The variety of responses to the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut all seem to advocate a change in the place guns have in our society. On one side are those who advocate the removal of guns and gun ownership. Or at least the moderation of the type of gun and the ease with which they can be procured. On the other side are those who advocate for gun access to remain the same, or in fact for guns to be more readily available.
Lying behind both arguments is a desire to stop horrendous tragedies like these. The difference is in the way one feels it is best to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our property. This gives a clue as to what actually lies at the heart of both responses. Lurking behind the value or revulsion Americans have for guns is the desire to protect our idols.
Judges 17 & 18 tell the story of Micah and the Danites. Micah creates household gods for himself and hires a levite to be a priest. The priest is there to protect and serve the idols on Micah's behalf, to intercede with the gods on Micah's behalf, and to provide for himself an income. The Danites trying to establish a home for themselves eventually steal the idols, the supporting religious paraphernalia and the priest. They want the priest to do the same for them as he was doing for Micah. And the priest goes along with it. In response, Micah calls out warriors to attack the thieves and get his idols back. Violence ensues among kinfolk because of their lust for these things. Their responses are the natural outcomes of idolatry.
Americans -- and perhaps all people -- believe in the myth of security. We live in the hope that we might be secure and safe from tragedy, misfortune and death. This is one of the reasons we gather things around us. The more we have, the more able we are to keep the forces of evil and chaos away. Of course, all we have really done is re-placed our fears, moving them further away from ourselves. What used to be a fear right up next to us is now outside of our homes. It is as if we are the wealthy fool who says to himself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry" only to learn that his life was to be lost that very night (Luke 12:16-21).
It is a sign of sin in our lives whenever Christians are ruled by and live in fear. Fear represents a heart ruled by avarice, greed, lust and idolatry. Fear demonstrates that we do not actually believe the promises of our redeemer God who says that he will open paradise to us in the afterlife. It tells us that we do not believe that "to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). It tells us that we hold our things, our attachments, and our own lives as idols ahead of God.
The reality is that no amount of stuff and no amount of weaponry will protect us from the end that is coming for us all. We may delay it for a while, but it is coming. This is not to say that we should simply and fatalistically accept what is coming. Instead, we should look at everything we have as a gift from our gracious God. There is nothing that we have which we did not receive, including our very lives (1 Cor 4:7).
The attitude of the Christian in America should be to acknowledge that we have it good, that we have been blessed, and to use the blessings we have received as a means to bless others. We should work for justice, righteousness, peace, and love. We should strive for health and wholeness for all people: physical, mental, and spiritual health. And we should strive to cast down our idols and all of the things with which we try to protect them.
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