The Gatling Gun was used in warfare and was even mounted on camels for use in desert battles. As with many weapons of warfare, it was yet another two-edged sword. It was able to save the lives of those who wielded it, but it also took the lives of those against whom it was used. What is ironic is that Richard Gatling was a peace loving individual and had hoped that such a gun would save lives. On the death of Richard Gatling, the newspaper recorded the motivation of Richard Gatling for inventing such a weapon. The following account indicates that his motivation was indeed the preservation of life.

Headline: "Inventor Of Fast-firing Weapon Deceased

Feb. 26, 1903 -- Dr. Richard J. Gatling, inventor of the gun which revolutionized modern warfare, died yesterday in New York City at 84. As developed by Gatling early in the Civil War, the Gatling Gun fired 250 shots a minute as compared with its current 3,000 shots a minute. But the inventor was a mild, kind man whose aim was the contrary of violence or destruction. Because the gun could be fired by one man, he hoped it would spare an entire army from indiscriminate enemy fire. After perfecting the machine gun for 30 years, he sold his interest to Colt Firearms Company.

Nor did he invent only guns. Born on a farm, he helped his father design a device for thinning cotton. Later, while working as a merchant, he designed a screw propeller and then a machine for sowing rice, at which time he shifted exclusively to inventing."

History is filled with individuals who invented instruments of war and destruction, individuals who believed and hoped at one time that their innovation would promote peace and even perhaps end war in the world. Usually, if not totally, the result was far different than originally believed. The attempts at promoting peace through the invention of more and more powerful weapons has consistently disappointed all who have dreamed for something far different and better.

The name of another individual who was also a peace loving, mild, and kind man, also known for seeking the end of war, is equally well known. He was not born on a farm, but was born in a stable. He also had a great desire to save the lives of individuals. In contrast to Richard Gatling, His desire was to save lives extended to all individuals, friend or foe. Yet His heart was centered on saving individuals from eternal death and His name is Jesus. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid; These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".

There is a peace that Jesus offers which is far different from the peace that the world seeks. In our world, peace is the cessation of war and hostility. With Jesus, peace is a condition of the heart and spirit. While some seek a time when there will be no war in this world, there is much war that still takes place in the hearts of men. There is a violence that Jesus identifies which goes beyond such violent acts as war and murder. Jesus states that if you hate your brother in your heart, you have murdered him in your heart. That kind of "war" and "violence" takes place daily at all levels of society, and among all kinds of people. Jesus teaches that it is "war" in the heart, that it is hatred in the soul that is the basis for what we see take place outwardly in this world. We must first deal with the heart of individuals if we are going to deal with the war and violence that we see in the world.

The need of mankind is not another "Gatling Gun", but a radical change of heart that only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in the gospel of John, chapter three, "Ye must be born again."