These days, it seems you can hardly turn on the news without hearing about another shooting or some other tragic event where people are hurting each other. When will people learn? When will it stop?
Sadly, it will not stop because all human hearts are corrupt. Jesus said in Matthew, Chapter 15: “To be sure, out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies” (19).
When will people learn? They will not because by nature, all human beings are sinful to the very core. In our heart of hearts, we are selfish and only care about ourselves.
That is why the prayer King David prayed in Psalm 51 is so important. After being confronted in his sin and the corruption of his heart, this is what he prayed:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God.
Renew an unwavering spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence.
Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psa 51:10–12).
“Create in me a pure heart.” God does this when He places faith inside us. He put something new in our hearts, something different from what is there by nature. Through faith, He washes us in the blood of Jesus and purifies us from all corruption and sin. That faith is also eager to love God and love one another. Through faith, God changes us so that we think differently about ourselves and about the people around us. God, through that faith, empowers us to be kind and compassionate to one another.
So, when tragedies like shootings occur, our hearts certainly go out to the victims, but to find the cause, one need not look too far. We know what our natural hearts are like and so we pray with David, “O Lord, create in me a pure heart!”
May God continue to purify our hearts through faith in Jesus. May He continue to change the way we think so we may view Him and our neighbor properly.
Heavenly Father, give us new hearts that are like Your heart, full of compassion and love for others. Amen.
From Devotion 50 in “Good News for You”, an ELS devotional booklet.