5/2/11

Bin Laden's death shows my hypocrisy


Eventually I will have to fall asleep. But sometimes when news hits, you can't sleep. And in the age of Twitter, there's always an update to be checked out, something new to read.

The last time a news event kept me awake was 2007, when the shootings at Virginia Tech took place. Tonight, it's the death of Osama Bin Laden.

I won't lie to you and tell you I'm the most holy person in the world. My words to my dad after hearing President Obama confirm the rampant speculation were "He's dead! We finally got that f*cker!"

Ahh yes, holiness indeed.

I'll be honest, I'm a bag of mixed emotions right now. One one hand, I'm happy, beyond happy, that he's dead. Beyond happy that it was an actual soldier, not a missile strike, that killed Bin Laden. And why shouldn't I be? After all, our men and women in the military service worked hard to capture him for all these years. President Bush and Obama worked hard catching this man.

To the Navy Seals who pulled off this operation and took down Osama, thank you.

But then there's the other part of me that knows that being a good Christian means, as Christ commanded, to "Love Your Enemy." That is the hardest commandment to follow. Jesus wants me to love Osama Bin Laden and every one of his cohorts. Celebrating his death with a lust for blood, I don't believe, qualifies as love.

This realization doesn't mean that I condemn our soldiers for killing Osama. If they didn't defend themselves and shoot him, he would have done the same to them. There's nothing wrong with self defense, and I again tip my hat to them. I am damn proud of every person who spent time trying to hunt Bin Laden down

Rather, the problem lies with me.

Perhaps this evening, I've been a little TOO overjoyed at a man's death. Yes, I can be proud that justice was served. But to smile at the fact that someone made in the image and likeness of God is not what being a Christian is all about. Loving your enemies, not gloating at their demise, is what Christ would want from me.

I'm struggling with this. I don't write all this to be holier than thou and sound like I'm better than everyone. Because I'm not, and this knowledge coupled with how I feel inside makes me a hypocrite. But I hope and pray that God gives me a loving, peaceful spirit. And the strength to pray for the soul of a man who caused the death of countless people all over the world.

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    About This Blog

    A blog for the masses, if by masses you mean myself and family members who probably read this out of pity.

    I'm dustin Faber, the 16-bit Catholic. This blog is an amusing, sometimes thought-provoking look at my life and the world around me. Poetry, cooking recipes, gaming, faith, things that make me go awww, things that make me go grrr, and my obsession with a good glass of root beer can be found here.

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