I have witnessed something lately that really pisses me off—so called justice. Let me explain. It all started with a conversation between a family member and myself. It concerned Saddam Hussein’s death sentence. I commented that Quakers (sadly, this does not apply to all Quakers) are uncomfortable with the death penalty because we believe we do not have the right to take the life of another. My family member responded that it was Scriptural to put to death anyone who took the life of another.
Well, I take issue with this belief. Here’s why: if we are living under the new reign of Christ, then doesn’t that free us from the Law of the Old Testament? And more important, Jesus never tells us to put our enemies to death. In fact, his instructions are quite the opposite, leading me to question weather or not it is possible to consider anyone your enemy when you are in a relationship with Jesus. But just so you don’t think I’m making this up, I’ll quote directly from Scripture:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy”. But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your father in heaven…If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends…” Jesus, in the Book of Matthew, chapter 5:43-48, selected portions

So, it is difficult for me to advocate putting anyone to death, because killing someone—whether it’s murder, war, or getting “justice” through capital punishment—doesn’t appear consistent with the teachings of Christ. Tony the simple churches guy said recently that a friend of his pointed out that we are to abide by the new Law—that being the law of Christ. We are no longer under the old law, as Paul aptly wrote in his letter to the Galatians: “…God sent his son who was born of a woman and lived under the law. God did this so he could buy freedom for those who were under the law and so we could become his children (Galatians 4:4-5, selected portions).
And Jesus tells us, God’s children, to be nice to our enemies, and to pray for them. Nowhere does he say that part of being nice is to kill them.
Perhaps this appears too simple. But in fact it is not. Yet Jesus never promised that following him would be easy. The truth is, I have to remind myself all the time not to be a jackass, and to respect those who surely do not respect me. But the more I love Jesus, the easier it is to remember his commands. The key is to remember that this isn’t about me, it’s about others.

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