Shades of Gray

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
— Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love, 1963

I see the world in shades of gray, though often from fear of committing to the wrong side rather than from conviction that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I am not the sort to dance in the streets, chanting "USA! USA!" about anything. After living overseas, I cringe at what it must look like to a watching world. War is not a pep rally and being on the winning team does not automatically make you the best. Though I know in my head that the death of Usama Bin Laden is a triumph for the oppressed, I can't keep my heart from feeling that the violent death of anyone can only breed more violence.

So many opinions being so freely expressed today--the world is a safer place, the death of any man without Jesus is a tragedy, remember that it was government, not church, that hunted and assassinated Bin Laden--at least we are free to express these opinions.

What price for freedom is too high? Do we, like the rebels of Libya, promise to fight until the last drop of our children's blood has been spilled? Or do we sit like potatoes on our couches and spout opinions we have no intention of defending?

King David had no trouble at all rejoicing over the downfall, disgrace, torture and death of his enemies. David, the man after God's own heart. I've always struggled with that aspect of David's personality--his lust for revenge. I don't have it in me.

I find today that I can only pray that God have mercy on the souls of Bin Laden, his family, and those who killed him.

Hesed. Over and over in the book of Luke we see Jesus practicing a form of grace that is so complete, it can't be properly translated into English. As I understand it, hesed happens when we receive everything from someone from whom we expect nothing. Jesus offers me this kind of grace. How can I not extend it to others?

It's not all sorted out in my mind yet. Perhaps it never will be. I cannot live in black and white. My place is somewhere in between, in the grays.