Responses to Newtown: "Solutions" for Evil and the Patience of God

The Newtown tragedy that unfolded last Friday took my breath away, in particular because I have young children and cannot imagine going through what the parents of Sandy Hook students endured. As I've pondered this tragedy, a few thoughts have occurred to me. I'll share those briefly in posts over the next few days. 

First, I recognize that we need to ask practical questions about what could be done to prevent tragedies like this. So, we need thoughtful and nuanced discussions on issues like gun control, mental health, security measures at schools, etc. I do not mean to diminish the importance of those valuable and pertinent discussions. However, we need to also recognize that God's solution to the problem of evil is revealed in Jesus: patient, suffering love. If our call is to follow Jesus, then we need to realize that we need to recognize the limits of what we can do. Sometimes, the only way to respond to evil is to bear it, with God's help.

Often, the desire to "rid the world of evil-doers" reflects a prideful mindset that creates more evil through an uncritical crusade. The more we try to control things, the more they get out of hand. This is a truism that we see not only in Scripture, but in literature from ancient to contemporary times. We must recognize that, ultimately, only God can put an end to evil. To think otherwise is to place an eschatological burden on ourselves or on society that it simply cannot bear. 

So can we do something? Yes, of course. But can we prevent evil from occurring again? No, and the more desperately we try to prevent others from doing evil, the more we ourselves will become the very thing we fear.