That just might be any righteous person’s thoughts about the death penalty, seeing that it’s caused many problems. But we don’t see an explicit reproof against it in the Bible. Yet God said in Ezekiel 18:32 that He has no pleasure on anyone’s death — I think that’s enough to say it shouldn’t be practiced. Unfortunately, though, there are a number of nations that practice the death penalty, most of which are third world nations. I didn’t hear about it happening here in the U.S.A. until I did a short stint of schooling during the summer of 2009. I wanted to avoid it, and thank God it’s pretty hard for anyone to be put under such a harsh sentence in the U.S. But I didn’t know Jesus at the time, so I wasn’t really sure… but I think the polemic in Genesis 9:6 will be for those who kill “lawfully” — I put it in quotation marks because I don’t want to be an executioner. A Christian never wants to be like this; I know I don’t believe in killing. Thank God there are other people in the U.S. that don’t support it. I don’t know what the politicians are thinking, but I did hear that Washington (the state in the Pacific Northwest) eliminated the death penalty. I really hope it’s not in my state, Arizona! I’m frightened for some of my friends’ lives, for injustice can single out anyone and destroy them before they have a chance to escape! But I pray that never happens. I’d love for the death penalty to be removed across the world, but it might take a while before any other state (Washington was the 20th) in the U.S. removes the death penalty. I find each person’s last meals creepy, but I wouldn’t do anything I imagine they did. But some people are imprisoned for the wrong reasons, yet I pray they are free citizens again. I sure do hope they receive Christ’s forgiveness, though.
Honestly, I think hate breeds more ugly stuff, and that shouldn’t happen. A Christian doesn’t even think to hate someone (1 John 3:15), but none of us can love perfectly. Regardless, it’s not as though Jesus is impatient about anyone’s growth, seeing that love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4), and His patience is endless (1 Timothy 1:16). Anyone who says otherwise is playing with fire, and those words are capable of putting the one who hears them in harm’s way. Also, I’m going to say something I don’t think a lot of people know (you probably won’t find anyone who believes this in most churches or secular communities, but results may vary in that one): calling someone immature is a hardening of the heart of the one accusing them as such. It’s not as though Hebrews 5:11-6:8 is supposed to condemn others. Yet many love to abuse others into obeying them because they believe the love of Jesus is a threat to good behavior. I think they are ignoring Hebrews 3:7-8 when it says for them not to harden their hearts. It is a rejection of the Gospel on their part, and no one should do this. Jesus died to set everyone free, not to force people into obedience like crazy! That’s not His heart. Good behavior is important, but it comes from God’s love, and freedom is the bedrock of good conduct. But offense can stifle everything, yet I do believe forgiveness is strong enough to destroy even the most fortified stronghold of an evil spirit. I pray we can forgive often.
One note of the three I mentioned down (in that last post I wrote six days ago), so I’ll be back with the food vs. conscience thing soon! Stay tuned.
Ron And His Stories 