Thoughts on Osama bin Laden’s death

Mark Twain once said, "I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

Since the death of bin Laden (I found it interesting that he was buried out at sea) there has been a lot of rejoicing. I understand it and yet part of me wonders if there is a difference between us and the radicals who rejoiced over the falling of the Twin Towers. Anyway, as I listened to the news and all the talk show hosts and their elation, Ezekiel 33:11 popped into my mind:

As I live! declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Or, Proverbs 24:17, 18: Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.

As a Christ follower, I feel this tension between the thought that bin Laden deserved death and that justice was done (and that we ought to be happy about it) versus the idea that, as Christians, we should react another way…and that reacting another way is an opportunity to witness of God’s love. As Christians, we should be acknowledging the realities of this world, yet at the same time reacting and living in a way that honors God. This is part of the tension we as Christians are called to live with.

This quote made me think, “When God's people use and rejoice in the methods of this world's kingdoms, they become an obstacle between man and God, obscuring what God wants to make clear. We understand the world - we are from this world - but we want the world to see another way.”

Hmmm. Something to think about and wrestle with…