The Great Equalizer Of Weakness Against Strength

Common Sense Commentary: Living by faith does not mean expecting God to do for you what you can and should do for yourself. Why should He... Why would He?

There were clearly times when God did not protect His people, the Jews from the Philistines, His prophets from evil abuse, Job from the Chaldeans, John The Baptist from wicked King Herod, Stephen from being stoned to death and the Apostles from martyrdom. And why did Jesus tell all of His Apostles to sell a garment and buy some swords? (Luke 22:36).  There is just one common sense, practical explanation. It is not a contradiction. There is a principle I will call "personal safety responsibility". That is, God always expects us to use our heads in all cases, at all times, and be prepared and alert to preserve our safety and protect our lives against danger and death, to the extent we are able. If you jump off a ten story building, expecting God to protect you, or give you a quick lesson in human flight, you will be disappointed.  If you drive 100 miles per hour through traffic lights and expect God to get you through safely, you will make a big mistake.  God leaves some things in our hands. We are responsible to be cautious, drive safely, avoid excessive danger, and do our best to stay alive and protect ourselves from the criminal element. God will not do for you or me what we can and should do for ourselves. Why would He?   Besides trusting God to protect you, there are some things He expects you to do. There are two very effective ways of protecting your family from home invasion or unexpected attack by thugs or lunatics. One is, to be a millionaire with at least two competent, armed body guards, a $100,000 security system, several Doberman Pincers and a 12 foot high wall with iron gates. The second is affordable by all. It's small, ready to hand and the great equalizer of the weaker versus the stronger, between a 120 pound effeminate woman and a 250 pound bruiser, between a frail elderly person and a young vicious thug, between a good citizen and a tyrannical government .... It is a gun. The equalizing effect is truly miraculous. That is the primary reason our American Founders gave us the right to "keep and bear arms" in the Second Amendment. It is a reasonable right of all Americans. The only way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good man... or woman with a gun.  God did not stop the killing of those innocent children at their school. Men with guns stopped the bad guy after the damage was done because nobody at the school had a gun to do so sooner. RB