Some times remind us more than others just how much we need to share the love of Christ. In the weeks since the school shooting in Florida that’s been weighing on my mind. It’s not just that someone would be evil enough to walk into a building and snuff out the lives of so many innocent people, though that’s part of it. It wasn’t that many years ago that I was a high school student and parked in the school lot next to trucks with gun racks in the back window holding shotguns and rifles. And nobody ever thought anything about it because nobody who had them would’ve ever used them to shoot another person. The fact that we now live in a time when people will do that in schools, office buildings, at concerts, and even at churches shows how much our community, our country, and our world need Christ. 

But it’s not just that high-level evil that makes me see the importance of sharing Christ with the world, it’s the consistent anger and hatred I’ve witnessed on the part of people as they react to these evil acts. Many on the right come across as callous and uncaring because their passion to protect their rights is stronger than their desire to make it clear that they want to find solutions to the problem. Many on the left are quick to shout that “something has to be done,” but will accept only one option for action—regardless of its efficacy—and will claim that anyone who opposes that particular solution wants children to die. With social media, the internet, and so many TV and radio channels available as a platform for people to speak their mind, the volume of the vitriol is cranked up to 10. And the finger-pointing and blaming roar on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The fact is that you and I are partly responsible for evil acts such as this one. Because far too many of us Christians—and I count myself chief among sinners—have been content to sit on our blessed assurance and haven’t been committed to leading people to the only one who can change people’s hearts. 

At the end of the day, changes in policy—whether on the federal or local level—will, at best, only help prevent people who are bent on doing evil from being successful as often. And if our culture isn’t impacted in a strongly positive way somehow, its coarsening will only lead to more wickedness, and we’ll forever find ourselves just trying to keep our finger in the dyke as more and more holes are punched through by the tide of evil. 

So how can you and I—normal Christians who aren’t politicians and policymakers—make a difference? A couple of things come to mind. 

Start by not making the problem worse. Don’t contribute to the anger and bitterness. As I read some stories online following the shooting, I was tempted to weigh in on the comments board and blast those who were acting self-righteously. But I didn’t. I realized that not only was it making me angry, but my comments would just add fuel to the fire. That’s not to say we need to keep silent, just make sure that what we say is loving, well-reasoned, and well-presented. And recognize that speaking up in some places contributes toward solutions and in other places it only creates more division.

Two, focus on being the best follower of Christ possible. Part of the problem with our culture is that too many of us who call ourselves Christians aren’t very committed to following Christ so closely that our actions and attitudes are noticeably different from those who don’t follow Him. Churches have too many Sunday-Morning Christians who don’t really follow Christ.

Three, make it a priority to be Christ in the lives of the people you meet. The church is called the body of Christ, which means that we’re to be the physical representation of Jesus in this world. We need to start taking that seriously. Because leading people to Christ is what brings real heart-change.

Evil will exist until Christ returns. We can’t eliminate it. But we can blunt its effect—and in the process change our culture—by following Him with all our heart and leading people to Him. And you don’t need an act of Congress to do that—just a commitment to being what a Christian is supposed to be in the first place.