God is Our Place of Safety

One of the Psalms in the Common Lectionary for today February 5 is Psalm 62. As I read this Psalm I was struck by two verses and how they may apply to each of us as individuals and how they also could apply to our nation. As translated in the Contemporary English Version verse 8 says, "Trust in God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety." Verse 10 in this version reads, "Don't trust in violence or depend on dishonesty or rely on great wealth." (highlights are mine.) 

As a nation where do we find our "...place of safety"? Is it in what the Psalm would suggest or is it in our military, the strongest and most highly finances on the planet as a result of our, "...great wealth"?  Is it perhaps in drones that allows us to strike at perceived enemies anywhere with impunity and indicates that we "...trust in violence"?

As we consider the current gun debate (who can have guns, how accessible should they be, etc.) should we consider where our, "...place of safety" is? Do we, "trust in violence" or in the relative "great wealth" we have that allows us to purchase these instruments whose main purpose is killing? (Have you ever noticed how the gun lobby and the NRA says that an individual with a gun can "dispatch" anyone who is threatening them? "Dispatch", what an interesting euphemism for kill.)

The questions above and how they are answered can go a long way in deciding where we put our trust. Jesus said, in reference to money, "Your heart will always be where your treasure is." (Matthew 12:34) This can also apply to safety. If ones safety is invested in violence your heart will be with power, violence, and guns.