An Affront to God

Speaking at a National Rifle Association convention, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said: “The problem is not guns, it’s hearts without God.”

Let me say that he is right.

Dr. Roy Guerrero, a Uvalde, Texas, pediatrician speaking before a House committee told of his experience seeing the bodies of children following the violence at Robb Elementary School: “What I saw there was something no prayer will ever relieve. Two children whose bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them, decapitated, whose flesh had been ripped apart. The only clue about their identities was blood-spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them, clinging for life and finding none.”

The problem is not guns. It is a society that so worships the gun that it allows children to be massacred and still clings to the gun. It is hearts whose god is the idol created of a weapon designed to maim and kill in the most grotesque way possible. It is hearts who have pushed aside the God of kindness, grace and mercy.

A common phrase in prayers of confession is, “Merciful God, we have sinned against you by what we have done and by what we have left undone.”

When we know what is right and choose to do what is wrong, we sin. The person who picks up a gun and slays another – or in so many cases in our nation, a whole host of others – is a killer, guilty of violating the Sixth Commandment.

When we know what is right and fail to take action, we sin. If we stand silently by and allow this carnage to happen over and over and over and over again; if we continue to allow gun violence to be the number one killer of our children; if we know we must change, and do nothing; if we allow this carnage to continue because guns are sacrosanct, we, too, are murderers. We, too, are guilty of violating the Sixth Commandment by our inaction.

The problem is not the inanimate object of the gun. It is the hearts of a nation that will not show the compassion and courage to do anything about the gun.

It is not that we do not have the desire.

The Pew Research Foundation found that 81% of Americans support background checks, including at gun shows. And 81% of Americans believe it is important to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness.

Some 64% believe we should ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. And 63% agree there should be a ban on assault weapons.

Clearly, a majority of our citizens believe we should take substantial steps to institute the “well-regulated” clause in the Second Amendment. Yet, nothing gets done.

We have given thoughts and prayers almost daily in the 10 years since Sandy Hook and nothing gets done. “Merciful God, we have sinned against you by what we have left undone.”

What we have done is reduce restrictions that would prevent those with mental illness from obtaining guns. What we have done is end requirements for permits to carry concealed weapons. What we have done is given liability protection to gun manufacturers. What we have done is deflect any meaningful debate on guns in our nation. What we have done is block anything that might make a real difference.

“Merciful God, we have sinned against you by what we have done.”

We can and should admit we have problems of mental health, racial prejudice, anger, hate and a rising propensity to violence.

We must also admit there is a problem with guns, guns and more guns.

We have a problem in our society that allows battlefield weapons to be easily and readily available to anyone who wants them. We have a problem in our nation as we see our fellow citizens slain day after day, and our children’s bodies being destroyed beyond recognition. We have a problem when we know something must be done and will not insist – insist – that our political representatives do something. We have a problem in that we elect over and over and over again politicians who chant “Guns and God” when what they really mean is: “Guns are god.”

The old cartoon character Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” The problem is not with guns. It is the heart of a nation that refuses to do anything about guns.

If we believe in a God of love, a God of compassion, a God who calls us to act with kindness and justice for all, and we do nothing, it is a problem of a heart without God.