In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Psalm 10:2-12 NIV
As a strong believer in the power of prayer, I also understand that praying without taking appropriate action won’t accomplish much. Yes, we need to pray for people in times of crisis and tragedy, but we also need to take action–not just the Everyday Americans who’re praying, but the legislators who have the authority to change the way we do business and to curtail the evil nurtured in those who do not know God.
There is a time for prayer–daily, as often as one needs to talk to God–but then if we want to see concrete results of prayer, we must DO SOMETHING in order to see our prayers answered. Faith–total confidence in God–requires action on the part of the people praying, not just giving lip service in a time of crisis. Yes, “our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of tragedy,” may make us feel better that we said something, but does it make sense for us to keep saying the same thing, over and over again, when our lawmakers–hold within their hands the power to change the landscape of tragedy into one of hope and saved lives?
I’m praying that all of those legislators who have so happily received funding from NRA will now, reject further involvement by them and act on principle and morality instead of party partisanship. It is time to set aside greed and govern according to the needs of people across America who have suffered loss or injury from out of control people using guns. We NEED COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION, NOW! The discussion needs to be held now, not later when the sensationalism has subsided, but now while wounds are still gaping and bleeding and graves waiting to embrace the innocent. Now, is the time, legislators must stop procrastinating and DO SOMETHING to save lives and end the carnage that erupts by those who are either mentally unstable or just plain evil.
And to be clear, evil doesn’t just rise to the surface unexpectedly. It rises out of careful nurturing over time, being fed and watered out of hate of self and others and those who are partaking of the nurturing, should also be punished for the role they play in the senseless loss of life. Evil doesn’t hide–it parades itself for all to see and someone watching the parade should speak up and try to direct the evil to turn aside into a place of peace and love so healing can begin.
As a nation, we cannot afford to sit idly by and say nothing–we must speak out and force our elected officials to do their job for the sake of all, not the gun lobbyists and manufacturers. Now is the time for action; getting beyond lip service to bring about legislative change to protect us all.
I pray we can affect this legislation immediately, but if we can’t, I urge all to keep pushing for Common Sense Gun Legislation (CSGL) and in 2018 and 2020 vote for candidates who will get it done–forsaking the all mighty dollars of the NRA, in order to save lives.
maryhallrayford 