“Thoughts are the gun, words are the bullets, deeds are the target, the bulls-eye is heaven.” —Douglas Horton
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
-Matthew 2652-54
If you're the one who read my book, There's Never Been Nothing, then you've already heard the story of my walk in the woods and the sign I came across randomly hanging from a lone tree in a remote area.
I was entering my senior year of university and had just finished a day of training at a camp aimed at training several of us to be Student Assistants at dorms across campus. After a full day of close contact with other young folks from all walks of life, this introvert needed some alone time. As I walked alone through the woods near the cabins where we stayed, I, quite literally, stumbled across a sign hanging randomly from a tree along the path. "Be still, and know that I am God" was the simple message.
At that moment, it was exactly what I needed to see, and to be still for a moment is exactly what I did. I had no actual concept of "God" at that time, but the message and connection was clear to me. I felt nearer to whatever greater energy exists beyond my human existence than at any other time in my life. It was, well, magical.
As spelled out in agonizing detail in There's Never Been Nothing, the journey has been long for me. I wouldn't change it for anything. And no, I'm not a Christian. Nor am I Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist, or even agnostic. And yet, I feel a strong connection to a power greater than myself.
Along this winding path of spiritual searching, I have actually read the Bible from cover to cover. I've taken small stabs at Buddhism, Hinduism, etc, and have sought the council of those more learned than myself. I've challenged my belief system at every step. Having done all that, the message delivered on the billboard shown above, as well as, messages with a similar target continue to puzzle me.
Regardless of the religion I've studied (especially Christianity), I've found the message to be fairly constant at its core. Love. Love is the message. Beyond that, Christianity especially teaches us that God is in control. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniwhatever. God is in control. "I got this," I can hear him/her/it/they say.
At it's core, I have no great issue with the message from the billboard. If you take each item separately, we can, at least, have a conversation about content. Worship "God" (whatever that word means to you), then cool. If you find peace in that endeavor, then I'm happy for you. It has no part in government, but that's another discussion for another time.
Love/want/need guns? Ok. I'm good with that. I own several myself. All were obtained legally through required processes at the time. It was easy. The 2nd Amendment, misunderstood as it may be, gives Americans the right to bear arms. It gives us that right for an entirely different reason than you've been brainwashed to believe, but whatever. Buy it. Keep it. Stock up on ammunition. Do it legally and responsibly and we're rock solid.
Family? Well, there's a no-brainer! Of course family is important. And standing united strengthens us all. I have no doubt the posters of this billboard had nothing but encouragement and inspiration in mind when they carefully placed the letters for all to see. But, they're wrong. They're dead wrong.
For starters, please tell me you're not placing guns above family on your list of priorities. And if you think Jesus, the main character at the core of your belief system (I happen to know these folks are active in their local church), would favor this national obsession with guns, then you seriously need to pull out your bible and read it...... all of it. I'd especially have you read the New Testament and get to know your Jesus on a personal level. You simply cannot reconcile an obsession with guns and a man like Jesus. If you can, you've completely missed the message.
But let's forget about Jesus for the moment and talk about the all-powerful, vengeful god of the Old Testament. That's the part where you extract, through a process of spiritual cherry-picking, things like "an eye for an eye." Just as clear as Jesus' message of love, is his dad's message of, "I got this."
Let me put it this way. If you walk around with a gun strapped to your waist or slung over your shoulder (law enforcement and military excluded), then you lack faith in the god you worship. It's painfully clear. If you want to harbor a particular system of belief, especially if you want to try selling it to me, then you better come forward with evidence you've read the manual you profess to follow. This is a topic I've covered on more than one occasion.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't take the conservative irony a step further. At the risk of overgeneralizing......if you think you must tote a gun to protect yourself because God won't, but won't get a vaccine or wear a mask to protect yourself and others because God will, then I simply have no words for you. You can't possibly take this stance and sell me some bill of goods about how you love Jesus and think God will protect you.
It boils down to this. If your belief system is that God is in control, then leave your guns at home and don't wear a mask. If you're not convinced, then, by all means, strap on your 9mm. But........ you have to wear a mask. You can't have it both ways.
God, Guns, then Family? Your ignorance is showing. And to be honest, you scare me a little.
Namaste,
Matt
