From the Chaplain: Would you wish that on anyone?

I stumbled on a mini-revelation recently. I had heard about a tragic situation and I thought: “I wouldn’t wish that on … ” — and I thought of someone. I stopped and considered: “Is there someone I hold in such disregard that I would wish them misfortune? Is there someone of whom I would think, ‘You got what you deserved?’” I once felt vindicated when a mean-spirited boss of mine was fired because he treated his employees badly. But did I wish him harm? Did I hope his wife would leave him or he might suffer some terrible loss? No, but none of the staff was sorry to see him go.

I think this is a test of our humanity, and certainly of our Christianity. Are our hearts filled with anger, resentment and bitterness such that we would wish evil on another person? Or are our hearts filled with compassion for those suffering even if we don’t like them? When the Apostle Paul was writing to the church in Rome, he told them (Romans 12:14): “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Jesus is even more specific in His Sermon on the Mount when He says: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44). The problem is that human nature wants to react to mean-spirited people. We don’t want to get over it, we want to get even. And even if we don’t want to return evil for evil, we certainly don’t want to love our enemies. Jesus and Paul each knew something about cruelty. They lived in a time when public executions were common, and abuse of the innocent by the government expected.

America seems to be in a season of “hateful atrocities.” As I write this, we are reeling from three mass shootings in one week, one of which was racially motivated. We’re concerned about hate-speech, and our leaders are strongly opposed to one another. We say the problem is politics, or gun control, or border walls. The real problem is the human heart. In Matthew 5:21, Jesus discusses the problem of storing up anger because one day that anger will leak out. The solution is not found in human nature but in the work of God in our hearts. Loving our enemies is not in our nature to do. Only the Holy Spirit can create this condition in our hearts. We need to be willing to allow Him access to change our desires from cursing to blessing.

We may not want thousands of refugees to come into our country, but can we put ourselves in their shoes? Do we wish them to return to a place where they live in fear that gangsters will kill them or their children? We might have differing political views, but do we wish that some terrible calamity would come upon politicians who see things differently than us? Someone may have wounded us, but when we hear they have cancer do we think, “Serves them right?” Jesus told us when we harbor anger, we have a heart problem. Jesus is the cure for it. He tells us to reconcile, bless and not curse, look for positive answers, put aside our prejudices and, as much as we are able, be at peace with others. When we find that we would not wish tragedy on an enemy, we’ll find that we won’t wish hardship on an annoying neighbor either — “that will teach them.” In fact, if we have the heart of Jesus, when we hear about a tragedy happening to someone with whom we are at odds, compassion will rise to the surface and we won’t think cruel thoughts but rather pray that blessing, healing and comfort will come to them. That is the better side of our humanity. That is the effect of allowing Jesus to express Himself through us.

Compassion does not negate justice. We need to deal with evil people and evil actions. We need to protect the innocent. We need to rise above vengeance. We have to right wrongs. But without compassion, we might find ourselves wishing the worst on those who offend us, and that’s a very tragic way to live.

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Tim Zerger is chaplain at Northern Montana Health Care.