Today, I have been numb. I have been numb since I first awakened from a fitful night of sleep at 3:30 a.m. to hear the news coming out of Las Vegas. This is the kind of numbness that does not come from insensitivity to the pain and suffering of others. It is a numbing that comes when we feel as though we have been hit upside the head with a blunt object wielding the news of an unimaginable act of pain and suffering. The images coming from Las Vegas reminds me of my early days as a young cop when I saw for the first time the horrible images my young and overly self-confident eyes never expected to see. I remember going numb then and needing help to recover. The images coming out of Las Vegas are much worse.

When we begin to emerge from this nightmarish moment of national numbing we need to process how we will engage this crisis and others that will surely come in its bloody wake. The way we speak and the way we act in the coming days will determine the course of our national dialogue.

As you begin to regain your sense of feeling from the violent strike of this numbing experience, inquire of the Lord how you should speak and what you should do as a personal action step. Give others the honor to speak their opinions without your correction. None of us has the final and comprehensive answer to this crisis. Yes, Jesus is the answer, but He has chosen to give all His people a unique voice that has a valued place in the diversity of opinion.  Until those answers emerge empathize and listen. Stay away from the pat and predictable answers that have previously painted over the violent elephant that is waging destruction in our cultural room. The answers are coming to those willing to listen before they respond.

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