Tragedy struck our country on September 11, 2001. Like most people, I can remember every emotion I felt on that day, and how it made me feel for the next 10 years. Last night (the night it was first aired) I learned of the death of the head or symbolic leader of the al Qaeda regime. Usuma Bin Laden was finally dead.
People were assembling in joy, in unity, that finally, the evil Bin Laden was slain. I heard people singing songs like "Ding Dong Bin Laden's Dead", or "Na na nana Na Na nana Hey Hey Hey Goodbye." I saw people post numerous Facebook or Twitter rants of "Finally an evil man is dead" or "Good, He needs to Rot in Hell!" These took my by surprise, as I expect this type of response from most people, but a response like this from my brothers and sisters in Christ, I was in shock. I was reminded of what it says in James 3:9-10
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
This should not be. That phrase can be taken lightly can't it? What really is meant by that is, It's unacceptable, it's inconsistent, and it's wrong. Can we really curse God's creation to damnation and suffering and praise Him at the same time? We curse (to wish evil upon) people who were created to worship Him and created in His likeness, in his image, so that they could live a life in service to Him, yet we often times choose to ignore people or worse, purposely hope they do not enter into our lives or way of living.
This whole blog might be considered unpatriotic but honestly, I AM glad he was tracked down and and I am glad he was finally brought to justice. Yes, I consider myself a patriotic person and I do love our country, but I also love our world, and our universe. I am in constant amazement at the vastness that our God has created.
Do I view Bin Laden as an evil man? Yes. I most certainly do. He was a man in desperate need of a dose of truth and the truth that was and is and is to come. Jesus Christ. Guess what though, without Christ, we are ALL evil in same form or fashion. We are all sinners and in the same need of the same salvation. So was Bin Laden evil? Yes. But was he more evil or more deserving of Hell than any of us? No. He simply did not choose Christ.
Most people if you ask them whether or not they are a "good", Most, would say Yes, or better than this guy, or that guy. But we need to realize what God says about our hearts, without Him, this is who we are:
In Romans 3:10-12 it says
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one.”
and check out what it says later in verses 20-24
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
So what these verses are literally saying, is that in God's sights, according to the law itself, we are not made good or evil by obeying or disobeying the law. The law does however, show how much we are ALL in need of a savior. A person can only be made good by choosing Jesus Christ. A person can only be truly called evil by not choosing Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can conclude, without Jesus, we are ALL evil.
To you who follow Jesus and are rejoicing that this man is in Hell. Are you really rejoicing that someone left this Earth and died without coming to know his Creator? Again, this should not be! You should not rejoice if anyone perishes without knowing Christ.
I would urge you to read this out of 1 Timothy 2.
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
So God wants all people to come to know Him. Is this going to happen? No, by nature of or Sin, no, some people will perish without ever knowing Him, but still, it says here that God's desire is that all people come to know Him, since we are to live as Jesus did in this world, we are to also, desire that all people come to know Him.
So why then am I glad that Bin Laden was caught and brought to justice? I am glad simply from the sense that this man can no longer spread terror and kill people who also are without Christ. It is because of his actions and influences that many other people died and were not given the chance to get to know their creator as well. Under his watch, the world saw more hate, more chaos, more sorrow, more evil. I am glad he was stopped and the people of the USA can finally feel a sense of closure from a man who terrorized so many people and murdered so many loved ones.
I am not happy however, that this man died having lived a life filled with nothing but things opposite of the truth. I am not happy he died rejecting the one Truth that could ultimately save him. He chose to live a life that was in service to things not of God.
So again, I say, it's not wrong to be happy that he was caught, and that evil will no longer come from his life. It IS wrong however, to rejoice in his death and to rejoice in the fact that this man, who was created to worship God, is now separated from God, forever.
May you choose to follow Jesus and live and love just like He does.
