I stopped by a friends home yesterday and she was watching Oprah who was doing a show from an area that had been devastated by Katrina. She said that she had been crying with Oprah and Faith Hill, so I know that it touched her heart. Here's the troubling part. The next words out of her mouth were, "Some heads gotta roll." (Needless to say, this floored me, coming from a follower of The King of Peace.) I asked what she meant and she said that she thought that we needed to find out why it took so long to help these people and who was responsible for that and they needed to answer for that and be thrown out of office and that she even e-mailed Oprah and suggested that with her clout she could make this happen. She asked if I agreed and I said that I didn't. She said that it was good that at least one of us cared. I told her that it wasn't that I didn't care, but I didn't think we should be acting like- In the name of Jesus, heads gotta roll. She said that righteous indignation was okay. I think that is a misrepresentation of righteous indignation, which if you look at our example; He was indignant when people were deliberately oppressed or taken advantage of. I don't feel that any mistakes that were made were deliberate. Mistakes were definitely made. All over the place. For one, I don't think anyone thought it was going to be as bad as it was, especially when so much media emphasis is put on categories and mph. Also, the canal wall breakage was devastating. Anyway, I said that my wife and I had been praying for not only the families affected but also the people directing the relief effort and all the volunteers. With all that said, here's what that conversation lead me to think about this morning.
I have to say that mob mentalities really scare me, because at times, we humans seem barely better than animals. I've seen it happen too many times with terrible results. Just look at our past. Lynchings, race riots, gay bashing, the witch hunts, the crusades, or more recently, the looting and violence after the hurricane; or how about the release of a criminal named Barabbas and the hanging of our sinless Savior on a cross because they were offended by Him. Why, because He insulted their pride? All examples of mob hysteria and "righteous indignation."
God's Word tells us:
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke6:37
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John3:17
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. Romans12:19
We all remember the story in John 8 where Jesus asks for he who hasn't sinned to cast the first stone and then asks the accused where her condemners are.
And finally, let us pursue peace and not let bitterness spring up like it teaches us in Hebrews 12:14-15. Jesus said we ought always to pray. That means without ceasing. If we are always talking with Him, it doesn't leave any room for bitterness and vengeance.
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i think your friend tends to get overzealous at times. i feel like from the local level to all the way up things went wrong. the mayor of n.o. called for the evacuation 24 hours b4 katrina hit, knowing that his own city's evacuation plan took 3 days, fema clearly bumbled things. should heads roll and people be punsished? no. should people who are in positions that they can't handle or are doing a poor job be replaced? yes.
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