When I was a kid, my dad used to tell us on occasion that he had a gun, that he would use it if anyone tried to hurt us, and that we were not to worry about our safety. Of course, as a child, I completely trusted my dad, and I didn’t worry about our safety. He seemed to have it under control.
But I was fascinated by the prospect of a gun in the house. As the oldest, one of my jobs was laundry. I would fold and eventually do all the ironing. I liked it because I could listen to music, and be by myself. But part of the job was also to put the laundry away, and I was always on the lookout for that gun.
In my mind I pictured a small hand gun, a revolver, stuck in the underwear drawer. Why, I couldn’t tell you. But that was the vision I had. And I looked every time, I moved things around—not too much because I never wanted to be caught. I never thought of looking under the mattress or in a shoe box in the closet, so my efforts never expanded past the initial vision.
As adults I have talked to my brother and sister about the gun, and they all admitted to looking for it as well. Maybe it doesn’t exist, but I think it does. And my biggest fear after the death of my parents is having to find and deal with that gun. But thank God I am doing that as an adult. Because even though we were nice kids from a nice family, would I have pulled the trigger if I found it? Would any of us in rage or in play been able to resist that power? I simply don’t know, and am so grateful I never had to find out.
In my opinion, guns are made for one purpose only, and that is to kill. They are seductive, or the power they offer is. They serve no holy purpose. And if our lives are about holiness and developing a deeper relationship with God, if our purpose is to love our neighbor as ourselves, then there is no need for weapons. I will put on the armor of Christ.
If someone tried to kill one of my children or grandchildren, of course I would do anything to save them. So please don’t ask me ridiculous questions. I also know that there are many ways to prevent harm, and I want to engage in all of those first. I have personal experience with this, and I can tell you that nonviolence is always more powerful.
I believe our greatest danger is relying in weapons over relationship. And the only way to change the trajectory of killing we are on is to love one another. How that will play out for you, I don’t know. But I am absolutely sure it is the only way. Guns are an evil distraction to holy work. Let’s not be distracted.