perspective, has the potential to be our last. In light of that fact, let’s live each day well by doing the important things and setting aside the unimportant.

Today is the day we should do those things we have been called to do for the Kingdom. Today is the day we should serve others in Christ’s name. Today is the day that we should demonstrate, and be an instrument of, Christ’s love and mercy in a broken and dying world.

We must do these things today because tomorrow we may find that, like the victims in the news today, it is our number that has come up.

Helping the poor out of their situation rather than simply enabling their situation is tricky. As previously pointed out, hand-outs on a needlessly long-term basis can actually be more harmful in the long run.

Needy people need permanent solutions to their problems, or “hand-ups.” But helping a needy person find a solution to their problem doesn’t necessarily mean giving them a solution to their problem. That would create a different kind of problem.

I saw a good point that relates to this idea made by Rob at Say Anything Blog in his post yesterday titled When Good Deeds Aren’t Really All That Good. Rob wrote:

Simply giving people things, whether it be a new home or a new car or even some new government entitlement, rarely makes them better. It may improve their situation a bit while whatever you’ve given them lasts, but the key to true success is self-sufficiency. If these people can’t provide for themselves, no amount of help in the form of giving them things is going to change that.

Rob’s thought suggests a key aspect that should be present in programs to help the poor: self-sufficiency. Giving a poor person the solution to their problem (say, for example, lots of money) without helping them gain the ability or resources to maintain what they have newly aquired (like the ability to make wise spending, earning and saving decisions) will ultimately end up with them not keeping what was given them and they will be needy once again.

Whatever solution we help the needy gain, we must also help them gain the ability to maintain, on their own ultimately, that solution.