Have you ever watched "Without a Trace", "CSI", "NCIS", "Law and Order" or any of the other crime shows that are on tv? How about any of the "Judge Judy" type shows on tv? Ever ask yourself why? We occasionally watch these shows, most of them are well produced and draw you into their plot. What are your thoughts on the capture/killing of Osama Bin Laden? How do you feel about the Casey Anthony case and the fact that the jury handed out a "not guilty" verdict?
I talk about this because I think we all have an inward pull toward having the truth revealed and justice being upheld. We don't want to see someone get away with a crime. We want them to serve their punishment. So we are pleased when they are convicted and killed. Likewise, we are concerned when they are let go, seemingly scot-free?
I will share my thoughts and ask you to think about yours.
Recently I've caught myself being drawn into the Casey Anthony murder trial. Has anyone else done this? I knew very little about the case for the past few years as we rarely watch the news... it gets depressing after a while. I haven't watched much of the trial either, but for the past week or so, I've caught myself looking at the highlights of the case, the story involved, the evidence, the lines of reasoning by the prosecution and the defense. All of those intrigued me. I ask the question: Why?
I noticed that the more I watched, the more entangled the story seemed to be. There were allegations of child abuse from the father and brother, there was lying on the part of just about everybody, there was 'alleged' adultery on the part of the father, there was the strange behavior of the meter reader, and more. Casey, the mother of Caylee, who was accused of murder, went as far as to make up a story of a fake nanny, a fake boyfriend, and a fake job at Universal Studios. On top of that she went out partying and got a tattoo of "Beautiful Life" after her child was missing. Not exactly a candidate for mother of the year. It was an extremely messed up case. In the end the jury came back with a "Not Guilty" verdict of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse. They only found her guilty of 4 counts of lying. I do believe that the jury made the right decision based upon my understanding of the facts of the case. There simply wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony was the killer and because of that they reached a "not guilty" verdict. So here we have a little girl who was found dead with duct tape over her mouth in a plastic bag near where she lived and no one is going to pay for this? No, I don't believe that at all. God knows exactly what happened. He knows all and sees all. Those responsible for the death of Caylee will have to answer to the judge of the universe for their actions. There will be no excuses on that day. The surrounding family members with their problems will all be set aside and the person(s) responsible will have to answer. It will not be a nice scene.
The capture/killing of Osama Bin Laden a few months ago made news headlines everywhere. The man responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and many other terror attacks was found and killed. What was your reaction to this? Was there a sense of relief? A sense of Justice delivered? A sense of pity? If you were like me there was some of all those emotions.
When the news of Osama Bin Laden broke I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth about to go to bed. There was an alert that important news would be coming from the White House shortly. I didn't have a clue what it could be. Stephanie said "Is Mrs. Obama pregnant?". For the next few hours we stayed glued to the tv as the President explained the raid in Pakistan by Seal Team 6 and the capture and kill of Bin Laden. There was celebrations in the streets, congratulations throughout the media, a sense of American pride, and a feeling of relief. I was one who felt the relief of this extremely dangerous man no longer around to cause harm. The man who was the mastermind behind numerous attacks on American soil was now no longer a threat. Not long after I felt relief, I felt pity for him. He faced the judgement of Americans and others who were hunting for him, but ultimately he faced the judgement of God. I don't think that high fives and celebrations are a way to "love your enemy". Please do not think that I am saying that we should simply shake hands and hug someone who kills our other neighbors. I'm not saying that at all. I'm simply saying that maybe instead of celebrating the death of someone, someone who rightfully deserves death, we should mourn over the fact that his death is necessary, as I believe it was. I firmly believe that the President and Seal Team did the right thing and at the same time am hit with the weight of the tragedy of the situation.
We all want justice to be manifested. This is even more so when it's something personal against us. It's easy to follow something from a distance, brush it off and move onto something else, but when it's personal it's not that easy. For example what if Osama Bin Laden had killed your parent, sibling, or child in one of his attacks? What if one of your kids was murdered or raped by someone? A sense of justice appears within us even when something small occurs. When someone cuts you off in traffic it's easy to blame the other person and point out their fault. It's so easy for us to look at tv shows, and real events like Casey Anthony and Osama Bin Laden, as well as personal offenses against us and seek justice. It's harder for us to look at our own lives and demand the same type of treatment. You see, we have offended those around us. We have committed numerous crimes against others, some of which were found out, many of which were not. How are we going to answer for those crimes? Is saying I'm sorry good enough? What would it look like if Casey Anthony and Osama Bin Laden said "Yes, I did everything you said, I'm sorry, I'll try my best to do better, I promise". It wouldn't matter much. A good judge would not let that slide, they would not let the offender go free no matter how sincere they were because the punishment would need to be paid.
Personally, I view every offense we make not only a horizontal offense against another person, but a vertical offense against God as well. Nothing will escape the eye of God and every person will have to give an account before Him.
Are they deserving of justice, yes, but so are we. How are we going to answer for that?
Do we think that God owes us only good and won't hold us accountable for our thoughts and actions? If so, are the unanswered murders always going to be unanswered, with no one brought to justice?
Are we going to try to do more good things to outweigh the bad, hoping to be 'good' enough? And how 'good' is good enough, is that something we decide on relative terms?You might be 'good' compared to Osama Bin Laden and Casey Anthony, but compared to God are you really 'good'?
I'm not sure how you would answer those questions, but here's how I do:
God's standard is perfection. I was created to be perfect and live for God's glory in relationship with him. I turned from him, taking him off the throne and putting myself on the throne. I decided I was a better judge than him and deserved to rule. While God could have left me in the pig sty covered in sin, he didn't. Jesus came to earth lived a perfect life and died a perfect death to bring me back to God. Through his sacrifice on the cross it's no longer about being good enough, it's actually realizing that I fall way short of being good enough. Being brought low because of my sin was the most uplifting thing that happened. Rather than being told how good I was, I was shown how great God is. The justice I deserve was laid on Christ. I'm trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of my sin and my aim is to live a life of gratitude that reflects that.
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