I want to elaborate on yesterday’s blog post, about forgiveness. I wrote it before hearing anything about the cowardly attacks by idiot ISIS terrorists in Paris yesterday. Forgiveness does not mean holding up one’s hands and allowing evil to flourish! Forgiveness does not cancel-out justice! It’s both/and. Forgiveness in this circumstance is about seeing evil monsters for who they are, and responding with justice, but seeking God for healing & hope within so that we don’t fall prey to their twin masters of hatred and retribution.
I’ve taught my children, their whole lives, that revenge doesn’t work. It perpetuates evil by turning a corner of our own hearts dark. So how do we protect our hearts from evil while making sure that the perpetrators of evil get what’s coming to them?
1) Carry out justice in a manner that is commensurate and emotionally under-control. Witch-hunts are emotional endeavors that end with punishments that far outweigh the crime….and they do more damage to those to carry them out than on those they punish.
2) Trust God for vengeance. Romans 12:19-21 says “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Careful now, don’t assume that “feeding the offender” means giving-in to evil demands or letting perpetrators escape consequences. Look beneath the surface…Why does someone like an ISIS terrorist want to kill innocent people? Because they’re ignorant, emotionally weak, and confused. Those are the areas where they are hungry and thirsty. Is it possible to hold out expressions of love and understanding to those who are misguided and evil, even while pursuing to end their lives with justice? Yes, it has to be.
Let me be perfectly clear. I am not a pacifist, and I believe that terrorist organizations and those who fight for them should be hunted down and brought to justice. Yes that means killing a lot of them. That is justice. But I also know that I am in danger of letting evil have a foothold in my heart if my desire for their death overwhelms my devotion to loving my neighbor. That is about forgiveness.
Forgiveness and justice are not mutually exclusive.
