Different people struggle with different emotions and feelings when such incidents occur.
“How could I ever possibly forgive that murderer,” a woman asked me yesterday.
In thinking through an answer, it was clear in my mind that the murders were dark evil and need never be forgiven. But the man used by the evil thoughts had to be seen in a different light.
The old saying “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” applies here.
If we were to hold every crime against every criminal forever, and never forgive them, this world would become a hopeless place to live. How could anyone ever be saved? I reasoned.
If we never forgave anyone, we would never be giving wrongdoers room for repentance, for reform and change for the better. If enough of this type of unforgiving attitude circulated in public thought, eventually everyone would be held hostage by some crime they committed, whether small or large.
To improve society, we have to allow for reform.
I don't believe this means letting jailed criminals loose on the streets before they've reformed. But it is an important attitude society needs to possess to work for improvement amongst its citizens.
In light of the rash of random killings at schools, I pray that our society lose its fascination with violence and killing.
As a parent, it troubles me that millions of teenagers spend thousands of hours immersed in violent video games that have them killing characters over and over again on the plasma screen. Defenders of the practice claim its all in play. But is it?
How can children, and adults, purposely and intentionally plot to murder, even though in games, and not have the mentality of purposeful and mindless killing affect their larger view of life? Is this part of what we’re seeing today in the form of random and irrational killings? Not that any murder is rational.
If we adopted an attitude of hard-core vengeance and unrelenting hatred toward the random killers, we might easily miss the larger issue of “What should we be doing to prevent these outbursts from happening in the first place?”
Jesus taught us to love our enemies. His instruction didn’t mean ignore their attacks and be abused by them. It meant we needed to love the hate and anger right out of them.
The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-tides of Love. Science and Health, p. 201. Mary Baker Eddy
The public’s thought at large today is filled with too much anger and hate. I pray for an outpouring of love amongst parents and children, adults and peers, to reduce mindless hate and create citizens who love and respect each other’s life and existence.
When taught to love one another, the suggestion of hurting another doesn't enter the realm of mental possibility. Could this be the ultimate protection and prevention program for random killings?
But we have to forgive before we can love.
