If you are against violence, you have to be in favor of its death.
The past 48 hours have been especially violent for America, with deadly attacks in Minnesota, New York and New Jersey. As much as none of us in our right minds rejoices in the death of anyone, there are times when the death of evil should – and must – take precedence over the death of the innocent.
I don’t love guns – but I do love innocent people. This is why I know how to use, and have been certified to conceal-carry, a legal firearm. It’s why I encourage others to do the same as a means of being prepared to stop evil when it rises up.
For the record, I’m a pastor -- and since we’re talking about the record, let me set it straight, because so much of our thinking about evil is askew. Hold on a moment, because if you really think about what I’m saying you just may find yourself agreeing – all ideology aside.
What happened at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minn., on Saturday – a knife-wielding attacker stabbing nine, thankfully none fatally -- supports my stance. It is a stance made continually by law-abiding, conceal-carry citizens who unabashedly love the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment. Our hatred of violence and love of a peaceful society where freedom, not violence and control, reigns, is part of what drives us. Sometimes, the only way to deal with violence is to use deadly force. Spare the violent and the meek can be murdered.
In a news conference, St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis provided a synopsis of the knife attack, and how it was stopped by a law-abiding, violence-hating, off-duty police officer who just happened to be carrying a concealed firearm:
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“Jason Falconer, a part time police officer for the Avon Police Department, was shopping at Crossroads Mall at the time of the attack . . .
“Officer Falconer walked into the department store and identified himself to the suspect. The suspect then waved a knife and lunged at Falconer, quickly closing the 20-foot gap between them. Falconer raised his gun and shot the suspect. Knife still in hand, the suspect got up and continued to approach the officer and was shot again. The suspect tried to get up two more times before being fatally shot.”
Mayor Kleis and Chief of Police Blair Anderson credit the off-duty, conceal-carry-permitted officer with preventing further carnage.
What if Minnesota was a state where conceal-carry was illegal? What if we lived in a nation where the 2nd Amendment was marginalized or altogether eliminated? What if law-abiding citizens were restrained from restraining violence? You know the answers, and they lead nowhere good for a peaceful, lawful, free society.
If we keep rejecting common sense by villainizing such law-abiding citizens who hate evil and conceal-carry as a means of restraining it, evil will gain the upper hand. In fact, I think we’re already seeing this happen, thanks to politically correct people who are theologically incorrect.
You see, the sixth of the Ten Commandments is not, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Better translations are “You shall not murder,” and “You shall not take an innocent life.” The proper translation is a game-changer. The truth is that innocent, law-abiding people have a right – and an obligation before God and each other – to do all they can to protect other innocent, law-abiding people and to strive toward a peaceful, free society. To not do all that is within our power to restrain evil is, by default, to promote it.
Our Founding Fathers were men filled with common sense – a trait going the way of the panda bear in our modern times. It’s what led them to draft and adopt The 2nd Amendment, the right to “keep and bear arms.” Why? For no other reason than to restrain evil. The 2nd Amendment is not an endorsement of hunting, my friends. It’s a means to prevent the evil that is in the heart of every single one of us from gaining the upper hand. The Founding Fathers knew that the heart of man is dark, and when darkness reigns, freedom wanes.
We really are in a titanic fight between good and evil in America. Good prevails when we are intentional about stopping evil. If we shrink from this responsibility, chaos, disorder and violence.
America needs a return to common sense, and a real spiritual awakening courtesy of God Himself. We have to get to the heart of the matter, which is the heart of humanity. This is why The National Week of Repentance, coming October 30 – November 6, is so important. If you’re against violence, then you need to participate and spread the word. Let’s stop dealing with the symptoms of our problems and get to the causes. Visit RevivalMatters.com and get yourself ready for the kind of hope and change that only God can provide.
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