Scripture Passage that caught my attention today: Acts 12:1-3 About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. 3 After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.)
Observation: What is it that drives crowds to be pleased when violence is directed at others?
Application: According to this morning’s news Moammar Gadhafi may have been captured or maybe even killed. For many this is a cause for great celebration. Same goes for any number of other high profile ‘targets’ around the globe in recent years.
Clearly some of these folks have been or are brutal people with little respect for human life. Still, I wince at the thought of celebrating their execution. Can there ever be any real joy in taking another’s life? Should there ever be any real joy in taking another’s life?
In the scriptures, especially the Old Testament, there are numerous times when joy accompanies the overthrowing (usually by death) of an opposing force. Goliath, Pharoah’s army, and the Philistines killed by Samson are but a few examples of nasty people whose demise resulted in celebration.
Nevertheless, it seems to me that celebrating another’s demise does not take Jesus’ call to love one’s enemies into account. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be justice. Nor am I necessarily saying that execution is never an acceptable solution. I’m just saying that, should things come to that point, that’s still no reason to be happy about it. Otherwise we edge toward becoming the very kind of people we claim to hate.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see the world as you see the world, even if we’re not completely sure how you see it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Readings today included: Job 6-8 and Acts 12)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment