Garden Tools
After getting seeds planted in our garden a few days ago, we are now patiently waiting for those first little specs of green to start popping through the soil. Unfortunately, right behind those first good plants typically come unwelcome visitors in the form of weeds. Grass and other weeds can be a pest and take away vital nutrients that our veggies need to flourish. But there's a solution - a well trained gardener, or even a young child with a minimal instruction, can actually use a tool, a garden hoe, to eliminate the weeds with a few swift swings. Their skill and desire to improve the garden make the soil cleaner and the plants are allowed to grow stronger and flourish.
But the opposite is also true. If someone was to become angry at you, they could sneak into the garden at night and use that same hoe to destroy all of your precious veggies. You see, the garden hoe is merely a tool in the matter, completely neutral and at the mercy of being used by whoever is holding it.
Construction Tools
We recently completed our rabbit hutch and I have been gradually working on building Thomas' swing set/fort. Hopefully we get it finished up in time for warmer weather soon so he can enjoy playing out in the yard. One of the tools that we have used the most has been the hammer. It's been vital in nailing boards together and helping everything to take shape and be sturdy. While I'm certain that a more skilled builder could do more than I can with a hammer, I think it's coming along pretty good.
But I've also seen what a hammer can do when someone is angry or misguided. That same tool that can help build a swing set, a fort, or even a house, can be used to shatter glass, break things, or hurt someone. So you see, it's not the hammer that's to blame or applaud, it's the one holding and controlling the hammer.
Closing Thoughts
As we've learned from the two previous stories, what determines if a tool is used for good or evil is the will of the person acting, not the tool. So why do some view other tools as inherently evil when they are completely neutral to events much like the garden hoe or hammer?
These thoughts lead me to the question of how should someone, especially a Christian, view gun control? First, the Bible was written well before guns were in existence so there is no specific instruction regarding guns. However, wars and battles are mentioned in the Bible as a part of our fallen world, and weapons are a necessary part of warfare. They can even be used for personal protection as Jesus offered this advice in Luke 22:35-38, "And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one."
This does not give Christians, nor anyone else, liberty to revolt against the law of the land concerning gun control. We are called to submit to the governing law (Romans 13:1-7). Then in Romans 14:1-4, we see that personal freedoms are presented. One commentator writes, "When Scripture does not clearly address a particular issue, there is freedom for individual choice. America has historically embraced the concept of personal freedom that resonates with this principle, and the founding documents guarantee wide freedoms regarding firearms." Essentially, if the law changes, we should submit to it and if not in agreement should act democratically to change the laws. But we also have the choice, and freedom, of our own personal conviction when it comes to guns. I see a lot of people on the gun control debate wanting to allow more freedoms in other areas...just saying.
You see, that is the beauty of America, if you want a gun (and qualify mentally and legally to buy one), then go get yourself one. If you don't, then don't buy one. But just because you don't like something doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to have one. If we are going to get political and start playing that card then let's play it across the board and stop being hypocritical as some in politics are nowadays.
At the end of the day, a gun is an amoral object. It is neither good nor evil. What determine its impact is much like the one in the garden with the garden hoe, it comes down the morality of the person yielding the tool.
After getting seeds planted in our garden a few days ago, we are now patiently waiting for those first little specs of green to start popping through the soil. Unfortunately, right behind those first good plants typically come unwelcome visitors in the form of weeds. Grass and other weeds can be a pest and take away vital nutrients that our veggies need to flourish. But there's a solution - a well trained gardener, or even a young child with a minimal instruction, can actually use a tool, a garden hoe, to eliminate the weeds with a few swift swings. Their skill and desire to improve the garden make the soil cleaner and the plants are allowed to grow stronger and flourish.
But the opposite is also true. If someone was to become angry at you, they could sneak into the garden at night and use that same hoe to destroy all of your precious veggies. You see, the garden hoe is merely a tool in the matter, completely neutral and at the mercy of being used by whoever is holding it.
Construction Tools
We recently completed our rabbit hutch and I have been gradually working on building Thomas' swing set/fort. Hopefully we get it finished up in time for warmer weather soon so he can enjoy playing out in the yard. One of the tools that we have used the most has been the hammer. It's been vital in nailing boards together and helping everything to take shape and be sturdy. While I'm certain that a more skilled builder could do more than I can with a hammer, I think it's coming along pretty good.
But I've also seen what a hammer can do when someone is angry or misguided. That same tool that can help build a swing set, a fort, or even a house, can be used to shatter glass, break things, or hurt someone. So you see, it's not the hammer that's to blame or applaud, it's the one holding and controlling the hammer.
Closing Thoughts
As we've learned from the two previous stories, what determines if a tool is used for good or evil is the will of the person acting, not the tool. So why do some view other tools as inherently evil when they are completely neutral to events much like the garden hoe or hammer?
These thoughts lead me to the question of how should someone, especially a Christian, view gun control? First, the Bible was written well before guns were in existence so there is no specific instruction regarding guns. However, wars and battles are mentioned in the Bible as a part of our fallen world, and weapons are a necessary part of warfare. They can even be used for personal protection as Jesus offered this advice in Luke 22:35-38, "And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one."
This does not give Christians, nor anyone else, liberty to revolt against the law of the land concerning gun control. We are called to submit to the governing law (Romans 13:1-7). Then in Romans 14:1-4, we see that personal freedoms are presented. One commentator writes, "When Scripture does not clearly address a particular issue, there is freedom for individual choice. America has historically embraced the concept of personal freedom that resonates with this principle, and the founding documents guarantee wide freedoms regarding firearms." Essentially, if the law changes, we should submit to it and if not in agreement should act democratically to change the laws. But we also have the choice, and freedom, of our own personal conviction when it comes to guns. I see a lot of people on the gun control debate wanting to allow more freedoms in other areas...just saying.
You see, that is the beauty of America, if you want a gun (and qualify mentally and legally to buy one), then go get yourself one. If you don't, then don't buy one. But just because you don't like something doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to have one. If we are going to get political and start playing that card then let's play it across the board and stop being hypocritical as some in politics are nowadays.
At the end of the day, a gun is an amoral object. It is neither good nor evil. What determine its impact is much like the one in the garden with the garden hoe, it comes down the morality of the person yielding the tool.
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