Guns

Where do you go when you have no way to defend yourself? I have in my mind the memories of stories I have heard about young people, kids, who are taken advantage of by adults; usually adults those children believed would defend them. I remember stories of women; raped and kidnapped, killed, abused. Always men that get twisted satisfaction from attacking those that are weaker, which somehow makes them feel strong or satisfies some twisted desire, or purges some guilt. Stories of horrible, evil people that take advantage of other people’s trust. That trust was sometimes earned; often times proven out; and always needed but stripped away at the last moment when the victim needed it most.

I pray for those victims; I pray that God will defend them and step in when they need it the most. He doesn’t; not always. He seems disinterested or uncaring at times; although I know he isn’t. I think He tests us. What I also wish for those victims is strength – power within them that will keep them safe. If God won’t defend them, can he give them the power to defend themselves? Or, perhaps send them a hero that can defend them when they are unable to?

When I ask that question of myself, I personalize it. What would I do if I were in a situation that required me to fight back? What if the person threatening me was stronger, more skilled, more able to fight. What if my family was under threat? How can I defend them if the person attacking is stronger and more able to fight than I? What defense would I have?

Then I realize something – God has provided me the means to defend myself if I am willing to take it. He has given us guns.

This is what the founding fathers of the United States realized when they were oppressed by the English Empire. Ultimately, to realize the greatest life, liberty and happiness we needed a way to be sure we could defend ourselves to retain those rights. The intention behind the 2nd amendment of our Bill of Rights was to accomplish exactly that; it was considered the last option for good people desiring to be free to resort to in the face of a tyrannical government; an evil, overwhelming strength that ignored the value of people and their rights.

Using a gun or handling a gun takes quite a bit of strength in and of itself. Using it properly requires discipline, emotional control, self sacrifice. Discipline because you cant allow another person or circumstances control you when you are manipulating the power of life and death. Emotional control because you cannot allow anything but reason to govern you when the choice you are making is to end another persons life. Self sacrifice because anyone who is true and is focused on defense will testify to the self sacrifice required to use a gun. It is never an easy choice to decide to shoot someone or something – you lose a little bit of your soul if your soul is good.

In a world where evil, overwhelming strength exists, the weak need something to balance the scales. The weak become strong by arming themselves with weapons that do what is required – stopping those that use their strength to rob, steal and kill indiscriminately. Guns are not evil; they are a weight that balances the scales of strength when evil becomes materially stronger than good in a world that is in the grip of sin. A world that has fallen from grace, and is ruled by human free will. Make no mistake, humanity rules this world, by God’s command. He gave that authority to Adam in the book of Genesis. He does and will intercede when he wishes, and he does orchestrate the world to help His people and see that all people have a way to eternal joy; I believe guns are one thing that he has given us to ensure His goals are met.

What else can he do? For a world that is filled with true evil, and true good, and that He has designed to revolve around all people coming to him through faith, if he were to materially intercede on behalf of everyone that had any wrong done to them there would be no question of his existence, and thus no faith needed to love Him and know he was real. We would see it with our own eyes, and that is not His plan.

On the other hand, he wants all people to experience the greatest joy and greatest life. He guides the steps of the righteous, but the sons of perdition – those who are truly evil and reject all that God stands for – have a guide as well. Satan guides his people to destroy joy and life, and those sons don’t know discipline, emotional control, self sacrifice. The last resort for those who are good is to defend themselves with the tools they have at hand that will ensure that evil doesn’t flourish and they can continue to live life and have joy.

Gun’s are the last resort. Killing is not the first choice. Neither is our first choice to be a victim. I believe God intercedes regularly for His people, and He is our bulwark and our shield. I believe He will ensure our security and our safety. Gun’s are one way that he has provided for us to be safe and to be secure.

The argument goes that propagating the most good in the world can be accomplished by destroying all guns and making them impossible to have or use. I applaud that thought – and could support that idea – if that were anywhere near remotely possible. Let’s be honest – it is consummately impossible to eliminate guns from the world – and I mean ALL guns. The evil that could be perpetrated by governments or agencies allowed to have guns if they are removed from the hands of the common people is immeasurable and has been demonstrated by dictators throughout history. Understand as well that criminals by definition don’t follow the law – making guns illegal disarms the defenseless and empowers the criminal. So it has to truly be ALL guns eliminated or NOTHING. There is no way to make it ALL, so it really should be NOTHING. Any limits on a citizen’s ability to protect themselves makes them a victim to those that care nothing for the law.

As a father, a husband, and a man that loves all people, I must enable myself to do all I can to defend the defenseless and the weak. I carry a weapon to ensure that I can be God’s instrument when He sees fit to use me in any way He sees fit. There are several that are called to be martyrs, and many that are called to be warriors. Both are righteous. I think of King David, and I think of Stephen the apostle. David was a man of blood called a man after God’s own heart. Stephen on his martyrdom saw the face of God and was immediately swept up into His presence. Neither were outside the bounds of Christian morality.