Something so unforgiveable......

One family’s triumph over injustice…

In my last post I was relating some of the recent events in the life of a friend’s family and my belief that sometimes injustice can outweigh justice. Just now the image of the blindfolded woman holding the scale symbolizing blind justice flashed in my mind. Justice is a very tricky thing; can there really be “justice for all”?

After reading my post, some people would argue that this boy got his “just deserts” and was asking for what he got or that he should have thought of the consequences before he acted. We all make foolish and stupid mistakes, how many of us can say that we think through every move we make during the day? Some actions are more criminal than others, some people do things deliberately and with malice, that is why we have laws and with laws, punishment. But being the victim of a crime should not give us the freedom to over step the law and take justice into our own hands, because our form of justice may be injustice to someone else.

Forgiveness is another thing that everybody wants, but very few people can give. It is especially hard to grant it to the people who have made a living nightmare out of your life. There are those that don’t want or think they need forgiveness, but forgiveness is still an essential part of the healing process. But how can you forgive people that you don’t believe deserve forgiveness?

In the bible we find a perfect example of this very thing in Romans 5:7&8 “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man; though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” For by Christ’s death it says in Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” From that we learn that God in his grace and mercy has forgiven the sins of all who believe in Christ Jesus through the blood of his sacrifice. It is not to “all who deserve forgiveness”; this offer is extended freely to every one of us sinners who answer the door when Jesus knocks! Jesus gives us some more insight into forgiveness, when in Matthew 25:40 it reads “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” And again in verse 45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”  In Colossians 3:12-14 we read “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  The main idea expressed in these passages is that God forgave us our sins when we didn’t deserve it and if we forgive those who have wronged us, though they don’t deserve it, then we will have done it for Christ. This is the best example that we can follow, to forgive when it is undeserved, but it’s probably one of the hardest things we could ever do, but the reward is found in Matthew 6:14&15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

So getting back to my friend and her family, they are dealing with the very difficult and quite tragic circumstances they have found themselves in lately. Their 18 year old son suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen after a man strangled him for breaking into his car, which has left him in a vegetative state. Their lives are focused on his need for constant daily care and even though the prognoses at this point is very bleak, they are a family built on faith, a strong belief in God’s love and grace which gives them hope and the strength to continue.

My friend once put up a Facebook status in which she discussed the idea of writing a letter to the man who had done this to her son; she was planning to send a letter of forgiveness! Can you imagine her sending this man a letter telling him that she has forgiven him for leaving her son a lifeless vegetable! I don’t know if she ever did, but what an amazing thing that would be! I’ve no idea how this man would react, maybe break down in tears, I doubt it, but more likely he would probably just say a few choice words and throw it in the garbage, having no clue as to its real value!

I for one would love to see her do it!

When taking the law into your own hands......

Or Justice vs. Injustice:

It is a fact of life that we all want justice, especially when it comes to the wrongs committed against us personally. We are raised almost from infancy to adopt an “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” kind of mentality. It has nothing to do with our upbringing, but more to do with our falling in line with the current trend in society, which is centered totally on oneself. It’s all about me, I deserve the best and no one has the right to cross me! I will fight for what is mine to the death, mine or someone else’s!

This ideology was brought into reality within the last few months, when a friend of mine’s family suffered a terrible tragedy. One of their four teenage boys, a football player, then 17 and his friend made a horrendous mistake, while messing around early one morning. They picked the wrong car to break into; the owner and his wife heard the noise and gave chase. The owner, a 42 year old man, caught up with the boys and decked one boy with one punch. The other, the son of my friend, had hidden, but came out of hiding and confronted the man. This resulted in a fight to the death, almost; the man used a choke-hold to subdue the boy. He held the boy’s neck so tight and so long, that the boy was unconscious when the police arrived. Months later, the teenager celebrated his eighteenth birthday in a brain damaged and vegetative state, due to lack of oxygen.

Enter, the grand jury to consider possible charges against the man, but at this time no charges have been filed. It appears that the prosecutor had decided not to bring this man to justice and did not present the case in a just manner. Needless to say the boy’s parents and family are devastated, at the present time they are considering what, if any, further action they should take.  

It’s quite obvious that the boys are guilty of a crime and should be punished under the law. But does this man have the right to take the law into his own hands and just how far can one go? If we are the victim of a crime, do we have the right to exacted our vengeance right on the spot? This brings to mind a scene from an old Wild West movie in which a posse is formed and when the suspected perpetrator is caught, they are hanged on the spot from the nearest tree without any regard for judicial laws. Is it our right to nearly kill or actually kill someone because they’ve damaged our car? Shouldn’t this man at least be charged with assault? It isn’t as though they were breaking into his home and he had to defend it. Most people would have called the police and let them handle it; by following the boys he put himself in harm’s way.

So where is the justice? Was he justified in his actions or just some hot head acting out? Is justice served in letting him off? Is there no justice for the boy left barely alive and his family? Wouldn’t justice be better served if this man was charged and had gone to trial? It should be up to a jury to decide if he was justified or not, and if he should be punished. These boys will have to face charges for their foolishness and the law will decide their fate, why should it be any different for him? But as it stands now, this is just another case of injustice out weighing justice.

We already have a thing called "Road Rage", what is next? If your dog leaves his droppings on my lawn, do I have the right to kill you or your dog? Have we become a country of lawless barbarians?