Ding Dong Bin Laden is Dead - Part 1

One of the first things that came to my mind the night I tuned in to the breaking news about the demise of Osama Bin Laden, was that song from the Wizard of Oz when the house lands on the wicked witch.  All people of the land festively sang and danced with great joy and relief.  Although entirely non-graphic in nature the fact remains that I have never had even a moment's pause in letting my kids watch this celebration of violence.  In fact I've never even considered it violence until writing this blog right now.

It's interesting that there are some things in this world that seem to personify pure evil so absolutely that we don't feel a bit of empathy when we witness their destruction.  Sunday night May 1,  I saw Americans spontaneously dancing and singing and chanting all around our country and I wanted to join in.  These were natural responses that came from deep within many of us.  Yet, were they Christ-like?  That's the question His followers are always asking ourselves.

We know that our human instincts often aren't the best guides to our decisions - the sinful nature has marred much of our perspective and attitudes.  Our feelings and emotions need to be examined through the grid of Scripture and compared with the life Christ lived.  Surprisingly, when Jesus was being treated unjustly and abused relentlessly on the day of his execution, he still prayed for those who were propagating the violence against him.  We also know from the Sermon on the Mount that we are to pray for our enemies.

Honestly, I have to admit in the 10 years since I watched on live TV as the Trade Center Buildings crumbled in a heap and then admired from a distance as our military pursued Bin Laden and his network of evil people, I never took the time to pray for him.  So, I now have to wonder if my attitude would have been different had I been praying for him... perhaps not.  More on this topic (including a look at the Imprecatory Psalms) soon to be posted in "Part 2."