About two weeks ago, George Sodini entered a Pittsburgh gym and opened fire with two handguns. He killed three women and wounded many others, before turning the guns on himself.
Extracts from Sodini’s diary were published on the internet last week. They make for sad reading, and paint Sodini as a pathetic and lonely figure, full of anger and bitterness toward the world. The first time I read through them, I’ll admit I felt a lot of pity for Sodini - he seemed a truly miserable man. But on a second reading, my pity began to fade.
Yes, it was dreadfully sad to read about his poor upbringing, his inability to make close friends, and his romantic failures. But in other ways, Sodini had much to be thankful for. He was a fit and healthy man. He had a good job, a new car, his own home and plenty of money. He travelled when he wished, and had been an active member of various social organisations. Many people would do anything for such advantages.
But Sodini could not see how he’d been blessed. His diary shows a man who was completely focused on himself. There is no concern for others, no hints of empathy or compassion. It is all self-interest. All his time, his energy, his money - all focused on his own gratification. And when he could not get what he wanted, he responded by killing himself and several others as well. It was an act of hateful and defiant contempt for the world that had let him down.
Sodini’s attitude went beyond narcissism - it was a sort of self-worship, an idolatry of his own person. Sodini had listened to the advertisers and pop psychologists who had told him he was the most important person in the world, and that nothing mattered beyond his own gratification. The consequences were horrific.
The Bible says, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve”. When we ignore the true and living God, we make ourselves into little gods. George Sodini’s fault was that he understood this too well. And a society of little gods, far from being a prototype of paradise, is actually a picture of hell.
