INXS is an 80s band that wrote a hit song called Devil Inside. The lead singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence, committed suicide at the age of 37 in 1997. I remember this because I was a senior in high school and had always liked his music. He left behind a one year old daughter named Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence - they called her Tiger Lily for short. In 2000, Tiger Lily's mother died of an accidental drug overdose. 4 year old Tiger found her body.
As I was watching the coverage on the news about the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut where 26 people lost their lives at the hand of a demented 20 year old shooter, the INXS song kept playing in my head:
Every single one of us the devil inside
The devil inside, the devil inside
Every single one of us the devil inside
Here come the world, with the look in its eye
Future uncertain, but certainly slight
Look at the faces, listen to the bells
It's hard to believe we need a place called hell, place called hell"
The killer slayed 20 innocent elementary aged children. Countless other children witnessed the horrors. And this all happened right before Christmas. I can't even begin to imagine what the long-term impact of this senseless tragedy will be, but I pray that something good can come from all this evil. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
We are a society that is in desperate need of connection. School shootings are starting to become a staple in the evening news. What is wrong with us? When will we see that our lack of connection and relationship with God and each other is creating this increase is psychological issues. Only God can remove "the devil inside".
My four year old saw that I was upset as I was watching the news coverage and he asked why I was so sad. I told him I was sad because of the bad things that happen. He said, "what bad things?", and the innocence of his question stirred my soul. Little children have no idea what evils lurk. It is our responsibility to love them unconditionally and teach them that only God is in control. When God lives in your heart, there can be no devil inside. Romans 12:21 says "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good".
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