We have an American flag in the front yard of our church building here at Scottsville. Sadly, I’ve noticed lately that is has been flying at half mast more often than not. It is a common practice to fly the flag at half mast after a tragedy occurs. Our world has always been filled with evil, but the method of acting on evil impulses has just changed over time. Why is the flag always at half mast? Because evil people continue to do what they have always done. Hurt others. 

Despite our political differences, we should all be able to agree on these facts: Shooting up a school is evil. Taking an innocent life is the epitome of wickedness. And yet we get distracted by the politics of the situation and fail to see who is truly responsible. Satan has a firm grip on our world, and if we don’t do something to bring people out of his hold, bad things will continue to happen to good people. 

We shouldn’t be surprised at the state of our country. We have removed God from every place, and a godless country will only ever be evil. If we truly want to fix the problems that are constantly happening, we need to start by bringing others to Christ. Parents need to raise their children in Christ and stop making excuses for bad behavior. Mankind is naturally inclined to wickedness. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The further we move away from God, the closer we get to continual evil. 

Our flag has been at half mast far too often. I’m tired of hearing about all the innocent lives that are lost due to wicked people. Let’s put the politics aside and start focusing on the real issue. People are obsessed with following their own desires (James 1:15), and Satan loves to cheer us on. Only evil people would do what has been done lately, so let’s start teaching the love of Christ to a lost and dying world. There’s only One who can remove our wickedness, and now more than ever we need to proclaim Him!