Freedom and rights are at the core of the gun debate in
our country. What’s the balance? Trying to strike the balance between freedom
and rights has also been an age-old dilemma in the Christian community. In
fact, that dilemma is as old as the early days of the First Century church.
One of the fascinating aspects of the early church is looking
back and seeing what questions they grappled with as new Christians. They were
not always sure what it meant to follow Jesus in a particular circumstance. One
of those circumstances concerned eating. What could a Christian eat? What was
forbidden?
Eating was controversial. The Jewish tradition had strict
dietary laws. The new Christians, however, were free from these Jewish
restrictions.
The new Christians in the Greek city of Corinth were experiencing
a real-life dilemma over whether to eat meat that had been used in pagan
temples as sacrifices. Afterwards, this meat would become available and go on
sale at the market. The new Christians asked the Apostle Paul if they could eat this meat. This
is how Paul answered:
Food will not bring
us close to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we
do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a
stumbling block to the weak. (I Corinthians 8: 8-9)
In other words, God doesn’t care about what we eat. We
are free to eat what we want. However, God does care when we use our freedom in
a way that becomes a stumbling block for others who might be vulnerable.
I am wondering if we can apply Paul’s spiritual logic to
the use and rights of guns in our country? Yes, we have the right to buy and
keep guns. But where does this freedom of ours become a stumbling block “for
the weak?” Paul’s words.
In my mind, with rights comes responsibilities. As Americans,
we have the right to guns. But have we
lived up to our responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of people who are
weak or vulnerable……i.e., confused or angry teenagers, those who have a history
or tendency toward violence, or people suffering from depression? As a
Christian, where does my concern for the vulnerable among us become more
important than my freedom?
