Death to the Wicked
It’s human nature to want justice (when it involves someone else). We want the world (the rest of it) to be fair. If someone is a “bad person,” we want them to pay for their misdeeds.
Action… reaction. Consequences. Justice.
It all makes sense. You do the crime; you do the time.
That changes a little (read: a lot) when it’s us, though. We don’t want justice then. We want grace. But that’s a story for another day.
Every other time, we want justice. And who do we generally blame (or at least shout to) when justice isn’t served?
Usually it’s God.
How could He let this happen? Why would God let those people get away with (insert crime here)?
We scream to him for justice because we believe that God is all about it. Judgment. Punish the bad guys.
And He is.
But sometimes I think we form the impression that He enjoys punishment.
Surely He must. God has to enjoy punishing people. Why else would He do it?
How could God not enjoy punishment? I mean, who doesn’t love making their own children cry?
What parent doesn’t experience joy when spanking a child who won’t listen?
Who doesn’t smile with glee when their kids suffer the consequences of tough life lessons?
If you haven’t caught the sarcasm yet, this would be a good time to note its use.
I came across an interesting verse today in my daily reading. Check out Ezekiel 18:23:
“Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God , “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?”
God spends much of the Old Testament warning Israel of the impending consequences and punishment of their repetitive choice to “follow their own path.” The people consistently chose to do things that were contrary to God’s commands.
And while to us that may seem arrogant to us (to require a people to do whatever He says), He was trying to protect them and the relationship that He and they had.
But each time punishment came, whether in the form of an enemy nation came in and decimated Israel, or carried them off into exile, or Israel was plagued with… well, a plague, God would always re-initiate the relationship. He would extend his hand again to His people.
God never enjoyed punishing people. He didn’t cackle with glee when the flood wiped out humanity. He didn’t grin with vengeance when He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah. He wasn’t pleased with sending in nation after nation to tear down the cities of the people He chose. Those were all His creation. He loved them. He was saddened and frustrated and hurt.
He didn’t enjoy punishing people. And neither should we.
And there’s the rub. That’s the hard part.
I think (at least for me I know it to be true) at times we take a little delight in the death of the wicked. We grin because we believe that justice has been served. They “got what was coming to them,” and we feel a little better about ourselves.
When in reality, we should be disappointed and perhaps saddened at the loss of opportunity for redemption.
This is an entirely human trait. We like revenge (which we tend to label as justice). We look at justice many times as something we get to do, instead of something that must be done. Justice is an important, integral part of society and who God is, but (for us) it should be a burden, not a privilege.
And if you need further proof of this, read Jonah sometime. You’ve probably heard the story before.
God tells a dude to go preach to the bad guys. Dude runs the other way. God chases. Dude ends up in the belly of a fish. Dude survives and goes to preach to bad guys.
But that’s usually where we leave the story. We leave out the part that Jonah preached in Nineveh and the “bad guys” changed their lives. God moved in their hearts and healed the city.
And then Jonah posted how many people were saved next week in the bulletin right? Surely he was pleased…
Nope. Jonah was hacked. He wanted God to kill ‘em all. He was angry that God saved the city of Nineveh and then claimed that was why he originally didn’t want to come. “I knew you were just going to save them anyway.”
God then spends chapter 4 of Jonah teaching him a lesson about the value of life and compassion.
So the next time you catch yourself (or catch me) screaming for that “evil” person to pay the ultimate price, remember this verse:
“Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God , “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?”
Maybe that terrible person is allowed to continue on for a chance at redemption. Maybe, just maybe, God knows what the heck He’s doing.
Chuck
I like your comments. I have always wondered what I would do if I was involved in a situation where someone I loved was hurt/killed due to the actions of another. I would like to think that I would be indifferent towards them and let God hand out whatever is necessary/deserved. Only He knows. I love the movie Amish Grace, as it is the true story about how the Amish handled having many of their children killed by a serial killer.
Greg P