Cowboy Wisdom
Heaven with
a Gun is a 1969 western film in which Glenn Ford plays Jim Killian, a
gunslinger-turned-preacher arrives in a town divided between cattlemen and
sheepherders. He tries to bring the
townsfolk together but the situation flares up when the dominant cattleman, Asa
Beck, persuades the cattlemen to block the sheepherders from their only source
of water. The conflict comes to a head
when four of Asa’s cowhands burn the church.
In desperation, Jim straps his guns back on to fight the cattlemen alone
as his parishioners look on with sadden disillusionment.
One friend
acting as his conscience exhorts him: “I really thought you had changed!” “I tried, he replies.” She continues, “You came to this town saying
you were a preacher but what’s that strapped to your hip, a bible, or a 45? What you’re really saying is that you
wouldn’t have had a chance here without your guns! Maybe you would have failed but you’ll never
really know because you didn’t have enough faith in God to try. It’s your choice. Gunmen or preacher. Heaven or hell. Don’t be half and half because that is
really hell.” Her earthy wisdom sounds
like Galatians 3:3 (NIV) “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are
you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
In the end, Jim puts
down his gun and rallies the church folk to take a stand against the
insanity. Seeing the whole town united,
the cattlemen back down and the crisis is averted. What about you? Is your ministry in the spirit or in the
flesh? Based on talent or brokenness? It’s your decision but the whole world is
watching.
