In the wake of each tragic school shooting, our country debates whether to have restrictions on the ownership of assault weapons. Second Amendment legalists argue that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Yet I don’t think even they would argue against the truth that mentally ill people with assault weapons can more readily and quickly kill a greater number of people.

Anti-gun advocates want stricter regulations regarding who can purchase a gun and what types of guns should be available to the general public. These same people, however, say nothing about the graphic violence that daily infiltrates our lives in the form of “entertainment.” Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars speak the loudest for gun reform yet have appeared in countless films or TV series where gun violence is the norm.  

The problem of gun violence (or any violence) goes deeper. A culture of violence (real or imaginary) seems to grant permission to be violent. At the very least, it desensitizes us to violence.  

God knew this when he warned, “Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways” (Proverbs 3:31). The Lord further pinpointed the root cause of violence: “From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things, but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence” (Proverbs 13:2). 

Whatever side of the gun battle we’re on, what our world needs even more are advocates for “soul” reform, which can only occur when someone experiences the grace and love of Jesus. 

Let’s be part of the real solution!