give careful consideration to the way we are to walk before Him. Deuteronomy 32 states:
6 Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?
7 "Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you...
We can sometimes be so intent on being right or to respond quickly that we end up reacting too swiftly, without having relevant facts in place. James encourages us to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to become angry. We have to temper our responses with the nature of God, rather than lose our temper according to the nature of the flesh. Before confrontation should come consideration - it's important that we do not give in to those tendencies to respond instantly.
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In Mark chapter 11, we see that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, which was a fulfillment of prophecy, as we find in Zechariah 9:
9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus' triumphal entry was a bold declaration and an alignment with Biblical prophecy. Jesus was saying to the crowd, "I am He," the Messiah, but they made Him out to be a different sort of Savior, a political leader who would deliver them from Roman oppression. There was something that took place at the end of the journey that was pointed out in a sermon I heard yesterday:
11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
To me, this speaks to the spiritual dynamic of His mission and it can also instruct us about the importance of careful evaluation. We skip down to verse 15 and find Jesus back in the temple:
15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
On Sunday night, it was a time for consideration, on Monday, it was certainly the time for confrontation. The two went hand-in-hand.
This past Saturday, in city after city across America, groups of well-organized young people participated in the March for Our Lives. It was interesting that there was even a #March4Life hashtag that was going out there to describe these gatherings. John Stonestreet of the Colson Center tweeted out: "March on DC today to protect innocent children from being slaughtered. That sounds similar to that March each year in January..."
It was also pointed out that the March for Life in DC generally receives little coverage from the mainstream media, in contrast to the March for Our Lives on Saturday, which had wall-to-wall coverage in some outlets.
The whole issue of gun violence is one in which spirited, reasoned debate can take place. And, the classmates of those who lost their lives in Parkland, Florida, are grieving and wounded by what transpired that day. But, the gun issue is a multi-faceted one, and should include the redemption of a human heart; for the taking of life illustrates a disregard for the lives of others, a rejection of God's truth and a corrupted mind that can contribute to a person taking a gun, as we saw in Parkland, Sutherland Springs, Sandy Hook, and others, or a series of bombs, which we encountered with the Austin serial bomber, or a constructed weapon, as we saw in Oklahoma City.
Gun violence is real, but to take to the streets, holding signs that contain angry messages, without clear consideration, doesn't offer a comprehensive solution. Contrast the responses of Parkland student David Hogg, who seems to have trouble controlling his mouth, to another student who has a different idea of confrontation.
According to National Review, in a video, he described 2nd Amendment advocates using a vulgar term, saying, they, "...that want to keep killing our children, they could have blood from children splattered all over their faces and they wouldn’t take action because they all still see those dollar signs...”
He went on:
“At this point its like when your old-a** parent is like, ‘I don’t know how to send an iMessage’ and you’re like, ‘Ok give me the f***ing phone’ and you take it and you get it done in one second. Sadly, that’s what we have to do with our government because our parents don’t know how to use a f***ing democracy so we have to do it.”Contrast this response to that of another Parkland student, who was in DC Saturday, but not invited to speak at the March for Our Lives. Kyle Kashuv did challenge David Hogg to a debate, which did not materialize, and he was on Face the Nation on CBS. The network's website stated:
Hogg, who has become the defacto spokesman for the youth gun-control movement, regularly appears on cable news and is featured on the cover of the next issue of Time magazine along with four other Parkland students, all of whom are vocal proponents of increased gun control.
"I talked to senators and I looked at all the facts and they all point in the same direction the a ban on assault weapons will not solve this issue," Kashuv told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.Kashuv, according to The Hill, defended Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was denigrated at the Saturday march. He said, "Every single senator that I’ve spoken with does not want to see this happen," adding, "I spoke with Sen. Marco Rubio. He cares so much about this, and it pains me to see how he’s being represented in the media."
Unlike many of his classmates from the Parkland, Florida, high school, Kashuv doesn't support more restrictive gun laws, like those embraced by protesters at Saturday's March for Our Lives rallies across the country. He has been meeting with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to discuss solutions to gun violence that don't restrict Second Amendment rights.
According to the Time Magazine website, Kashuv supports the STOP School Violence Act, which
allocates $50 million to:
- Create and operate an”anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and internet websites”
- Implement improvements to school security infrastructure.
- Develop student, teacher and law enforcement training to prevent violence.
So, the U.S. Congress, much maligned in the marches on Saturday, along with those who use the phrase, "thoughts and prayers," in the aftermath of tragedies, has actually begun to take action.
It's a serious issue, and one that deserves well-thought-out discussion. And, gun laws are only a part of the overall debate - consider security of public places, such as schools and churches. Mental illness is a huge contributing factor - how can the Church be active in identifying those who are struggling? And, we recognize that the hope for a heart of a person who would take the life of another comes through the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
We don't discount, "thoughts and prayers!!" Consideration is important when dealing with serious issues in our culture. There could be a time for confrontation, as Jesus demonstrated the day after Palm Sunday, but we know that He was in line with the will of His Father, and He may have just given us an example to follow when He visited the temple the preceding night.
When we are considering our responses, it's important that we are knowledgeable about what the Bible has to say. The Scriptures give us clear instruction on so much that we deal with, and His Spirit will enable us to communicate God's wisdom in a way that pleases Him.
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