God and Guns

           Since the world is ending I’m not so sure what all the hoopla is about but there sure is a lot of it. Apparently everything is political, religious, and hateful these days. Nothing is vanilla. Nothing is neutral. No white, eggshell paint in this room we call the world. It’s like screaming red is the way of today. Emotions drive the moment and most people know that when emotions are in control there is no self-control. But in our society when our appetites crave more and more information we tend to overindulge and then react and respond with very little thought or reason. That’s the main reason I haven’t written anything in the past week. There was nothing to write, or say, or think.

            What happened in Newtown was awful. It wasn’t political, although we, meaning our country, is and has made it political. It wasn’t religious, although we, meaning our country, is and has made it religious. It wasn’t anything but terrible. It may have been the most horrific national news I have heard in my lifetime. I was so numb hearing and reading about the children that had been killed that I couldn’t really form a conscience thought. Yes I had emotion. I was incessantly angry at the person who had done it even though I didn’t know anything about that person. I was so frustrated thinking about how anyone could do such a terrible thing. I was hurt for the children, the parents, the teachers, the spouses of the teachers, and everyone who was affected by this mess. Then I started to pray.

            As a person of faith our initial action should be that of prayer and seeking God’s wisdom. At least this is my opinion. That is why I am a husband, father, Pastor, and friend and not a politician or reporter. This blog is my opinion and isn’t meant to set policy, laws, or any other thing that might be deemed official. A person of faith has a responsibility to their God to react and respond to the best of their ability and their faith the way God would have them to. Yet people of faith have taken to the “statuses”, “tweets”, and “blogs” and fired out statements that are so void of love and understanding of the parents that lost their children and the families that lost loved ones that the only explanation is that it was uncontrolled emotion and ignorance. I am for God being present in my children’s school but I can’t for the life of me connect a mentally disturbed person shooting children with (faculty led) prayer being removed from school. If that argument worked, wouldn’t there be more shootings in strip clubs and porn stores and never a shooting in a church? Oh, and before I forget, if you don’t believe in God, now or ever is not a time for you to question what you don’t believe in. If you don’t want to believe in God then don’t ask where something you don’t believe in was or is at anytime because the answer will be, “nowhere, He doesn’t exist, remember?” You don’t get it both ways!

            Buuuuuut anyway, as a person of faith I believe strongly that this is worst position to be in. There are no words to bring back loved ones and no words to take things back to the way it used to be. Scripture offers hope but its hope of heaven and peace and that’s really not what anyone is thinking about at times like these. Moms just want their baby back! Dads just want to hug their kids again! Quoting scripture or reminding the general public that “God isn’t allowed in school anymore” isn’t going to do that. Quoting scriptures “at” someone isn’t going to do that. Gun conversations won’t do that. God conversations won’t do that. People of God, rise up! Don’t rise up and rant; rise up and pray! Rise up and pray for the overwhelming comfort and peace to be with those dealing with overwhelming grief and anger! Rise up and be different. Rise up and kneel down!

            Rise up and give your emotions over to your Heavenly Father. You cannot be emotionally driven. You have to be faith driven. When emotions are overwhelming, you should pray. Read your bible and see what God has to say about what’s happening today. Scripture says to be, “slow to speak”, maybe it should be revised for today and read, “be slow to tweet”! Just a thought…

            Maybe one of these days I will give my opinion on guns. Most people that know me know where I stand. But now isn’t the time. Now is the time, however, to talk about God and to God. What would He want His followers to do? And the only place to find that answer for me is the bible. Here is a thought from today’s reading:

           

Proverbs 20:3 NLT “Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.”

And verse 24, “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”

 

If we don’t talk before then I pray you have a great Christmas! Pray for those who won’t be spending Christmas with their families.

May God bless you,

            Pastor Dad