During last cellgroup, we had a very interesting debate on justice vs mercy.
if someone break the law, do you advice him and give him chance, or do you hand him over to the law enforcer?
i think there is no absolute answer to this because you really have to take into account how severe his act is, how severe his punishment will be, etc. We still need to be wise but generally, I tend to prefer mercy over justice.
And that surprised dian. Heh we ended up continuing our discussion the next morning over the msn. She simply thought that it was only natural that you make sure that the wrongdoer get his due punishment. I think she was right in the sense that law need to be enforced. Otherwise our society will be in chaos.
It's important, I think, to know that God is both merciful and just. He is both forgiving and punishing. Both mercy and justice are part of God's personality. That's why, I said that there is nothing wrong with dian's opinion.
So if I were a policeman and I catch a thief, I gotta realise that God has made me a policeman to make sure that justice prevails. So I gotta do my duty.
As I said I can't tell you to be merciful all the way. But I think we need to be merciful in our act. We of all people, know that we deserve eternal punishment but instead, we receive salvation. Do we deserve it? No.
And you should know the story of a woman caught committing adultery. She was brought to Jesus and the crowd wanted to know what Jesus would do.
According to the law? Stoned to death.
According to Jesus? Your sin is forgiven. Go and sin no more.
Did Jesus know for sure that this woman would repent? No, He couldn't control her. He only trusted her.
Maybe I am inclined towards mercy because I too.. have been in the woman's position.
The Lord has shown me mercy after mercy. And His love has covered my many mistakes.
dian posed this interesting question: if everyone practice mercy the way you say it, wouldn't it be a chaos? the bad guys will always be forgiven and they will never change.
Well my answer to this is..
1. No, I believe that God is not that ignorant. He is just and He will defend the righteous.
2. That's why there are soldiers, policemen, etc. These people are there as God's tool to enforce the law.
3. Practically, most people will practice justice over mercy. So there is no way that everyone will practice mercy.
I think.. for every one person who forgives, there are nine others who would punish.. that's how the world is.
We can choose to be one of the nine or to be the one who forgives.
And I truly believe that forgiveness and love have the power to lead someone to repentance.
if someone break the law, do you advice him and give him chance, or do you hand him over to the law enforcer?
i think there is no absolute answer to this because you really have to take into account how severe his act is, how severe his punishment will be, etc. We still need to be wise but generally, I tend to prefer mercy over justice.
And that surprised dian. Heh we ended up continuing our discussion the next morning over the msn. She simply thought that it was only natural that you make sure that the wrongdoer get his due punishment. I think she was right in the sense that law need to be enforced. Otherwise our society will be in chaos.
It's important, I think, to know that God is both merciful and just. He is both forgiving and punishing. Both mercy and justice are part of God's personality. That's why, I said that there is nothing wrong with dian's opinion.
So if I were a policeman and I catch a thief, I gotta realise that God has made me a policeman to make sure that justice prevails. So I gotta do my duty.
As I said I can't tell you to be merciful all the way. But I think we need to be merciful in our act. We of all people, know that we deserve eternal punishment but instead, we receive salvation. Do we deserve it? No.
And you should know the story of a woman caught committing adultery. She was brought to Jesus and the crowd wanted to know what Jesus would do.
According to the law? Stoned to death.
According to Jesus? Your sin is forgiven. Go and sin no more.
Did Jesus know for sure that this woman would repent? No, He couldn't control her. He only trusted her.
Maybe I am inclined towards mercy because I too.. have been in the woman's position.
The Lord has shown me mercy after mercy. And His love has covered my many mistakes.
dian posed this interesting question: if everyone practice mercy the way you say it, wouldn't it be a chaos? the bad guys will always be forgiven and they will never change.
Well my answer to this is..
1. No, I believe that God is not that ignorant. He is just and He will defend the righteous.
2. That's why there are soldiers, policemen, etc. These people are there as God's tool to enforce the law.
3. Practically, most people will practice justice over mercy. So there is no way that everyone will practice mercy.
I think.. for every one person who forgives, there are nine others who would punish.. that's how the world is.
We can choose to be one of the nine or to be the one who forgives.
And I truly believe that forgiveness and love have the power to lead someone to repentance.
Comments
But further on that point, I do think our mindsets should be on 'educating/healing' (the outlaws, the society) rather than 'punishing'. And punishment can be a form of education (owing to wisdom as you said); punishment can (and should) be given out of mercy. No contradiction, then. =)
Of course, ideally speaking. =D
We, human, are fragile.
I think there is a thin line between educating and punishing, between 'mengajar' and 'menghajar'.
When it comes to some strangers we don't know well.. most likely you are driven by punishment rather than education.
Of course I can't prove my point LOL ^^