Our Guns & Our Salvation

When the shooting in Colorado happened I wrote an article on the importance of honest and reasonable discussion when we talk about gun control and our relationship with firearms. (especially assault weapons). This time I want to address a line of thinking I've seen in those I call brothers and sisters in Christ that I find is very damaging.

One thing that breaks my heart is to see people approach evil action with a philosophy that says "fight fire with fire" or "tit for tat." That's an old way of doing things, a pre-Christ sense of legalistic justice that doesn't give us fulness of life. There is a mentality in many of us that sees our own strength and power as a true salvation. We think our weapons will save us and make this a better world. We think that the answer is more guns. If only we had more firepower, then we'd be safe, we'd have peace and protection (we see the U.S. as a nation holding this belief simply by looking at our budget).

I'm not going to sit here and say that pacifism is the only way to follow Christ faithfully, but I will say that anytime we allow ourselves to put our trust in anything outside of and above Jesus then we commit idolatry and cease to follow Christ faithfully. When we think we need to save ourselves from evil we build a house on poor foundation that won't make it through the storms. We only find destruction on that foundation. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once stated, "To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenseless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way."

Whether that's the narrow way of Christ or not is debatable but one thing is certain, it's definitely a narrow way.  If we are living in fear without our weapons by our side, hidden in our console, and in our purses then we don't have a full faith in Christ's Lordship, promises, justice, coming judgment, or resurrection and we have too heavy a reliance upon the weapons of the flesh. We may be convinced of the old law or our pagan ideologies. 

I'm not saying to give up your guns. I'm not saying guns are evil. I'm not against fighting evil or protecting yourself and others with force. I'm simply talking about dependance and obsessive loyalty to weapons that we don't truly need if we know the truth of Jesus Christ who loves enemies and lays down his life for them. If we have a God who can deliver his people from severe violence through nonviolent means if it be his will then we never need to have any reliance upon weapons. We have only have need to be reliant upon God when it comes to salvation.

If we are convinced in our mind and heart that the only thing that stops a "bad guy" with a gun is a "good guy" with a gun then we are truly deceived by Satan's lies that aggression and violence is our true deliverer. The myth of redemptive violence is solidified within our hearts at that point and we need to repent from it. The fact is that the only thing that stops a bad guy is a good guy and the only good guy that has ever lived is Jesus Christ of Nazareth and he let the bad guys kill him with their weapons... and then he forgave them and showed them by defeating death and the sin of their violent ways that the peace he brings is theirs should they desire it. He has the victory and it doesn't always look like skin staying intact.  That's a hard concept for us. It's not an easy pill to swallow because it sounds upside down. Yet, that's the gospel. Christ died and rose that we may share in his death and resurrection. He promised we'll suffer if we live the life he lived. 1 Peter reminds of that loving conduct may very well end in massacre.  

Can someone who isn't a mass murderer stop a mass murderer with a gun? Yes. Does that mean that killing a killer makes someone a praiseworthy good guy? No. It makes them a killer because they killed. Does that make them a bad guy? No. It makes them a human being who lives by the gun. That doesn't nullify someone's intentions either. People kill other people for what look like good intentions all the time. Whether they are right or wrong is God's decision. I'm not going to pretend that violence doesn't stop possible future violence, but it certainly doesn't stop violence all together, rather it perpetuates it. That's an unavoidable fact. But back to the point...

I will say that those who live by the gun will die by the gun. Those who trust in the horse, chariot, and bow (or tank, nuke, and drone) shall find their trust to be wasted for God alone is our strength and salvation. So pack your heat if you like but if you find that you're too afraid or uncomfortable to be without it then know that you have an idol on your hip, in your purse, in the closet, in the console. Know that, at that point, your god is the gun and it owns you. At that point you need to repent and change your ways because you don't believe in the words of our scriptures. 

Psalm 44:4-8 - "You are my King, O God ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually and we will give thanks to your name forever."

The very sad fact is that many of us in the United States have allowed our guns to be idols. Too many of us cling to our weapons more fiercely than our prayers and scriptures. Instead of having a hope in Christ we've replaced it with a fear in death and reliance on man-made inventions that can make easier the killing process. We think we need guns in the way we need water, food, shelter, and oxygen. We think it'd be wrong and evil to not have them. We couldn't bear to live without these contraptions. Some of us feel that way. That's not okay. 

This isn't a call to total nonviolence. This is a call to look within ourselves and ask what we truly find our rescue in, what we trust, and what we think we need. It's a call to rely upon Jesus and nothing less. If we find that we're worshipping our guns then it's a call to leave the gun and cling to Christ Jesus who dies for us when all we wanted to do was kill him.

May we adopt mentalities that are based upon truth and faith in Christ. May the Spirit help us discern what the balance looks like as we seek justice in a dark world as ambassadors of God's light. May we be the salt of the earth, enriching it, and doing it according to the way of the heavenly kingdom, whatever that looks like. May we be healers and love one another so that Christ is revealed through our love for each other.