I received an email the other day that contains a woman's venting to a New Brunswick newspaper against the U.S.'s closing of the prison due to the torturing of Taliban. Click here to understand my response:
Ya know, it bothers me when people continue to use Bible scripture or the name of Jesus Christ to support their letters of hatred, revenge, vengeance, and/or unrighteous justice. No, neither this lady nor the narrator used scripture, but the inclusion of Jesus in the list of 5 people who died for us and our freedom, shows that one of them at least claims to have faith in Him (though she failed to mention that Jesus also died for our freedom). But such people, even in their pain, are not representing Jesus when they send their grieving opinions to a newspaper, or even sending it around the world in an email. Let me explain why I say this:
In 2 Kings, Israel is at continuous war with Aram, which today is Syria. In chapter 6, the king of Aram, and just about all his forces, surround God's prophet Elisha and his servant. When the King of Aram rushed Elisha, Elisha prayed, and the attacking army was blinded, then fooled into following Elisha into Israel, their enemy's land. Once in Israel's gates, the opposing army's and their king's eyes were opened. The king of Israel asked Elisha if he should kill them, where at this, Elisha responded: (verses 22-23) "Do not kill them...Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.
Commentators continue to talk about the opposite behavior that Elisha, under the guidance of God, showed to their enemy...he treated them like friends, or at least like humans. Yeah, they meant harm, no they wouldn't do the same if the tides were turned, but that's actually one of the great mysteries of being God's people...we don't behave as those who aren't of God...we're (supposed to be) different because God is different ("Holy"), and demands that His people be so also.
The Arameans had obviously committed enough terror against Israel for the king to want to kill them on the spot. We can also assume this because the last part even mentions that Aram was raiding Israel's territory. But we also know that once they returned to their own land, they talked, for otherwise, the raiding wouldn't have stopped.
The Taliban continues to raid countries today...it's not new, they're just traveling further to do it. Their hatred is strong, as was their brainwashing. But if you're trying to promote peace, you often must be the one to start it. Sure, verse 24 states that under the next king, Aram attacked Israel again, but that was under another king. We killed Saddam...the rest of the country loves us, our main opposition is the Taliban. After Bin Laden, there will be others, but if we wish to promote peace and stop the terror (at least for now), then our focus shouldn't be on where we are or how we got here, but where do we go from here.
So we complain about Obama's concern for the well-being of our Taliban prisoners. But when we look at what it means to serve the Lord and follow His guidance, as Elisha did in this passage, I'd have to say that Obama's behaviors towards the Taliban appear to be representing somebody who's following the Lord a little closer than this New Brunswick woman or her narrator.
---Marturo
