This past week has made me, and I know others, heavy of heart and mind. I think on the Orlando shooting that took place Sunday, the death of celebrity Christina Grimmie which took place the Saturday before and a few days later the toddler who was snatched up by an alligator at a Disney resort and later found dead. With all this news, it's hard to know how to respond or how to help. Having gone through my own tragedy though, I have noticed something about how people respond.
For the majority, people respond in two ways. The first is they talk about it- How tragic it all is, with friends and family and for the younger generation. Us millennials, we post about it. We say we're praying, say that we are grieving with the families, and that all may be true! The other way is we get angry, we point fingers, we use it as a reason to curse God or as proof he doesn't exist, and we find someone to blame.
Somehow these two responses seem incomplete, and a bit selfish to me. The first, discussing it all, seems good-mannered, done with good intentions, but ultimately it is trivial and inauthentic, and does nothing for the situation. The second, getting angry, is a waste of energy, and anger should be a choice left to those having actually experienced the tragedy. Otherwise, it's as if people choose to feed off the anger that belongs rightly to those involved. If anger is expressed as an outsider response, it should be righteous anger.
In Ephesians 4:26-27 it says this, "Be angry, yet do not sin; Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." Be angry. But, do not let your anger cause you to act in hate, or promote sin. If there be anger, let it be righteous anger-- that which took hold Jesus when he was in the temple witnessing fraud and blasphemy.
See, I believe our response as the witnesses to these tragedies should be unselfish, and should result in taking action in some way, shape or form. Especially if some of us call ourselves Christians. Where is God? Why isn't he doing anything? He did do something. He made me and you. He placed us here for such a time as this, to build and work in his kingdom.
If you're angry, pray that it won't become bitterness. Use it to drive you to pray more, and even to taken action, create awareness, and inspire others to take notice. If you have no anger in your heart, but your heart is filled with grief, do not simply speak on it or post about it. If you say you're going to pray, then PRAY. And if you're talking about it with friends and family, stop yourselves and pray.
I have no doubt that intentional, meaningful prayer will turn into blessings on those affected and perhaps our prayers will turn into action, just as this man's did when he decided to create individual crosses for the victims of the Orlando shootings. Crosses which, words of encouragement and prayer could be passed onto the families.
These are the responses that will bring blessings. I know. I lived in my own chaos during my sister's cancer and hospital journey, which stretched out for six months and resulted in her death. Lots of people stood by us. And I cannot express how much more meaningful it is when people respond selflessly, with intentional prayer and righteous anger. And for myself, it made all the difference when I stopped pointing my finger at God asking him why, and instead started asking myself, "What can I do?"
So in the wake of this last week and all these tragedies that have struck, choose to respond with the victims and families and people involved. Do not make it about you. Don't point fingers in anger. Instead ask, "What is it I can do?" If we all chose this, it could make a world of a difference.