Monday, September 16, 2013

Guns and Violence

Genesis 6:5, 6, 11, 12
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 
God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

In the aftermath of the tragic shootings at the Naval shipyards in Washington, D.C. today, politicians are again blaming the availability of guns.  Sadly, violence has always been a problem here on earth--even before guns were invented.  And it has always broken God's heart.

Violence is not a problem of accessible weapons.  Violence is a problem of the heart.  It is a problem that will permeate and corrupt a society, but the answer will never be found in legislation.  Violence can only be effectively abated by lifting the moral integrity of a culture.  This happens one person at time as we turn ourselves over to the will of a perfect God.

Supporting evidence for this perspective lies in the fact that guns have been available to our citizens since our country was founded.  Their abuse is not new, but it is certainly more publicized and politicized today.  However, you can chart the atrocities in our headlines on a parallel track with the declining morality of our culture.

The answer to all human problems are found in heavenly principles as we seek to conform to the teachings on which our nation was founded.  A good place to begin is to turn as many hearts as we can back to God.

Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

It is frighteningly easy as human beings in assessing cause and effect to land on the wrong cause and then employ ineffective or even harmful solutions.  Humility needs to take us back to the basic principles of the Bible to change what only He can change--one heart at a time.

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