On Sunday night, I was with ten of my buddies at a Chinese restaurant in front of a big screen tv when we learned that Osama Bin Laden was killed by the United States. Following this report, there were images of people celebrating the death of a terrorist leader that was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people around the world.
I logged into Facebook on my iPhone to see what my other friends were thinking. One post said, "Praise God! Bin Laden is dead!!!!"
I remember living up in NorCal where almost everybody is a Laker hater. When their beloved Golden State Warriors lost their chance at making it to the championships, they wanted make sure the Lakers didn't either. So when they watched the Finals, they began rejoicing at every shot Kobe missed. Okay, this is all fun and games... but later than night, a man with a Lakers jersey was found brutally beaten up on the streets, to which my Laker-hating friend said, "serves him well."
Really? Did he hate the Lakers so much that he forgot that a man wearing a yellow jersey is also a human being? Was my friend more a Laker Hater than a decent human being? Now, I know my friend well, and I know he's not a bad person. He just got caught up in all the hype and competition, and probably got carried away.
As I was slowly eating my friend rice with my buddies, I was a bit confused. We all looked at each other knowing that this was a historical moment. We took note of who was present and what we were doing because we knew that one day someone was going to ask us, "What were you doing when you Obama announced that Bin Laden was killed?"
Yes, I should be happy that justice was served. Yet, I had a hard time praising God for the death of a human being. Ezekiel 33 says "as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." I mean, a sinner just died. God isn't pleased with it. A cause for celebration would have been Bin Laden repenting. However, as an American, I am glad that there is one less threat to the well-being of my family, friends, and of myself.
Which lead me to ask myself... are we more Christian, or are we more American?
We look at the terrorists' sins and say they need to be brought to justice, but what about Americans? Isn't this a classic case of pointing out the sins in someone else's life and ignoring the plank in our own? We naturally want other people's sins judged, but ask for grace in our own, don't we? How can we, as Christians, wish so much damnation upon another human being? What happened to "love our enemies"? Didn't Jesus die for the worst of sinners?
However, the death of a terrorist means most people can live without fear.
Perhaps the proper response ought to be relief, not celebration...
