Thoughts and Prayers Matter
A letter to the editor of the Buffalo News commented on school shootings. The writer, Gary Rog, correctly asked, “What is wrong with us as a society when mass murder becomes commonplace?”
That is an important question to ask.
But the writer answered it himself, perhaps, when he added,
“I for one am sick and tired of politicians using the hackneyed expression of “thoughts and prayers to the survivors of these horrific events instead of that action that could help to avoid them in the future.”
This gentleman is not the first or last to express disdain for this term.
Ranjeev Puri, a Michigan lawmaker, crassly said, “F — your thoughts and prayers.
…after the shooting deaths of Michigan State University shootings.
This insensitive foul language betrays the root of the problem. It is a lack of common decency and common sense of leaders. They are on a rampage to control guns but are entirely blind to the sin and mental illness that causes people to pull the trigger.
Far worse, these misguided politicians and their enablers think prayer is ineffective and sending good thoughts to others in their time of need doesn’t matter.
Both notions are anti-God and anti-human, and that insensitivity is at the root of many social problems.
Words Are as Deadly as Guns
This article is not about guns. Please don’t make it about that. It is about how bigots too often set the tone for violence. Christians must take a stand against that. We cannot allow them to trivialize the importance of valuing “thoughts and prayers.” Thoughts and prayers matter.
I do not own guns anymore. I got my first gun when I was seven years old. It was a .22 pistol, and I was not allowed to shoot it until I took an NRA gun safety course, which I did within weeks.
Later in life, I owned several guns, including a 12-gauge shotgun, a 30–30 rifle, and a 9mm pistol. I have not owned any weapons for decades, but I do not despise those who do.
People who have an “anything goes” value system are the ones who sew the seeds of violence. Then, they exacerbate it by discounting the values of others. Yet, prayer may be the only thing that can save us from the chaos anti-Christian bigots have created. It is wholesome ideals that make the difference, not the tools of violence.
For example, did you know gun ownership is far safer than car ownership?
The US population is about 330 million people (2021). There are over 436 million guns in the hands of US citizens (2022) and 48,830 gun deaths of all kinds, including accidents, suicides, and murders (2021). That is bad, but only 290 million cars were registered in 2021, and there were 42,915 traffic deaths that same year.
Automobiles are far more lethal than guns, yet there is no campaign to ban cars. Thus, regarding the killing, we must consider gun control as a power play by extremists because vehicles pose a more significant threat.
We Need to Pray for the Mentally Ill
Mentally ill people are sinners (Romans 3:23) but carry additional burdens that require treatment. Mentally disturbed people cause 33 percent of mass killings. According to research, individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are responsible for gun violence. And making it harder for regular people to buy guns does not stop them.
Few Americans forget that mentally disturbed people were once separated from society and got treatment in mental hospitals.
While studying theology at Princeton, I did clinical training in one of the last of these facilities, Trenton State Psychiatric Hospital. But in the 1960s to the 1980s, a new philosophy called the Community Mental Health Program swept the land. Insane people were released from “insane asylums” (as they were unfairly called) into our communities.
They were supposed to get their meds and their treatment in local clinics. That progressive philosophy failed, of course, and we are reaping that whirlwind of the nearly 330,000 homeless people on our streets today. Many are mentally unbalanced, and as news reports remind us, many are violent.
We cannot say we have a gun problem. It is weak, simplistic thinking to suggest that. About .0001 percent of the available guns in the US are used to kill people.
No, I’m not suggesting that gun deaths are not appalling; they are horrible. But I am suggesting guns are not the issue, as we see from the numbers. The murderous hearts of people is the issue (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23).
Politicians and pundits are the ones with blood on their hands. They refuse to deal with the real issues, which are the problem of sin and the insanity spawned by our increasingly aberrant society.
Let’s Continue with Thoughts and Prayers
Since politicians will never solve violence with their methods, Christians must continue with our methods.
We know we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18), so we pray for the victims and their families. We will refuse to stop. Christians must send that message loud and clear. There is power in prayer because it:
- Shows empathy and support. Saying “you are in my thoughts and prayers” is a way to express empathy and support for someone who is going through a difficult time. It lets the person know that they are not alone and that someone cares about what they’re going through.
- Provides comfort and hope. Christians are in the hope business. When someone is struggling, they may feel overwhelmed, scared, or hopeless, and we can encourage them by voicing support. Knowing someone is thinking about them and praying for them can provide comfort and hope. It helps people deal with loss and grief.
- Strengthens social bonds. Sharing concern for others can help strengthen social bonds and build relationships. When we show empathy and support for others, we demonstrate that we care about them and are willing to be there for them when they need us.
- Demonstrates faith. Jesus changed the world, and he is still redeeming people. It can be a way of acknowledging God and that he is ultimately in control.
Christians can push back on political nonsense. The debauched values we see among politicians serve to increase the killings.
They pass laws that encourage violence. They think violence is caused by guns rather than the depraved condition of the human heart. Their ideology blinds them, so they do not attempt practical solutions.
We all agree this is the solution: Thoughts + Prayers + Action. But the misguided actions of the anti-Christian element in society have failed. They have no right to attack those of us who have seen that thoughts and prayers are efficacious.
Let politicians be in our thoughts and prayers, too. Jesus Christ can change the heart of even the most brazen elected officials.
Sources cited: Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
Buffalo News Article | Gary Rog
