Gun Laws, Anger, and a Lesson from Cain

Is it possible to write about a "political" story, yet not be political? Can I steal it back for the cause of morality? Well, I don't know. But I'm going to try. Because there's something that's bugging me.
I'm sure that if you've been watching the news over the last week or two, you can't have missed our President's "Executive Orders" concerning guns, and gun control. "Gun control" has been a hot topic since the Sandy Hook School shooting about a month ago. Everyone wants to do something to prevent those kinds of things from happening. Ever. I'm included in that list.

But what's bugging me is that I'm afraid that as a nation we're looking in the wrong place.

There's a lot of talk about outlawing "assault rifles" and "high-capacity clips," and doing a better job of "background checks" from one side of the argument. The other side rests firmly on the "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" mantra. I think that, to varying degrees, both sides have good intentions. But I also think that both sides could be guilty of missing the point if all of this isn't thought through. Actually, I'm afraid all of the talking itself is more of a diversion from the real issue.

Consider the following.

Are there some instances of an enraged assault where the absence of a firearm would mean that a person would be alive today? I'm sure there are, and no person supporting "gun rights" would want to hand an enraged maniac a gun.

But think about this: Let's say a life isn't taken in the instance mentioned above, but instead a person is beaten to "within an inch" of losing it. Is that really a victory for the "gun control" crowd? If it is, it seems awfully hollow and shallow to me.

The Most Powerful Weapon

In the midst of this discussion, what really makes me angry (ironically, as you'll see) is that our government wants to have the appearance of "doing something" about the issue, and many people want the government to just take care of the issue for them, when the issue itself hasn't truly been addressed: Anger. Anger, coupled with a lack of respect for human life.

The heart of this issue isn't firearm design, cultural norms, or even the constitution. It's raw human emotion.

Let's step back for a moment, and let me make a personal observation. To me, when it comes to firearms, educating people about them is always the best policy. It removes unnecessary fear, and adds a respect for the power of the device itself. By educating people about the possibly permanent, and decisive power of firearms, they are less likely to hurt themselves, or someone else.

At the same time, anger is far more powerful than any firearm. A gun can't point itself, and make the decision to end a life. An angry person can. An angry person can also make a knife, hammer, tire iron, brick, stick, or even their own fists a deadly weapon. Yes, anger is far more powerful than a gun. And until it is addressed, I'm afraid we will continue to read the kind of terrible news headlines to which we have unfortunately become accustomed.

We need to be educated about the permanent kinds of decisions that anger can cause a person to make. To do that, we need to go back almost to the beginning of time.

A Lesson from Cain

Consider Cain, in Genesis 4. When his sacrifice wasn't accepted by God (by his own fault), he was very angry (vs. 5). At that point, God reasons with Cain that if he does well he will be accepted, but if not, "sin lieth at the door." He then encourages Cain to rule over it, instead of it ruling over him. But that wouldn't be the case. Cain would murder Abel, his brother - because of a jealous rage (vs. 8). The effects of that decision were greater than Cain could bear (vs. 13).

Cain is not alone. Saul experienced murderous fury (1 Samuel 20:30-34). Haman wanted to kill all the Jews because of Mordecai (Esther 3:5ff.). Haman had the tables turned on him by the king (Esther 7:7ff.). The Jews stoned Stephen in their rage (Acts 7:54-58). All of these deaths, or attempts on life, were a result of unrestrained anger.

Letting anger control you can lead to all kinds of sins and problems (consider Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 29:22). Controlling anger can help you avoid those very same sins and problems, and is a mark of the wise person (consider Proverbs 14:29). That's why Jesus teaches us to avoid baseless anger (Matthew 5:22ff.), and to work to keep ourselves calm, being slow to get angry (James 1:19), and to know how to dissipate and direct our anger (Ephesians 4:26).

Who Has the Power for Change?

Anger is not something that our government can regulate, or really do anything about. The best our government can do is treat the symptoms, and even then, after the fact.

Anger is the real root issue. Working on it starts with you, in your home. The process then moves on to those around you. If you need help, get it. If you see someone who needs help with their anger, help them get it.

I'm afraid that ultimately what we're seeing are the fruits of rejecting God and the reality of sin. Satan wants us to believe that some thing is the problem, other than ourselves; He's succeeded at convincing man that he, and sin, simply don't exist. By doing so, he's reigning unrestricted in the minds and hearts of the masses - even if they don't realize it or admit it. But it could be different.

"Sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Genesis 4:7, KJV)

If only we can learn where Cain failed…

-Daniel