By Tim Peterson, Corvallis
People who know me label me as good. I tend to label people I meet as good. I am, we all are, fallible. We all make mistakes. So, asking me, a good guy with a gun, what I would do when confronted with a bad guy with a gun is mistake. Very few people aspire to be like me and for good reasons. Conversely, there are very few people I aspire to be like. There are characteristics of each of you that I admire. When confronted with big important questions we all should look to the ultimate good guy for guidance.
I believe taking a human life is wrong. Depending on our beliefs we each have a different point where we justify taking a human life. If we look to the ultimate good guy as our example, I think he would demonstrate that taking a human life is wrong. The manner Jesus died on the cross for our sins comes to mind. He didn’t die protecting a child from a school shooting. Jesus forfeited his life for our greed, sloth, lust, envy, pride and wrath.
I don’t know anyone that fears killing more than they fear dying. We idolize soldiers that give their life for their buddy as having great courage. Can you imagine the bravery Jesus embodied by giving his life to end our sloth?
Killing another person however you justify it is wrath. The bad guy with the gun justifies their actions as good with the same faulty logic the good guy justifies killing, exacting wrath on a perceived wrong. Forgive yourself for your weakness for using wrath to justify killing another fallible human. The ultimate act of bravery is to love others so deeply that you value their life as equal to your own. The next time you imagine a situation where violence is being perpetrated with a gun, take a leap and imagine how it might play out if you didn’t assume that violence is the proper response to violence. It isn’t the only choice. Use your imagination. Unlike a bullet you can use it as often as you like.
Love cannot drive out love only the sins Jesus gave his life to free us from can do that. Bravely wave empathy and love in the face of your weakness. Strive to be the ultimate good guy with a gun.