"Oh brother, here he goes, saying that because people get slaughtered in the old testament, it makes it okay today."
Relax. Let me finish.
What is gun control? Or rather what is the issue? The way I see it, it comes down to fear. Fear that the government will take away MY RIGHTS and that will result in a less happy, fulfilled life for me, (really? Guns provide happiness? They cost so much money, which ALSO brings happiness...) or one where I end up dead because I don't have one. Fear that someone will surely come into my house and kill all my family...fear that I will be shot while walking down the street! I know there are arguments already. Argue away. These are MY thoughts.
To play the devil's advocate for just a moment. Say someone did come into your house with a gun and demand stuff...how does you owning fifty guns keep this from happening? Unless you sleep with a loaded gun under your pillow, or a loaded shotgun above the door (but have you practiced this kind of quick draw with a homicidal person standing at the door?) This will not help at all. Gun deaths are the result of keeping a loaded gun and then not locking it up! Oh, you aren't going to sleep so soundly, you'll be able to hear him before he gets to your room then you can get your gun. Ok, that works for me. Second, if you get shot walking down the street, how is having a gun going to help? Okay, you hear shots, but none hit you and you can see the assailant shooting randomly down the middle of the street (hopefully someone would use their car first), and you in your training and ability to collect your nerves and with the knowledge of your weapon can accurately pick off said bad guy as he's moving, without striking another innocent bystander, that would be great. But can you DO that? Are you training for that? and if so, where the heck is your family life going??
Alright, actually, I am perfectly fine with owning a gun. I always will, maybe mostly because I'm required to own one. And nevertheless, I see nothing wrong with owning a gun. I've carried it into New York City. I take it when I go out. But I find I don't feel it is protection for me as much as maybe the Lord using me as protection for someone else. Maybe that's my occupation, maybe not. On the flip side, as much as I despise government, especially big government, I also see nothing wrong with banning assault-style weapons and restricting ammo and making it harder to get these items (though many shootings - Amish, Connecticut, several others- didn't occur with assault weapons, just a shotgun/rifle and perhaps a pistol.) It is a shame that people don't realize this will not help the problem. The BIGGEST issue is our (collective and individual) relationship with the Lord, even as a 'righteous' gun owner. Is HE your ultimate protector or not? Home invasions are extremely rare, even more so if yo don't deal with drug dealers. The majority of them are young people looking for money or something to pawn for their drug habit. The majority of violent crimes are criminal on criminal- they broke in because someone has been dealing drugs or someone wrong them...etc. Granted, I don't have stats, but I have experience. So make up your argument if you want, but if you live a life free of criminal activity, following the Lord, not hanging out with seedy people, your chances of being shot are virtually nil. "what about all the school shootings?!" Interestingly, allowing everyone to own their own AK47 still wouldn't have prevented any of them...And banning assault weapons wouldn't have prevented them either. It would have taken a complete gun ban and since the heart is 'desperate and deceitfully wicked", it would find a way.. It still isn't helping our young people out of the depressed, demon-controlled funk they are in, banning guns is not banning violent computer games or movies or helping parents know how to instruct their children wisely....
So what about David? I was reading about him and Saul and how Saul was actually pursuing him to kill him! And what did he do?? Several times he could have taken Saul's life, and didn't. I Sam 24:4 "The Lord said unto (David), Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you." Taken in context, we don't know if the Lord actually said that, but quite obviously, David had a choice and could end all the turmoil right then. And did not. And even what he DID, (corner of the robe) his heart smote him later for (v 5)- something else to consider. Suppose you DO have the chance to take a life. Do you fully realize the emotional consequences of such an act- even if it is legal? I Sam 26:8 "...God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice." David would not allow it. v10 "...
As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish..." (contrast that of course to Judges 4:21 "
But Jael...took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she...drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.") The argument against all three of these examples is that they were not in active aggression. True. I Sam 17:45
45 "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."
In conclusion, and I need to, there is much to do and I can't spend hours proofreading and re-typing this, there is a theme of David that we would do VERY well to follow and would help us with regards to even whether to own a gun or not. 1 Sam 22:10 "and he inquired of the Lord"; 23:2 "Therefore David inquired of the Lord.." 23:4 "..Then David inquired of the Lord again(!)"; 2 Sam 2:1, 5:19, 5:23 "And David inquired of the Lord.." And lastly, in 1 Sam 30:8 "and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?" And this was even him asking about pursuing his wives kidnappers!! Heck yes I say go! Why even consider? That would be justified! But still, David inquired of the Lord.
And anyone who thinks that he could, or would shoot someone who entered their house, or stole something or even hurt someone in the house, would be wise to remember "David inquired of the Lord."
He is the ultimate Protector and source of wisdom.
What is gun control? Or rather what is the issue? The way I see it, it comes down to fear. Fear that the government will take away MY RIGHTS and that will result in a less happy, fulfilled life for me, (really? Guns provide happiness? They cost so much money, which ALSO brings happiness...) or one where I end up dead because I don't have one. Fear that someone will surely come into my house and kill all my family...fear that I will be shot while walking down the street! I know there are arguments already. Argue away. These are MY thoughts.
To play the devil's advocate for just a moment. Say someone did come into your house with a gun and demand stuff...how does you owning fifty guns keep this from happening? Unless you sleep with a loaded gun under your pillow, or a loaded shotgun above the door (but have you practiced this kind of quick draw with a homicidal person standing at the door?) This will not help at all. Gun deaths are the result of keeping a loaded gun and then not locking it up! Oh, you aren't going to sleep so soundly, you'll be able to hear him before he gets to your room then you can get your gun. Ok, that works for me. Second, if you get shot walking down the street, how is having a gun going to help? Okay, you hear shots, but none hit you and you can see the assailant shooting randomly down the middle of the street (hopefully someone would use their car first), and you in your training and ability to collect your nerves and with the knowledge of your weapon can accurately pick off said bad guy as he's moving, without striking another innocent bystander, that would be great. But can you DO that? Are you training for that? and if so, where the heck is your family life going??
Alright, actually, I am perfectly fine with owning a gun. I always will, maybe mostly because I'm required to own one. And nevertheless, I see nothing wrong with owning a gun. I've carried it into New York City. I take it when I go out. But I find I don't feel it is protection for me as much as maybe the Lord using me as protection for someone else. Maybe that's my occupation, maybe not. On the flip side, as much as I despise government, especially big government, I also see nothing wrong with banning assault-style weapons and restricting ammo and making it harder to get these items (though many shootings - Amish, Connecticut, several others- didn't occur with assault weapons, just a shotgun/rifle and perhaps a pistol.) It is a shame that people don't realize this will not help the problem. The BIGGEST issue is our (collective and individual) relationship with the Lord, even as a 'righteous' gun owner. Is HE your ultimate protector or not? Home invasions are extremely rare, even more so if yo don't deal with drug dealers. The majority of them are young people looking for money or something to pawn for their drug habit. The majority of violent crimes are criminal on criminal- they broke in because someone has been dealing drugs or someone wrong them...etc. Granted, I don't have stats, but I have experience. So make up your argument if you want, but if you live a life free of criminal activity, following the Lord, not hanging out with seedy people, your chances of being shot are virtually nil. "what about all the school shootings?!" Interestingly, allowing everyone to own their own AK47 still wouldn't have prevented any of them...And banning assault weapons wouldn't have prevented them either. It would have taken a complete gun ban and since the heart is 'desperate and deceitfully wicked", it would find a way.. It still isn't helping our young people out of the depressed, demon-controlled funk they are in, banning guns is not banning violent computer games or movies or helping parents know how to instruct their children wisely....
So what about David? I was reading about him and Saul and how Saul was actually pursuing him to kill him! And what did he do?? Several times he could have taken Saul's life, and didn't. I Sam 24:4 "The Lord said unto (David), Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you." Taken in context, we don't know if the Lord actually said that, but quite obviously, David had a choice and could end all the turmoil right then. And did not. And even what he DID, (corner of the robe) his heart smote him later for (v 5)- something else to consider. Suppose you DO have the chance to take a life. Do you fully realize the emotional consequences of such an act- even if it is legal? I Sam 26:8 "...God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice." David would not allow it. v10 "...
As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish..." (contrast that of course to Judges 4:21 "
But Jael...took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she...drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.") The argument against all three of these examples is that they were not in active aggression. True. I Sam 17:45
45 "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."
In conclusion, and I need to, there is much to do and I can't spend hours proofreading and re-typing this, there is a theme of David that we would do VERY well to follow and would help us with regards to even whether to own a gun or not. 1 Sam 22:10 "and he inquired of the Lord"; 23:2 "Therefore David inquired of the Lord.." 23:4 "..Then David inquired of the Lord again(!)"; 2 Sam 2:1, 5:19, 5:23 "And David inquired of the Lord.." And lastly, in 1 Sam 30:8 "and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?" And this was even him asking about pursuing his wives kidnappers!! Heck yes I say go! Why even consider? That would be justified! But still, David inquired of the Lord.
And anyone who thinks that he could, or would shoot someone who entered their house, or stole something or even hurt someone in the house, would be wise to remember "David inquired of the Lord."
He is the ultimate Protector and source of wisdom.
Nice post babe:).
ReplyDeleteGood stuff Elisha.
ReplyDelete