Guns, Knives and Other Things to Blame.
I’m not surprised, not one bit! I was going to write a follow up to last week’s post, America’s 9mm Heart Problem, titled, Walkout, Walkup, however, upon hearing the news from across the pond, I had to switch gears without clutching (most probably don’t know what that means). Grinding to a halt on my part two, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to make a point. Or, to put it in other words, “I told you so!”
In last week’s post, America’s 9mm Heart Problem, I concluded that resolving violence wouldn’t be achieved by confiscating guns nor staunchly upholding the Second Amendment. I submitted the problem would only be checked by healing the gravely wounded heart. Many are fighting for greater gun control without acknowledging a biblical truth, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? The writer, Jeremiah, a Hebrew prophet, posed this question in chapter 17, verse 9 as he lived in exile during the Babylonian captivity of Israel. The subsequent verse is GOD’s response. He states,
I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. ~Jeremiah 17:10
I know many don’t like religious or even spiritual answers to cultural problems. And I’m not ramming my view down anyone’s throat, just offering what I believe - from personal experience - to be the only efficacious solution to human ills. If there’s any stopping gun violence or any violence, it must incorporate the acknowledgment that humans are in need of a spiritual revival of supernatural initiation. I didn’t think I needed to elaborate.
50 homicides by knifing, already, in 2018!
Then, like a bolt of lighting confirming the warning brought by rolling thunder before a storm, news from London, England, flashed across headlines! London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is calling for stricter knife laws after a record number of deaths due to stabbings in 2017; a total of 80. The horrific reality is there have already been 50 homicides by knifing in 2018! London is out of control!
Knives. A section of my collection that hangs above my work desk. I like knives. I have a few from around the world. They tell stories. They're tools. Unless handled by a dark heart.
Do you see the irony? England already has ultra-strict gun regulations. Even their Bobbies patrol unarmed. For years the number of times police fired a gun was in single digits! But even with this firearm-free approach, there’s still violence. Imagine that! Some psychologists suggest killing with a knife is far more nefarious than with a gun; you have to get much closer! Knives require a level of personal evil, intrusion, and intent wholly different than firearms. That’s intense!
The heart is dark and in need of healing.
So, do you really think violence is an armament issue? Do you still believe taking away guns and knives will stop the horror? It won’t, I guarantee it. Why? Because as much as we might not want to embrace the truth, Jeremiah had it right - the heart is dark and in need of healing. Who can change it? Only the One who searches the heart, God! Take away guns and we’ll use knives. Take away knives and we’ll use bats. Take away bats and we'll find something else to use, a pen perhaps?
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. ~ Jesus from Luke 6:45
This darkness isn’t unique to shootings and stabbings. No, it infects every thought in our mind, every word from our mouth. Jesus stated it succinctly, from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. This corruption is displayed on social media every day! From POTUS and preteens, women and men, old and young. It’s a catastrophic affliction infecting everyone. Every. Single. Person.
It’s easy to blame an object, it takes the culpability off of personal responsibility and negates God’s command to love others as we love ourselves. But we don’t love ourselves very well - I’ll get to that topic in a few weeks.
So, although I don’t believe everyone is responsible enough to own a firearm or a knife for that matter, I have no way of removing the darkness from people’s hearts, a far worse societal enemy than a bullet. The next time you hear of an act of violence, whether with guns, knives, shoes, rocks or words, instead of shaking your head in disgust or making a protest sign, stop and ask yourself this question, “How dark is my heart?” Then listen carefully, the answer is frightening!