This blog has now been online for a year and I am led to start a trend of each anniversary post being the same as the very first post: a touch on important life matters not generally addressed in the normal course of my writings. I knew this would be the case but did not know what form for a while. I had planned a different approach but then just today read something online that spoke greater volumes than I anticipated.
Initially I set out to make another response column to that from someone who is not of my worldview, touching up on the points that earned my respect while addressing those with which I do not agree. Perhaps that will be for next time, but for now the sum of both my personal and Sunday School-based Biblical studies are in correspondence to matters I can see our society is sorely lacking in perspective and as a result we are all being dragged down. As before this will be my own personal observations with objective facts identified wherever pertinent while everything else should be construed as opinion.
Our values shape our worldview which in turn shapes our perspectives on values, and should that cycle remain unbroken it will continue to function as a feedback loop with the effect of reinforcing beliefs. At a previous point I noted everyone has faith, not a question of whether it exists but where it is placed; in a like manner everyone holds to values and what those values are is symbiotic with faith. Considering this along with the Biblical truth that mankind is afflicted with sin (meaning inclination to do evil is the natural state of being) sheds light on why atrocities occur as a result of their enablement by a population.
My personal core values are Truth, Justice, and Liberty; this does not conflict but rather is intended to be complementary to the Biblical core values of Faith, Hope, and Love (how can Truth be discerned absent Faith, Justice prevail without Hope, or Love enable Liberty if people fail to grasp what they mean?). Due to what has been happening to American society in recent times words are known to matter, hence the quest of powermongers to change definitions to suit their agendas (not to mention using bully tactics to shut down alternative discourse). Thankfully, for those of us who instead live to do what is right, truth is simpler than lies and gives a firm foundation for this key reason: truth will always be truth regardless and while people can choose to accept or reject it, people may never change truth. In essence truth is what is no matter what and because of that it can never be defeated, however it can be suppressed by those whose ambitions would stand in opposition to truth. My life motto, taken from the tagline for the movie adaptation of Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger: Truth Needs a Soldier.
Justice is more what I want to focus on today. I would define justice as the right outcome in response to an action or occurrence, thus in order to have justice there has to be understanding of what is right (and wrong) which is a matter of truth which in turn can only be discerned through faith. While God institutes His divine justice in absolution for judgment of sin, He delegated to humanity our own model for justice for the sake of keeping good order in a world inclined towards evil. Yet the corruption of sin inevitably affected justice as well, the institution getting hijacked by the powerful so as to increase their positions at the expense of others which has been the case for every instance in history of law being used as a tool of oppression. Sometimes law is not even the matter, as shown by the growth of chaos wherever the law and its enforcers either choose to withdraw, leaving the weak vulnerable, or become the evil themselves by turning on those they are supposed to protect. One example of this is the Liberian Civil War, covered in the following blog post focused on perhaps its most terrible participant (discretion strongly-advised): https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/general-butt-naked-and-the-incomparable-power-of-redemption/
My own pastor mentioned during his sermon this past week that we human beings cannot be absolutely certain of one's standing with God, thus I will not touch on the debate of whether Blahyi is sincere in his repentance. Assuming he is, this perfectly illustrates the contrast between the ways justice is considered by God and humanity: human justice is retributive, God's justice is restorative. As a conservative world-weary American I find it difficult to believe in rehabilitation, but as a born-again Christian I do believe in redemption. More than believe, I embrace the truth that redemption is something we all need because while we are incapable of saving ourselves God can turn anyone around: addict, robber, abuser, rapist, homosexual or murderer.
Why would a holy God not simply leave his rebellious creation to endure the consequences of their evil choices? Because of that value which the Bible says is greatest of all: Love. We cannot fathom why, but we can know God did not need to save us and chose to anyway. That is why His justice is restorative: He wants each and every one of us to have a relationship with Him without regard of how depraved we have become, so to accomplish this he took on the ultimate price of retributive justice by paying it Himself on the cross. The cornerstone of Christianity is the reason why it is not a religion: religion is the currying of favor through conduct; redemption involves forgiveness which is grace, and grace is undue favor.
Earlier this week I read an article about how some jurisdictions in certain types of criminal cases try to implement an option for restorative rather than retributive justice, which can work if sincere repentance is met by true forgiveness, but the problem is one of the involved parties is often too proud to proffer their part of that arrangement. The downfall of pride as the root of all evil is worth a post of its own, but another important point to make here is that forgiveness is not a dismissal of justice but an embracing of a different kind. This is not to say retributive justice should be replaced, rather the opposite both due to the need for society to deter evil through the force of government and that sustaining of law and order is the reason God instituted human government in the first place (to enable that order God commanded citizens to be subject to authorities and for authorities to not abuse their power). What there is to say is that forgiveness is important not so much for the forgiven but the forgiver because it relieves the burden of a grudge that is proven to have detrimental effect on one's life as long as it is still carried.
Forgiveness is what our society really has at a premium these days and the hurt from that is obvious. It should not be a surprise but rather considered a predictable result of exchanging truth for feeling, faith for passion, justice for ambition, hope for revenge, liberty for comfort, and love for self-fulfillment. Years ago I thought if we kept going the way we were we may eventually reach a point of getting forced back but the transition would be more painful the longer it took; now I think we are already there. If history is any indication there will be those who learn the right lessons from this and those who cling to their pride by blaming others; whether society survives to prevail in the future will depend on which proportion fall into each category. In any case the solution to our problems is the same: follow truth and embrace love, then all else will fall into place, but we must want to do so which starts with repentance and forgiveness.
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