*(non-musical/artistic post ahead…)

Every time we have a mass shooting, the conversation turns to gun control. Let me say at the outset that, while I am a licensed and carrying gun owner, I also understand the elements of mental health and loopholes in the current system that make guns accessible to people who might should not have access to them.

However, our problem is not ‘gun control’. Let me explain.

Every person on the planet, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, persuasion, or location, makes choices for a reason. They work 80-hour weeks for a reason. They marry or divorce for a reason. They overeat or over-diet or over workout for a reason. There are lots of different choices, lots of different stories… but out of 6 billion people on this rock, there are only SIX reasons.

There are only SIX human needs. We all have the same six needs. The only difference is which needs we value more and which we value less. and we are driven be each one of them. Our needs are:

Certainty.
Uncertainty/variety.
Significance
Love/Connection
*Growth
*Contribution

You can meet your needs in positive/empowering ways or negative/destructive ways. You can get certainty by overeating and developing diabetes or by working and putting money into your savings account.

You can meet the need for uncertainty or variety by skydiving for the first time or by starting a new relationship. By learning, growing, or taking on a new challenge. Or by sabotaging your job or your relationships.

You can get significance by covering your body with tattoos and piercings or by adopting a puppy. You can get it by getting married and having children, or by being the person in your circle of friends with the biggest problems and greatest drama.

And of course, you can achieve love and connection in healthy ways or unhealthy ways….that list is long and covers everything from praying to God and volunteering at the soup kitchen, to

IMPORTANT NOTE:
You can meet MORE than one need by doing only ONE thing. Don’t believe me? For example, I’ve seen Die Hard at least 1,276 times. Why?!? Well, I’ve seen it before so know it’s a good movie (which gave me Certainty), yet I’m hoping it’s been long enough since I’ve seen it last that I’ve forgotten some parts of it and it will surprise me (which gave me Uncertainty). Yes, I’m a weirdo. But have you ever done that??? Thought so, you psycho.

I’ll give you another one.

Years ago, I was training for the Austin Marathon. And I LOVED it. Why? I was experienced enough that I knew I could do it with the right training (it gave me Certainty), but I’d never done it before so I was afraid of becoming injured (which gave me Uncertainty). I was the only guy in my circle of friends who’d set the goal to complete it (which gave me Significance)… AND it gave me a sense of belonging to an elite group of runners (which gave me Connection). Not surprisingly, I had NO problems sticking with the training and finishing the race well. It met FOUR of my needs. Looking back, it was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.

Here’s the scary thing: if something you do, something you say, or something you believe meets 3 or more of your needs, you’ll become addicted to it. Addicted. Just like I did with running.

See, violence meets 4 of our 6 human needs: Uncertainty, Certainty, Significance, and Connection. That’s why we have mass shootings. That’s why we have bombings. That’s why radical Islamists run over people with vans. That’s why weak men abuse the women in their lives.

There are two ways to have the tallest building in town: build your own or tear the other ones down. Which one is cheaper, easier, and takes less intelligence?

The latter.

If I live in the ‘hood and you walk through my community and you don’t notice me, and it makes me feel insignificant, I might take things into my own hands. And if I stick a gun in your face, how certain am i that you’ll respond to me and take me seriously? On a scale of 1 to 10? A hundred. Now I’ve gained a sense of Certainty.

But also, even if you didn’t know me, how significant am I in your life now? On a scale from 1 to 10? A second ago you didn’t know I existed, and now I’m the most significant thing in your life. And I didn’t need any intelligence, any money, any education, or any respect to become significant. Just a gun. Or a bomb. Or a car. Or a fist. And now I’ve added a powerful dose of Significance to my Certainty.

Oh, by the way, if I do it more than one time, I realize that every time is a little bit different. Different people say different things and respond differently. So I meet my need for Uncertainty. So I’m meeting three needs: Certainty, Significance, and Variety. But violence doesn’t stop there.

A fourth need I’m getting met is the need for love or connection. (Most people settle for connection instead of love, btw…) Do you feel that the moment I have a gun to your head (or any other violent act), are we connected at all? YES. We are deeply, intimately Connected. It’s perverted and disgraceful, but very deeply connected.

So, with one act of violence I immediately meet 4 of my 6 universal human needs: Certainty, Significance, Uncertainty, Connection.

We’ll always have violence because it meets 4 of our 6 human needs. We’ll always have it. Cain killed Abel with a rock. James Fields drove a car into a crowd of protesters. Stephen Paddock killed 59 people from the Mandalay Bay Hotel window in Vegas. Countless ISIS terrorists have ignited homemade bombs, driven vehicles into crowds, committed beheadings, and thrown homosexual men off the roofs of buildings.

Until our hearts are changed, violence will always be part of the human condition. Until we become the people God created us to be, we’ll continue to find our Certainty, Significance, Uncertainty, and Connection in ways that reveal the darkest side of humanity.

It’s time to turn from the darkness, and be the Light.