Note: I actually wrote this last Wednesday, planning on posting it today, unaware of anything that would happen in Paris. On one hand I don’t want to capitalize on the Paris tragedy, but on the other hand I believe this applies now more than ever. So I’ve decided to keep it posting on today’s schedule.
Our world seems to be filled with tragedies: school shootings, bombings, tsunamis, earthquakes… I feel like each week there’s a new tragedy filling my Facebook timeline with news stories and Christians weighing in on the tragedies.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen some major errors in the way some of my fellow believers respond to these tragedies. Many times these sorts of responses alienate people or foment negative responses.
Here are three things I’d love to see Christians stop doing in the wake of tragedies. I believe stopping these can put us in a position to start responding the right way.
Stop bringing up our agendas.
It seems in the wake of shootings I see tons of “if everyone had guns this wouldn’t happen” or “if guns were more controlled this wouldn’t happen”. Neither of those are helpful for grieving people.
Whenever we use a tragedy to launch our agenda, we aren’t showing love to those affected by the tragedies. And the affected don’t just include the people directly affected by the event. Sometimes people who merely read the stories are struggling with real and complicated emotions.
Let’s stop bringing our agendas into the tragedy and just love people. Show our own sorrow. Show our support. Start real conversations of hope.
Stop offering quick fixes.
To be honest, there are few quick fixes in this world. Even the Holy Spirit, the only true fix for everything wrong with this world, doesn’t always work on matters overnight. I’m still struggling with battles that the Holy Spirit is working out in me…but it takes real time.
Quick fixes might make us feel good. It might make those who already agree with us feel good. But they rarely actually solve anything. They just stir up resentment and negative feelings.
Again, let’s just grieve with those who are grieving. Maybe when the emotions have died down we can offer our fixes… (But by then I have a feeling you might not feel the same way about the situation anymore…once you know all the facts.)
Stop looking for a villain.
Every story needs a good villain. And human beings love stories. So our natural tendency is to look for a villain in the wake of a tragedy.
- Obama is the villain!
- Gun lobbyists are the villains!
- Starbucks is the villain!
That doesn’t help the situation. And the problem is, none of these people are the real villain. The real villain is sinful humanity and the powers behind it.
But how about this… Instead of focusing on the villain, what if we started focusing on the hero? Our Savior is the true hero in all of these situations. Let’s look to him. Let’s celebrate him. He’s the only one who can actually do anything about these tragedies.
He can comfort those affected. He can work on hearts. And he will ultimately set everything right in the end. I’m not sure how, but I stand on the promise that he will.
So that’s my list. What would you add? How do you think Christians need to respond to tragedies via social media and their personal interactions?
