On June 15, 2015, 22 year old Dylann Roof walked into the basement of Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina and opened fire, killing nine people. As anyone would logically ponder on this type of massacre, it seems automatic that the offender would feel some type of remorse. That isn’t the case for Roof, and it was proven in a letter he penned to reformed white supremacist, Christian Picciolini.
Piccolini, who now trains police, FBI and Homeland Security in the ways of the white supremacist movement said that Dylann’s behavior is the unfortunate reality of the movement’s influence on young white males, particularly on social media.
“It’s these types of things that appeal to young people who, frankly, are living in an environment right now where it’s tough to find something to believe in.”
As much as I’d like to say that I hope that stories like these ones go away for good, the truth is that as long as there is hate in the hearts of men, these situations will continue. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Solomon, who wrote the book of Proverbs, became a victim of his own words, when he too thought he was something he was not and it led to his downfall. As Christians, it is imperative that we do not fall prey to the deception hatefulness can cause.
The enemy’s primary goal is to deceive and divide and he does his best work through hate groups like the KKK and other supremacy movements. If we stand together as a unified front in a spirit of love and grace the enemy’s agenda will be defeated.
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