Justice vs. Compassion and Mercy

We (my coworkers at Amor Ministries and I) have been feeling the sting of what we construe is the place where compassion dies. That is probably an unfair statement, but it seems the most accurate in the moment of hurt. What I mean is we have suffered the consequences of others' choices to prioritize "something" (most likely intangible and probably an illusion) to such an extent that a specific act of compassion is no longer feasible.

The biggest culprit has been a desire for safety (again - an illusion). While I applaud a parents decision to keep their child safe, I absolutely disagree with any church's decision to not boldly reach into the deep, dark and dangerous places because of fear. Choosing safety over Christian compassion is putting one's agenda before God's.

This occurred to me in a different, yet no less stark, manner recently.

Those who follow current events will know that the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi - the only person convicted of the murder of 270 people on Pan Am flight 103, has returned home to Libya after being freed from prison. Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Justice, released Megrahi on compassionate grounds because he has terminal prostate cancer and is not expected to live long.

The decision by Mr. MacAskill to demonstrate such compassion has drawn sever criticism from most western governments (including our own) and condemnation from those who remember that terrible day. Not being the most compassionate person, I too found myself sitting squarely in the "miscarriage-of-justice-and-insult-to those-who-lost-loved-ones" camp. Yet my view on the matter became much less clear upon reading MacAskill's extremely well-crafted statement about how he came to the decision:

[He] did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them. But, that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days.

Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown. Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people. No matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated.

Is this indeed a travesty, or is it a quiet victory of compassion and humanity? What does this look like when viewed through the lens of "loving [our] enemies," and "blessing those who persecute [us]?" I understand this is an easy question for me to ask. I knew none involved in the bombing and was barely old enough to grasp the magnitude of the tragedy when it happened. Yet I cannot shake the notion that this man's release was an incredible act of true compassion. And it occurred to me that the church could learn much from this.

Somebody is getting it right...

I read about this here. Thanks to @loswhit .- Great article about a great act of love by a church.

Would your church do this? Would mine?




This is Rolling Hills Baptist Church, Fayetteville, GA’s web banner on their website www.wheresthesteeple.org

Not the sexiest thing we have ever seen.
And you know what?
Who cares?

Rolling Hills Baptist Church, Fayetteville, GA
Their building and property is worth over 1.1 million dollars.
The church has a nice facility that is almost paid off.
The church owes less than one hundred thousand dollars.
The church has 1 million in equity.
The church has many families who have lost their homes and jobs.
The community is one that could use resources and money to help families in need.
The pastor and his congregation have decided to sell the church building and property to take care of his members and put roofs over peoples heads instead of their own on Sunday.

On October 5, 2008, the members of Rolling Hills voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining GOD in His redemptive work by selling her buildings and property, and using the proceeds to increase ministry and mission efforts in our community and beyond.

They are looking to lease a movie theater or something after the property sells.
Other churches have offered their facilities.
This is the church at work.

James Bond Villains and the Art of Fearmongering

Those who know me well will recall I am, and have been for years, a fan of the 007 flicks. I own all of them and one point could have given you the name of each movie (like Goldfinger) and told you who starred as James Bond (Sean Connery), the name of the Villain (Auric Goldfinger) and his henchman (if applicable, in this case Oddjob - masterfully played by Harold Sakata), the name of the damsel with the stupid name (Pussy Galore), and the year it was made (1964). Unfortunately, with the passing of time and the development of other hobbies I can no longer rattle all of that useful info off for each of the movies - which might be one reason why I eventually was able to marry a beautiful woman.

Those who know me even a little know I work for an amazing organization which desires to radically change the world - Amor Ministries. We have been working in Mexico since 1980 and are now making inroads around the globe to show the love of Christ to people in a way that make s a lot of sense. I have worked with Amor for nearly eight years. Amor is definitely one reason I was eventually able to marry a specific beautiful woman.

Anyone who has not had their head buried in sand for the last year realizes Mexico has been trampled under a sensationalized media stampede decrying the country as a war zone and unsafe for travel. Likewise, Mexico has been quarantined as the the epicenter of the latest doomsday pandemic because of a virus that amounted to a very mild flu. The result has been fear. This post is about fear.

Author, Thinker, and Marketing Guru Seth Godin was recently asked this question:
If you were a James Bond villain, how would you take over the world?

He answered:
I'd release a pheromone that increases the fear that people have about doing great things. It would only increase it by 3%, but that would be enough to wipe out most competition. I'm convinced someone is already doing this, by the way.

I agree with Mr. Godin. There seems to be more hysteria now than ever. The most alarming aspect of is that the Church has fallen victim to this fear and has trapped itself in hypocrisy. Yesterday, in church, we sang a worship song that was full of the usual "victory in Christ " fanfare that is so common in our Sunday morning services. At one point we actually sang these words:

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?

They probably should not have left this portion of the song an interrogative (rhetorical or not). Because the answer is PLENTY. I have seen fear rock hundreds of churches completely of course and seen a false sense of self preservation prevent people from following through with the most basic of Christ's teachings.

In my own day to day this amounts to a tepid stew of drug violence and swine flu seasoned with economic worries keeping the Church from partnering with churches in poorer nations to provide resources for those most in need. To be more specific: All of the sudden Mexico became uncomfortable and the American Church ran like hell. No trust. Lack of Faith.

When were we promised following Jesus was going to be safe? When were we promised it would be easy? When did following Jesus cease requiring sacrifice? I am still in my twenties and I vividly recall being taught from a very young age that serving God is a wonderful adventure that requires desperate faith in the midst of adversity. I remember being taught Christ's sacrifice was the ultimate act of love for us - and our lives would require sacrifice as we grew to be more like Him. Likewise I recall that our basic function as a member of the Body of Christ was to love everyone in the name of Jesus.

Are these tenants still being taught? If so, please stop. Because our actions no longer reflect these teachings.