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Pastor's Pen
Gun violence is one of the greatest problems
facing our society. Recently in Las Vegas
several teenagers were shot in retaliation
for a fight which had broken out over a
girl. Young men since the dawning of time
have fought over women’s affections.
However, what might have eventuated in a
black eye, years ago can now end up with
someone’s head being blown off. It is not
hard to see that the problem is guns,
particularly guns that can be concealed.
This nation has been held hostage too long
by a gun lobby led by the National Rifle
Association which insists that hand guns are
protected by the constitution for the
purposes of hunting, No one in his or her
right mind believes that people hunt for
rabbits with concealable automatic weapons.
The principle that should rule such
decisions is what is the greatest good for
the greatest number of people? Societal good
is not served by the proliferation and easy
access to guns. Congregations all over this
nation must rise up and call a halt to the
preposterous claims promoted by the National
Rifle Association. We at Shiloh in our small
way participated in the recent Washington,
DC gun exchange. People with handguns were
invited to turn them in and receive some
compensation for doing so.
Often we hear the old cliché that guns don’t
kill people, people kill people. Although on
the face of it that may be true, the fact of
the matter is we are living in a drug
infested world where family values have
eroded to a crisis point. None of us can
change the world over night. The second
coming of Christ is about all that can
dramatically alter evil in the world.
However, we can and must do what we can do
to make a difference. We can get handguns
off the streets. If in doing so if we save
one life, the effort will have been
worthwhile.
Reading through the Bible
December 23: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19;
Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
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