It seems that a fair-minded person wants justice for everone or like the closing line of The Pledge, we seek “justice for all”. Yet, what each of us wants for ourselves is not actually justice, but mercy.
Each of us offends our brother and sisters. We take advantage of them. We insult them. We talk behind their backs. We expose their secrets. We cause pain to our brothers and sisters. Physical pain. Emotional pain.
We don’t want justice. Justice would dictate some form of punishment, maybe some kind of revenge. …a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye…
No. What we really want is mercy. We want to be forgiven. Yet we do not want to forgive those who offend us.
An offense is the basis for retribution. Not simple retribution, but escalation. A cycle of revenge, fuel for violence. Revenge and violence are plagues on humankind.
Forgiveness is the only cure. For an individual to forgive is hard. For a Christian, commanded. For an nation, nearly impossible. For a nation that would call itself Christian… a higher standard.
Individuals exhibit this behavior. Families and clans build upon it. Street gangs kill innocents that get in the way. Nations kill thousands and excuse it as collateral damage.
Do any have the courage of Martin Luther King Jr? Would any choose to carry his cross?
For decades I have prayed for leadership that would carry Christian virtue into public office.
I have come to the conclusion that people of virtue do not seek public office. They do not seek to lead, they seek to serve.
Whether it be 2000 years ago, or today, the world cannot comprehend a servant leader. A servant leader, like a light, will be extinguished. The world cannot tolerate having its deeds exposed.
We seek to cover things up, to hide, not to seek, to seek restoration.
To achive restoration, we must admit that we were wrong.
However, once exposed, we seek mercy, not justice.
Father, forgive us. Restore us to you and one another.
