“How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire? Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all humanity! What person can live and never see death? Can that person deliver their soul from the power of Sheol? Selah. Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old, which You faithfully swore to David? Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people,” Psalm 89:46-50
“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword,”
Matthew 26:52
In recent days our nation - yes, even the world - has once again been horrified at events which could have been, indeed should have been prevented. The sleepy town of Uvalde - just west of San Antonio and East of the Mexico border - experienced a crippling, dreadful and terrifying truth in our culture…life is not valued.
Many on one side of the conventional wisdom will argue it’s about the mental instability of the perpetrator. On the opposite end are those who think the weapon is to blame. Stuck in the middle? The families whose dreams of the future have been shot and killed.
The problem, if you will, is not solvable via legislation, imprisonment, rehabilitation or medication. We will not find the answer in any human wisdom or power.
Why? Because the foundational issue is not guns, ammo, mental health, background checks, etc. The foundational issue is this: we simply do not value life.
For instance - consider this: those who believe gun control will curb or completely stop the hideous murders of our children simultaneously believe a female adult should have the right to murder their own child while it innocently resides within the “safe” walls of the womb. Likewise, those who advocate for the rights of innocent unborn children who cannot defend themselves often simultaneously argue that we do not have a gun problem in our country. Both of these ideologies are flawed and fatal…to our children.
And what about children? God’s word says that “Children are a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is a reward,” Psalm 127:3. In the beginning of Moses’ account of the history of humankind we read in Genesis 1:27 “So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
The Psalmist even considers the wonders of God’s greatest creation: Psalm 139:13-16 - “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Understanding the value of human life, Jesus himself said: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” John 10:10.
But above all, perhaps, are the words of Yahweh himself: Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.”
Putin does not value the Ukrainians. Israel does not value the Palestinians. Kim Jong-un does not value his own people of North Korea. Oil companies do not value those who use their products. Walmart does not value its employees. Pastors do not value the church and the church does not value her pastors.
We do not value those who serve us our food at the local restaurant. We do not value the world God has entrusted to us. We do not value anything - not even other people…and especially children.
And that leads to their murder. Guns or no guns - we do not value life and our children. Therefore, our heritage - our reward - has reaped what we have sown.
So, is there an answer? Well, other than valuing life (which must be imperative and at the forefront) we must do what Ethan the Ezrahite did. In his only recorded Psalm, we read his words where he bears the reproach of the people around him. In other words, he takes responsibility for the sin of others.
For us this means that we quit blaming animate and inanimate objects for the failures of our society. Instead, we look deep within and like Ethan and David of old, we proclaim: “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge,” Psalm 51:3-4.
To put it in an understandable way, consider the following story: Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison. As he walked past the long rows of cells the prisoners would ultimately fall on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence. All, except for one man, who remained silent.
Frederick called to him, "Why are you here?" "Armed robbery, Your Majesty," was the reply.
"And are you guilty?" "Yes indeed, Your Majesty, I deserve my punishment."
Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, "Release this guilty wretch at once. I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it."
We don’t know about you but we sense it is time to confess our sins and bear the reproach of a nation that does not value life. It may be the only thing which saves our children.
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