Monday, June 9, 2014

Shootings - My Take

The number of mass shootings in recent years is absolutely alarming. Whether it's at a mall, movie theater, at school or work, it's hard to feel completely safe, and even worse, hard to feel comfortable when your kids and grandkids are out of your protection.  People around the country are demanding tighter gun control, and more help for the mentally ill.  But will this ultimately solve the problem?

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, you just didn't hear widespread calls for gun laws and restrictions, yet I can't remember once during my childhood ever fearing being shot at school, or anywhere else for that matter.   Everyone has their feelings on tighter gun laws, myself included, but I do think that guns are not at the heart of the issue - the real problem is a lack of hope.  People without hope do desperate things.

Life sometimes deals us "hopeless" situations - but those who follow Christ know that there's no such thing as a hopeless situation or a hopeless person.  Even though I grew up in a home where Christ was not part of our lives, society in general provided me with enough general knowledge of Jesus Christ and Christian values that when the tough times came around and I knew I'd done all I could for myself, I still had somewhere else to turn.  Society is different today - "progressive" people shun Christians and Christian values.  My heart aches when I think of kids in tough situations, and they aren't getting the assurance of an Ultimate Love from their schools or their neighborhoods or their grandparents like I did.  And it's easy to see how children without hope grow into adults without hope.  And it's easy to see how adults without hope grab guns and kill people.

JMHO.