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Due to the international events of the last week I'm taking a quick break from James and will return to it next week.
10"Son of man, say to the Israelites, 'This is what you are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"' 11Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?'
Ezekiel 33:10-12
After ten long years of persistent and dogged determination, the United States finally got their man. Last Sunday, May 1, 2011 (it was already Monday, May 2 in Pakistan), a Navy SEAL team swarmed the compound where Osama bin Laden was residing and took the life of the most wanted man in US history since John Wilkes Booth. On Sunday evening while announcing the event, President Obama proclaimed, "justice has been done."
Reaction was instantaneous and wildly enthusiastic. The mastermind of attacks such as the USS Cole and 9/11 was forced to pay the piper. The avenue in front of the White House that normally hosts a wide variety of protests became home to a street festival of dancing and cheering. On campuses around the country, college students celebrated with enthusiasm usually reserved for national football or basketball championships. No one seemed to notice that some of this revelry took place at schools which do not allow military recruiters on campus!
For one day Democrats and Republicans put their differences aside and actually had relatively nice words for one another. Politicians who recently decried waterboarding as criminal were conveniently silent on the subject when it was learned that the interrogation process was instrumental in gaining information critical to the mission. Their colleagues who think it is an acceptable practice didn't bother to point out the hypocrisy. Everyone hugged. The applause was universal. As one commentator put it, "it is a good day for America."
As I sat in front of my TV, I was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, Osama bin Laden certainly was guilty of slaughtering thousands of innocent men, women and children. He didn't have, "his day in court," but no one outside of radical, militant Islam would argue that he was treated unfairly. The "war on terror" is not over, but he clearly won't be able to organize another attack that will bring the searing pain of sudden grief and loss. If I were sitting in the President's chair, I would have given the go-ahead as well. In many respects he got what he deserved. The Apostle Paul says as much in Romans 13:
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
At the same time, the "dancing in the streets" didn't feel quite right to me. Now please don't misunderstand. I am not a pacifist nor do I believe you can build a case for societal or national pacifism based on scripture. God is completely merciful and completely just. There is no moral defect in God's judgment against those who willfully rebel against his Messiah (see Psalm 2 and Revelation 19-20). When human justice is served against evil we reflect (perhaps poorly) God's proper hatred of injustice.
What was a bit unsettling was the joy we all seemed to be experiencing at the death of another human being. What has been more than a bit unsettling in the last 24-48 hours was the vigor with which disciples of Jesus seemed to be joining in the revelry. Those of us who have embraced the gospel have freely acknowledged that apart from Jesus Christ we deserve God's condemnation and wrath. We know that we do not "get" what our sins deserve. Our sins may not have resulted in mass murders, but are we innocent of the blood of Jesus? I know no authentic follower of Christ who would argue our blamelessness. Relief that bin Laden won't kill again? Yes! Thankfulness that this may bring some closure to those who lost loved ones in his murderous attacks? Absolutely! Heartfelt appreciation for the skill of our military and the safe return of the SEALs team? You bet! Delight stemming from a sense of vengeance or self-righteous smugness? Perhaps we should pause.
Ezekiel prophesied during Israel's captivity in Babylon. His message was to remind the Jews living in exile that their sins had caused their expulsion from the land, but he also offered God's message of hope and restoration. Clearly those who had been uprooted from home and family and driven into a foreign land looked for revenge against their enemies. But through the prophet God warned his people against the assumption that he cherished the opportunity to destroy the wicked. Ezekiel spent the better part of 20 years calling his fellow countrymen to repentance and trust in God instead of hatred toward the Babylonians.
Eventually God brought judgment on Babylon and the people returned to their homeland. But prior to that restoration the prophet pointed out that self-righteous indignation is not a proper response to the downfall of evildoers. By his own confession, God says, "I take no pleasure at the death of the wicked" and therefore neither should we. God is not vindictive; he is just. There is a huge difference between the two. Perhaps I am overreacting or seeing something that isn't there. More often than not I am wrong and this may be one of those occasions. But could it be that those of us who love Jesus and long to honor him have blurred the lines?
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