April 2021

Prelude to conversation…

When a cat wants to eat her kittens, she says they look like mice.
-Kurdish proverb

It used to be that we were considered innocent…until proven guilty.  But maybe we had to come up with that proposal because so many were convicted before their guilt was established?

It seems that it used to be that when the laws changed…we couldn’t, in this day, be found guilty for something we had done when there was no law to prohibit it.

It is a great thing that we are recognizing abuse, sexism, racism, injustice and other behaviors which bring death to the human spirit, as sins.  It is a step toward justice when we establish laws which are intended to prevent these things.

The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.
– Jesus in John 8:7 

The Message

It is a walk along the razor’s edge to advocate for justice and righteousness without condemning a person as a criminal before they are brought to trial and found guilty.

We know that there are too many folks who have been imprisoned without a fair trial…
and too many others whose reputation has been ruined before any conviction at all.

All of us are encouraged to walk in the light.  All of us are encouraged to live by the laws of the city, county, state and country where we find ourselves.  All of us are encouraged to do good.
Doing good includes pointing out injustice and reporting crime.  Doing good includes treating the victim and the perpetrator with grace and compassion.  Doing good includes not jumping to conclusions or reporting facts not in evidence.

It we want to live in the community of God…if we want our society to be civil… we should treat everyone with kindness.  If a trial has found guilt…then let there be compassionate consequences.  If a trial has found innocence…then let us hope…for the innocent…that there are no negative consequences.

And since we all have fallen short of the glory God intended for us… since we all have made mistakes, sinned, abused someone, allowed injustice, spoken or acted in a sexist or racist way…
let us hope for compassion and kindness for us all.

Far too many stones have already been thrown…