Waiting for the World to Change
In his first appearance on Fox News, presumably one of many, the recently elected House Speaker Mike Johnson in conversation with Sean Hannity, posited a unique, never considered before, revelation that there’s something wrong with the human heart and that the scourge of mass shootings can be attributed to that unseen wickedness. After the shooting in Maine last week, Johnson said, “The problem is the human heart, not guns. It’s not the weapon, it’s the underlying problem.”
I may not know a Glock from a Beretta but I know something about the human heart. I’ve been reading a book about it for 50 years now. It begins with the creation of the world and ends with the renewal of all things. You know the book. It’s a best seller. Been translated about a thousand times. It’s where we find the only fully legitimate story of Jesus Christ. (Email me if you’re still not sure which book of which I speak.)
Anyway, speaking of “revelation” about the human heart being messed up is no great insight to anyone paying attention these days. But since we have no control over people’s hearts, maybe we can do something about legislating ways to minimize the horrific plans of those who live out of such a corrupt heart by limiting their arsenal. We put laws in place all the time to do just that in regard to murder, robbery, and rape, which are all the result of bad hearts. But we don’t just sit back and blame the heart. We make those things illegal, and punish those who break those laws.
Reminds me of the John Mayer song:
So we keep on waiting / Waiting on the world to change…
That’s not what legislators are tasked to do, let alone followers of Jesus. We can’t wait for people’s hearts to change in hopes that these mass shootings will stop. Politicians terrified of the gun lobby shouldn’t be elected year after year. If they are, that’s on us!
Getting back to the heart, yes, it’s only Jesus who can change the human heart, but he rarely if ever does so without human cooperation. So, we pray for people, share the good news, and pray some more. And one by one people come to Jesus and their hearts begin to change. With mass shootings in the U.S. at record highs, we simply can’t wait around until everybody’s hearts are purified and sanctified by the Holy Spirit!
So, what do we typically do in socially tragic realities such as this? We build guard rails to keep people from hurting each other. Common sense gun laws should be considered as such guard rails. It’s not the entire fix, but it’s a beginning. It’s like building levees adjacent to a potentially raging river. One levee that I propose is the banning of semi-automatic rifles, the kind that most mass shooters use, the most recent shooter in Maine included, who slaughtered 18 humans and wound another 13.
Representative Johnson said to Hannity and all his Fox News devotees that “now isn’t the time” to discuss legislation that would address the scourge of mass shootings. That’s what they say, who want to retain the status quo and keep the gun lovers of America happy. “Now is not the time.” So, what do we do? We keep on waiting; Waiting on the world to change…
The problem is, by the time we’re done waiting for a better time, another mass shooting happens. The illusive better time never comes and we’re waiting again.
