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8:11 And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.
A recent headline read: “Mall shooting has sad, scary lesson: It could happen here.” But do mall shootings “happen?”
Storms, earthquakes, rain, snow, sunshine, and other natural events happen. No one causes them.
But how could a mall shooting happen here? I guess a loaded hand gun could fall off a store shelf during an earthquake and shoot and kill six people. No cause for worry there.
Mall shootings are not natural occurrences. They are human actions. Mall shootings don’t happen. They are carried out or committed by human beings.
So what’s the difference? Responsibility! No one is responsible for the things that happen as natural occurrences. But we as individuals and as a society are indeed responsible for our actions and behaviors.
The article I am referring to also said: “Violence can erupt unexpectedly.” Sure, in a volcano. But human violence doesn’t erupt. People can suddenly began to act violently, but their violent behavior is something that they do, not something that happens to them or through them. See the difference?
So why do we use such passive language? People say, “I’m going through a divorce,” which is not true. They are divorcing. But by wording it in a passive way we attempt to shift responsibility form our own action to the cop out phrase “things happen.”
We can’t control or fix things that just happen. But we can control and fix what we think, say, and do. Passive language is an admission of hopelessness. We can only improve our behaviors if we take active responsibility for them.
So could someone shoot up a mall? Yes, he or she could. Could a mall shooting happen here? I don’t see how that would be possible.
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