But let me ask you this: if a burglar broke into your house carrying a weapon and asked you if there was anybody else in the home, would you say, "Yeah, actually, my kids are hiding in the closet." Of course not. In extreme circumstances, sometimes we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Lying is wrong. But, when faced with the safety of your family, it can be the best option.
With that said, how should Christians react to the death of Usama bin Laden? Extending the "lesser of two evils" analogy, I think there are a couple of things to remember:
1. Not choosing the lesser of two evils is, essentially, choosing the greater of two evils.
2. The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Number one should dictate our actions. Number two should dictate our emotions regarding those actions.
When given the choice between two evils, we must chose the lesser. That might mean voting for a candidate who doesn't completely line up with your beliefs. That might mean speeding to get to the hospital with an incredibly sick child. That might mean using a baseball bat to get an intruder out of your home. That might mean taking the life of the mastermind behind the world's largest terrorist organization. None of these is ideal but, given the circumstances, they are better than the alternatives.
Are there biblical examples of this? Yes, plenty. David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Joshua toppled Jericho (Joshua 6). Gideon fought the Midianites (Judges 6). Each event came at God's specific direction and involved the loss of life in exchange for the protection of others.
When choosing the lesser of two evils, we must not delight in the deed but rejoice in the result. Bending our beliefs, breaking the law, and being physically aggressive are actions that, in a world as God intended, would never have to occur. Rejoicing in anything evil - even if it is the best alternative - is dangerous. It desensitizes us from the gravity of the decision, and makes such choices easier in the future (with or without justification).
1 Corinthians 13 says, "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth." On Sunday it seems as if the lesser of two evils was done. But, as Christians, we should not delight in that. Evil is evil. Rather, we should rejoice in knowing that the alternative would have been much, much worse.
Thanks for saying so eloquently, what so many of us had been feeling.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy the idea that killing Osama was in any way any kind of evil, lesser or not. Justice is not evil.
ReplyDeletewell said Tim! (But your No. 1 and 2 thing confuses me.)
ReplyDelete@Rob The Bible tells us that killing is wrong. "Thou shalt not kill." The point was simply that sometimes, in certain circumstances, it is (proverbially) the lesser of two "evils."
ReplyDelete@Linda Point #1 above should dictate what we DO - namely, choose the lesser of two evils. Point #2 above should dictate how we FEEL about doing #1 - namely, not rejoicing in the killing itself. Sorry to confuse you! :-)
I have to agree completely. I have not felt the need to jump up and down about this. The whole thing... 9/11 and following and killing terrorists (a necessary evil) does not make me feel warm and fuzzy (or safe) inside. Question: Is it Usama or Osama. I truly thought it was Osama, but this is not the first place I have seen the alternate spelling. Sorry to be such a grammer nut.
ReplyDeleteNow if only I could spell grammar.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Honestly, until today, I had always spelled it "Osama"...but Fox News has been using "Usama", so I went with that. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am rejoicing or "celebrating" justice be carried out, not death or assination in general. The USA chose the lesser of two evils and did what had to be done in the best interest of the world.Why should this be different than any wartime victory? Nobody likes war-it comes with a price.
ReplyDeleteRejoice? No. Relieved? Oh yes, and thank God.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that celebrating justice could be dangerous too...especially given what we all "deserve." I don't know that one is right or wrong, but I prefer to be thankful and relieved that mankind's future is a brighter one today, rather than celebrating another human being getting what he had coming to him.
ReplyDelete"A man tormented by the guilt of murder will be a fugitive till death; let no one support him." Prov.28:17
ReplyDeleteHaving a Son in the Army and currently fighting in Afghanistan, I must say I am proud of our military and what they did for our safety. I do not celebrate a man dying, but the wages of sin is death and that is the punishment for his sin. The difference between him and me is that my sin is covered because I accepted the covering of Christ,he did not. So even though I do not deserve it I accept it and live in it, that is my choice. He had the choice and chose evil.
Good point Tim...about what we all "deserve"--I know sin is sin...but wrapping my head around all of us deserving the same justice as Bin laden is a tough thing to tackle.God's justice yes but the worlds? I do like "relieved" rather than rejoice--but I've heard so many people judging folks for feeling anything "positive" over his death--certainly is thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteThis is perfect, I felt upset that people keep saying that we shouldn't be happy that someone is dead because we are Christians, and I am not happy that an usaved person died and will not be going to heaven, But I certianly rejoice that a person who was behind the murder of hundreds and continued to plan more death is no longer a threat, and being ex military I am happy that one of our missions are complete. This says it just right!
ReplyDeleteYou said better what I tried to express to others using God's word as my guide. A terrible evil has been extinguished. Let us give God the glory knowing that He is just.
ReplyDeleteI find it so creepy when I see people in other countries celebrating in the streets when tragedy befalls our country or our people. So what does it say about us when we do the same thing? I do believe that a source of evil had to be eliminated in order to keep us safer. But my heart and mind also keep coming back to the thought that this man stood before Christ and discovered that all that he had killed and died for was a lie.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Tim. Bottom line, the man still had a soul and that soul was lost.
ReplyDeleteTim, in your opening paragraph, you said, "Lying is wrong, but when faced with the safety of your family, it can be the best option." My question would be, what about if the person with the gun asks about your belief? Are you going to deny Christ for the safety of your family? What I get is that you're saying it's ok to lie if it's going to protect your family, but what about when the Bible says we will be persecuted and even killed for our beliefs? Are we suppose to tell people we don't believe if it's going to protect us and our family? Because if I follow your thought pattern correctly, that would be the lesser of two evils...lie about being a believer and then ask God to forgive (and probably expect God to understand), or stand up for Christ and cause the death of your family.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous You changed the rules in the middle of the game. Intentionally leading a burglar to your family in the midst of a break-in is ENTIRELY different than renouncing your faith. I wasn't suggesting that the safety of our family should trump Christ, I was simply giving the analogy that there are times when lying (or speeding or physical force) are the better way to go. Certainly selling out Jesus for the sake of safety is NOT the lesser of two evils.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about with your 'burglar' example ...
ReplyDeleteJesus said He is the way, the truth and the life - John 14:6
The enemy is described as the father of lies ... with no truth in him - John 8:44
If Christ lives in us ... the words we speak will be HIS words of life and truth.
By working in the flesh (lying for the safety of our family) ... we deny the grace of God (God's ability to work in and through us).
Paul wrote to the Colossians that "all things were created by him and for him".
Let's keep our focus on Him ... rather than fear of others ... such as lying for the safety of our family.
Just my thoughts.
The Bible gives us the commandment, "Thou shall not kill" but it also gives us Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. I interperate that as "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". Bin Laden was a mass murderer.
ReplyDelete