Growing up, I learned that Jesus said to love our enemies. I understood the practical application of this to mean I should just ignore people who are mean to me. I believed that obviously wars are necessary (how else could we defeat the Nazis?), and, of course, you should defend yourself if someone is trying to hurt you or steal from you.

The first time I heard the idea that people who want to physically hurt me might be the same enemies Jesus said to love, it blew my mind! Not because I disagreed, but because I never thought about it in that way before. Then I took  a closer look at what Jesus was saying:

But to you who are listening, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

Luke 6:27-30

He is asking us to really see those seeking to cause us harm and look past their actions, to see who they really are, what their needs are, and to love them as God does. How can I help this person engaging in harmful behavior and maybe show them kindness and love they may have never experienced before?

In Biblical times people expected that when the Messiah came, He would be a warrior and a political leader. He instead allowed himself to be tortured and executed by political leaders. By doing so, he conquered sin and death and changed the world forever.

Jesus explained that the kingdom of God doesn't work the way the kingdoms of the world do. Whoever wants to be first must be last, and whoever wants to be greatest must be the servant of all. The way to bring about God's kingdom on Earth, the way to bring about peace, love, and justice, is by being a servant, even of those who would try to hurt you.

Now this does not mean closing your eyes to evil and sitting back doing nothing while horrible things happen. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers. Being a pacifist means very actively working toward peace. If you witness someone stealing or murdering, it is not in their best interest to allow them to continue in this behavior. However, it is also not in their best interest to hurt or murder them in order to stop them.

God's justice works through healing and restoration. Meeting evil with love is the only way to stop the cycle of violence. This is why it is also important to actively love your neighbors and heal your community before people are driven to making the choice of harming others. 

During the civil rights movement, nonviolent resistance proved to be the most effective tool. In Martin Luther King Jr's letter from the jail in Birmingham, he explained why he was engaging in demonstrations against unjust laws and the importance of engaging in this activism non-violently. Civil rights groups actively worked toward a more peaceful world by shedding light on unjust laws to expose the violence and evils occurring in the world, rather than continuing to accept the status quo. They did this in a way that was loving toward their oppressors. Their actions showed they would not seek to harm anyone and would take blows and imprisonment without retaliation, and that they would not allow their oppressors to continue in their harmful behavior. They were seeking a way of healing and forgiveness.

One of my favorite books, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, tells the story of Jean Valjean, a man driven, through poverty, to steal bread. He is imprisoned for this offense and remains there for 19 years because of multiple escape attempts. Upon his release, he finds that he is still not really free because no one is willing to hire an ex-convict. He is shunned from society and unable to even purchase food. A bishop takes him in, offers him what little food he has and a bed to sleep in. Jean Valjean, out of fear that he will never see kindness again in the future, takes the opportunity to steal the bishop’s silverware and leave in the night. He is then captured by the police. He tells them the bishop gave him the silverware, and the police take him back to get the bishop’s side of the story. To Jean Valjean’s amazement, the bishop not only corroborates his lie, but also gives him his silver candlesticks, saying he left in such a rush he forgot he had given him those as well.

This is everything of value that the bishop owns, and he freely gives it to the man who robbed him. He tells Valjean that with those candlesticks he is buying back his soul for God and that he must promise to become an honest man. This act of faith and kindness completely changes Jean Valjean’s life. In a world that treated him brutally his entire life, this was the first time anyone ever told him he has a soul and was willing to make a very real investment in his future and potential for goodness. Jean did not let this opportunity go to waste and spent the rest of his life living up to the Bishop’s investment in him. While this is a fictional example, fiction is often very adept at clearly illustrating important truths.

These examples show that we are not called to non-violence as just a rule to follow “because Jesus said so,” but because it is part of God’s plan to heal this broken world. It is our most effective tool to end suffering and create peace.

So how does the idea of gun control play into all this? Would a world of peace, love, and justice not include guns? Maybe. The thing it definitely wouldn't include is violence, as it's impossible to get there through violence. Many people believe the best way to limit gun violence is to make guns more difficult to own legally. The problem with this approach is that, in the name of peace, it increases violence. All laws are backed by force (violence). If something is illegal, the government will use force, up to and including violent force, to stop it. Of course, the government authorizes certain classes of people (military and police) to be exempt from these laws. In the case of gun laws, law enforcement officials are tasked with stopping other classes of people from merely passively owning weapons by using force if necessary. 

The only human rights are property rights. You own yourself and the product of your labor. Any attempt to harm peaceful people or steal or damage their property is a violation of their human rights. Guns are just property. Any violent attempt to separate someone from their property is not only immoral but ineffective. It is clear that other prohibition measures, such as alcohol prohibition in the 1920's and the War On Drugs, were massive failures. They not only increased violence and destroyed lives, but were ineffective at eliminating or reducing these items. This is what prohibition of any item does. 

The only way to achieve peace is by peaceful methods. Stop looking for political violence to be used against your enemies and start looking for ways to better love them. Make the decision that the cycle of violence stops here with you.