Politicians have been responding for the past 24 hours about how to keep Americans safe from another Orlando style massacre. And because politicians need to be clear they create basic black and white equations where the answer is obvious. "The answer to gun violence clearly isn't to make guns more accessible". Or if they're from the right side of the isle "How can we expect the terrorists to stop attacking us if we don't unleash our military"?
So if you want to stop massacres vote for politicians who want to make guns harder to get...or for politicians who want to kill more terrorists. And yet deep down most people know that neither of these solutions are real solutions. Why do people know that? Intellectually most would recognize that any proposals restricting gun sales would have had no effect on most of the mass shootings. Newtown CT, they were stolen. Virginia Tech, shooter had recently received a clean bill of health on his mental evaluation, promptly went out and legally bought guns for massacre. Orlando FL, shooter had a clean criminal record and was actually employed as a security guard. Well what about the other argument? Let the terrorists know that we will hunt them down and kill them. They're already looking to die! ISIS assassinated 38 of their own members the past few days, and yet those murders inspires even more people to join. Death is not a deterrent but a reward to these sick souls.
I also think on a deeper level human beings recognize that the world is broken, and evil happens. If you look at the 10 safest and 10 most dangerous countries to live it's not a surprise that the most dangerous are Middle east/African nations. The safest are cold countries with very low population density. But even the "safest" routinely suffer violence. 300 miles north of Saskatchewan in a village called La Loche, a 17 year old boy shot and killed 2 brothers before making his way to school to kill a teacher and an assistant. Japan is the most populated of the countries to make the safest list but lets not forget the saran gas attack on their subway system that killed 12 and put another 5000 in the hospital. And if you google Japan stabbings you come upon story after story of school children being stabbed to death and elderly being killed, they really have taken knife violence to a new level. As a matter of fact if you adjust for inflation the United States actually doesn't have more mass shootings than other countries. A notch below the safest country in the world Switzerland which actually ranks 5th.
That's not to pat ourselves on the back and say we're doing great, but lets not paint a distorted picture of violence and somehow feel like we aren't doing enough to keep ourselves safe. Well I'll take that back. We're not doing enough to keep ourselves safe. The Bible teaches that we reap what we sow. As individuals, as families, as communities, nations and as a people. It's a natural law that most religions have always promoted. Hindu's and Buddhists would call it Karma. Even Wiccan's declare it, with their Rule of Three "Whatever you do shall be returned to you 3 times over". Some of the best selling business books like "Think & Grow Rich" and "How To Win Friends & Influence People" are based on it.
So anyone, not just Christians, should be sowing, or putting out into the universe, or whatever you want to call it, somethings that will help defeat evil and encourage harmony. God set up some laws that you don't have to agree with, but your life will go better when you acknowledge them. This is one.
Look for individuals in your area who seem to be struggling with life and try to help. They're racists, or homophobes, or they just make you uncomfortable. Rather than avoiding them, actually take an interest in them, and see how you can serve them. And if you are a Christian, then you should be in constant prayer as Paul said in Thessalonians If it sounds too simplistic, too goofy, then ask yourself how what we've been doing is working? My pastor once said 'sometimes people say the only thing left for me to do now is pray. Well that was really the only thing you could've done all along'.