Tragically, mass shootings have become all too common, and our nation struggles to make sense of the senseless. One common assessment from both sides is blaming “mental illness” as the culprit, but after working 30 years in the mental health field I’m here to tell you “it just ain’t so.” If you want to pull the mask off of those who are comfortable shooting the innocent you will find a different conclusion; and more often than not it centers upon principles of spiritual darkness.
You can address mental illness all day long, but if you neglect to treat a man’s soul you’ve overlooked a crucial element of the treatment plan that gets to the heart of the issue. I’ve treated mental illness and personality disorders over the years, and although those diagnosis have their challenging behaviors none of those draw a direct line to mass shootings.
I know what depression and anxiety look like and the idea that you would go in and shoot up a mall and take innocent lives goes beyond the pale. This is the darkness that the Bible speaks about.
Jesus himself wasn’t immune to the attacks of this world. It was Satan who tempted Jesus to “throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus was not suicidal. He was tempted by unmitigated evil.
When we read about Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ, we are told in Luke 22:3 that Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. This is not mental illness, but demonic submission and possession.
So do we go back to the old adage that “The devil made me do it?” Well the devil can’t make anyone do anything without permission, but apparently there are those willing to do his bidding.
So what does that mean for us today? According to James 4:7 it’s clear, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
After all we humans have to submit. Our empty souls cry out for something or someone to fill it, and we have the free will to choose who that will be.
At the end of the day we are not battling mental illness in these mass shootings but spiritual darkness in heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 New International Version (NIV)
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
It’s time to reveal who the real enemy is, so that the battle may be won.
-PT/LT
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