Article August 28, 2000 Issue

The Bible's answer to school shootings

Evil impulses are never part of our identity.

Gayle Miller Huizinga

In the aftermath of last year's tragic school shootings in the United States, I turned to the Bible for comfort. I came upon the three temptations that Christ Jesus overcame in the wilderness after fasting for forty days and nights (see Luke 4:1–12 and Matt. 4:1–10). My first reaction was that this simply did not relate to what was troubling me at that moment, and I considered moving on. But instead, I listened for God to tell me what I needed to learn, and continued to read and listen.

As I read, it struck me how often each of us is tempted to believe that there is something besides the one infinite source of all being, divine Life, that is absolutely necessary to our life. Whether it's a job, acceptance at a particular university, company, or clique, or a salary range. Or even a healing we feel we desperately need.

Have you ever thought of any of these things as a temptation—like the ones Jesus faced? Of course, there is nothing wrong with legitimate desires. But when we long for them as the source of happiness or fulfillment, aren't we really being tempted to believe that something other than God is the source of our well-being, even of our survival? When we specifically imagine and then insist upon a particular outcome, aren't we, in a sense, second-guessing God and limiting the infinite source of good? Doesn't believing that any material thing or circumstance can add to or diminish the life that comes from God amount to disobeying the First Commandment by believing in something more powerful than God?

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