For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Ecclesiastes 7:20.
So, if Jesus knows we are all sinners, but was willing to give His life for us to save us from our many sins, wouldn't you think He would want us to be more tolerant and forgiving of others? How can we as a society think that someone who stole $20 or $2,000 should spend the rest of their lives in jail, without giving them a chance to be rehabilitated? There are many penal facilities who have cut out almost all programs for prisoners to get further education, learn a trade, or take college classes even when relatives of the prisoner pays for it? They are setting these people up to end back in the penal system, because they will not have learned a better way to support themselves.
Now, I do understand locking up serial killers, rapists, and pedophiles, because their being returned to the public, puts the public at continued risk. Perpetrators who commit these crimes are rarely ever able to be rehabilitated, although many of them talk the good talk, but get out and continue to harm people again.
What about all the many, many times we see on the News that another person, especially minorities, have been killed by a policeman when stopped or questioned? Of course, I can't speak to whether the situation warranted further action, but what happened to officers shooting people in the leg, rather than killing them? I figure not too many people can out run an officer when they have a gunshot in the leg, but they do have a chance to turn their lives around when they get the necessary help.
Additionally, what about all those who hear about another minority being shot to death when confronted by an officer and they feel self-righteous, making comments like, "Yeah, they deserved it!" After reading the Bible from cover to cover many times, I don't feel that Jesus wants us to have such smug, judgmental feelings toward others. We can't judge others. How do we know they didn't just panic when stopped? After seeing all the police shootings on the News, it could easily happen. Regardless, even if these stopped people did deserve further action, we need to look deeply into our hearts to see if we are jumping on the, "Yeah, they deserved it!" bandwagon with all the others who applaud the killing of questioned minorities. Be prayerful about all of this and let Jesus, not hate be your guide.
