“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
James 4:1-3 (NLT)
Apparently the gunman
in Thursday’s shooting which left 10 dead and 7 wounded at the college
demanded that students identify their religion and then shot those who said they
were Christian.
There are so, so many
factors in trying to think as a Christian about this incident and more broadly
about guns and society in general. Some
of my random, hopefully Christ inspired thoughts (in no particular order)
include. . . .
1. If you’re human,
you’re a victim. This includes
victimizers. Each of us is born with
some genetic defect, raised in a culture which dehumanizes us to one degree or
another, has the innate sin of Adam which seeks one’s own vindication, and
which is the victim of some sort of evil influence.
Christians therefore grieve for the vicitimizers as well at the victims.
Who knows that “there but for the Grace of God go I”.
2. Each of us, to
whatever degree we are mentally capable, is responsible for his or her actions.
No one is off the hook for the consequences of one’s own actions.
Blame, claiming victimhood, impoverishment, environment, bad parenting
don’t cut it with God. The only
place to start is with owning my actions. Jesus
said “repent”.
3.
I am totally confused
by those who cite all the stats. Some
say those places where guns are restricted have the least violent crime and
shootings and others say exactly the opposite.
I think Jesus would have us think in terms of life in His Kingdom, not in
terms of we think “works and doesn’t work”.
Sometimes godly values are dangerous values.
4. God cares about the
issue of gun ownership, so should Christians.
Why? Guns/people with guns,
depending on whether you’re a democrat or republican (Jesus is neither) kill.
5. Hate can’t be
legislated out of society, violence will be done by those who choose the path of
hatred and violence. But
government is appointed by God to protect people.
Both are true.
6. I just read this quote
from a Christian I greatly respect, “Why are we Americans are intoxicated on
the right to guns mystifies our world’s neighbors, and how such a gun culture
has been embraced by our society beggars intelligence”
7. Violence on TV, in
movies and especially the video games I see advertised is astonish to me (even
though I watched the Avengers and Mission Impossible which maybe I should stop
doing). I find it absolutely
impossible to believe that the distribution of and the glorification of the
worst kinds of violence doesn’t make us a more violent society.
8. I think the one thing
that can change this trend isn’t legislation, isn’t stronger sentencing or
policing, isn’t protecting ourselves with more guns.
The one think that can change things is the one thing that government
can’t do and which only the church of Jesus can do, which is to grow Christ
centered families where dads have Christ centered relationships with their sons
and daughters.
9. Have you ever watched
American smart bombs hit our targets in the Middle East?
I have seen that on the news. Guess
what I sometimes do when I see that? I
am capable of thinking mindless thoughts or abstract philosophical or
theological ones, and then simply watch on to the next news story about the
newest thing in Ketchup for hot dogs without having been horrified that the bomb
I saw fall killed actual people like me.
Our invasion of Iraq (whether you think it right or wrong) left 100,000
people, mostly civilians, dead. People
like you and me and our families. Am
I OK with killing as long as it’s the government doing it to someone else?
Am I so desensitized to the sanctity of every life?
For me at least, the horror of Thursday’s killing makes me think about
the horror of killings “sanctioned” by our government and therefore by me.
10. I wonder what Jesus
would tell us to do about gun ownership?
What would he tell each of us to
do with our guns?
What kinds of things would Jesus
have me say when asked my opinion about gun ownership?
Would I say things that he put
into my mind, things that prop up what I already think, or would he challenge my
opinion?
Based on what I know of Jesus, I
suspect that he wouldn’t tell me directly what to think, rather he’d tell a
story the purpose of which would be to work his heart into my heart or which
would leave me thinking “that’s crazy” indicating a real hardness in me to
the things of God.
So, how about you?
When you think about what Jesus
would have you do about guns, what would he have you say about gun ownership?
Does what you think he might say
cause you to feel defensive or does what you think he might say open you to a
new view of guns, gun ownership, and all the rest?
Are you capable of thinking that
your current views on these could be wrong?
11. Finally, of the 10 who died in the shooting 9 were brave Christian martyrs who, when asked if they were Christians said “yes” knowing full well that doing so would mean a bullet in the head. May the strength of their witness inspire us. May their deaths and profession of faith not go unnoticed.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24 (NIV)
11. Finally, of the 10 who died in the shooting 9 were brave Christian martyrs who, when asked if they were Christians said “yes” knowing full well that doing so would mean a bullet in the head. May the strength of their witness inspire us. May their deaths and profession of faith not go unnoticed.
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24 (NIV)
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