I often see on the news stories where people are distraught over the pain of losing a loved one or having a loved one seriously hurt due to a malicious attack. They want vengeance. And every now and then you see where a family member, perhaps a husband or father, snaps and attacks the attacker, the one who hurt his family. I sometimes think to myself and wonder, if someone were to maliciously harm my wife or my son, or even try to, what would I do? Would I want to seriously hurt that person or even kill them?
Or perhaps a different scenario. What if I were the one being attacked and persecuted, and I had a chance to strike back, not in self-defense, but when they were unaware and in a defenseless position? I then ask myself, how would I handle that situation?
David was in that position in the first reading today. He was fleeing from Saul, who was trying to kill him out of jealousy. David, for the second time, had a chance to kill Saul. God put Saul and his men in a deep sleep, a spear was there by Saul’s head, and all David had to do was strike. He would be justified, right? After all, Saul was trying to kill him, and so this would be out of self-defense, right? The solution to his problem was right there for the taking.
Or lets tone the scenario down a bit, to perhaps a more everyday scenario. You have a co-worker who is a pain to deal with, who seems to be trying to undercut you or sabotage your career. Or perhaps it’s a boss who does not respect you and does not treat you fairly. All of a sudden, the opportunity arises where you could destroy their reputation and their own career – what would you do?
Look at the person.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
1 Corinthians 15: 48-49
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
We each are in the image of Adam, who gave into sin and you see the effects of the sin on he and his family, when out of jealousy Cain kills his brother Abel.
But yet we are also in the image of God, of His Heavenly Son Jesus, and so we should look at each other as we would God. All life is precious. Even our enemies. Especially our enemies, because they perhaps need our prayers the most. That is from where our greatest reward or punishment will result – in how we love the unlovable. Those that hurt us. Do we treat them with righteousness and let God sort out the judgement? Or do we take judgement into our own hands and react – react out of rage and vengeance?
The answer is so plain to see, but following through with it in the heat of the moment is very difficult. We can even take this into our own families, in our own relationships. When we are hurt and angry, perhaps with a spouse or a child, or a parent or a sibling – do we take time to cool off, and then talk it out and show mercy? Or do we strike with painful words just to hurt the person?
All life is precious. All life is precious because while we are in the image of sinful humanity, we are also in the image of Divine Humanity. When thrust into these situations, I often think of the following quote:
Be kind.
For everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
I’m not sure who the original author of this quote is, but its message rings true. We have to try to see things from the other persons perspective if we are to have the ability to show love and mercy. We don’t have to condone, we don’t have to agree. But we have to try to see into the other person and why they may do these things if we are to have any bit of love for them.
And we have to look at them as we would Jesus. God created them, just as He created you and me, in the image of Himself. We may not agree with the person, and we may want to hurt them, but we are all precious lives in the eyes of God. Now obviously in certain situations with certain people, this is difficult, if not downright impossible.
This is where we need God. We must show restraint, and we must rely on God to help us, giving us the patience, humility and grace we need. And when all else fails, just pray. Pray for the soul of those who persecute you, and pray for their conversion. Pray for them out of love for God.
We are in the image of two men – one from the earth, and One from Heaven. Do we react out of vengeance and jealousy and pride? Or do we see the person the God created, and show mercy through our love of God?
