Gun control is certainly a subject that is getting a lot of attention in America these days. With some recent massacres to fuel the fire, this already debated issue is causing a yet higher level of friction between the proponents and opponents of gun control. As often happens in these kinds of issues, there are more than just two clear-cut options. There are those who would favor very strict gun control, those who would limit only large capacity magazines and assault rifles, and those who feel that any kind of gun control is unthinkable.

Most would agree that the problem is certainly deeper than the ownership of guns, but what is the connection between a disturbed mind and easy access to a gun? Or any weapon for that matter? What is the connection between a sinful nature and the people, things, or activities that lead a person into doing wrong?

I find it quite interesting that Jesus promoted “gun control” on a personal level two thousand years ago. He taught us to flee things that could be dangerous and destructive in our lives. If there are some physical things that lead us to do wrong, they will affect our soul’s eternal destiny. If there is anything that hinders us from obeying Him, He told us to get rid of them.

This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18:8, 9: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”

We probably all agree that if the heart is not right, the rest won’t be right either. Indeed, in another passage Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies . . .” (Matthew 15:19).

However, it is easy to focus on only the heart and forget the entire scope of things. We are made up of body, soul, and spirit. To focus only on the spiritual while we are still living in the body is to ignore some very real and large sources of temptation. Jesus’ teaching is that temptations come through the physical, therefore the physical needs to be restricted.

Are there other things in our lives that are like guns that would injure us or even kill us? It could be the Internet. It could be bad friends. It could be a wrong relationship. It could be the liquor in the refrigerator. It could be . . . Jesus said, “Cut them off, and cast them from thee.”

If we do not put away evil from our lives, we will suffer in this life and also in the life to come.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

From: Reaching Out

Language

English

Author

Clay Zimmerman

Publisher

Reaching Out

Topics

Holiness