The Ugly In Us All

Well, in the face of several things that have really hit home this week, I have been thinking a lot about nonviolence. I find that when I see something really violent happen I have two thoughts:
1-How could anyone hurt someone else like that.
2-If I got my hands on that person, I would hurt him worse than he hurt anyone else.
No matter what I want to think, I am just as capable of violence as anyone else. Now don't go and call some sort of therapist and get me locked up. I'm not saying I enjoy violence. What I am saying is that most of us, in the right circumstance, would be capable of amazing things. If my wife was held for ransom, I would do most anything to get her out. Where I to have a family member killed, I probably could do some pretty nasty things to the guy who killed them. I can say all I want that I believe in "turning the other cheek," but when it comes down to it, in certain emotional situations I don't know how much Christ has really changed me. My gut emotions remain the same. In fact, I still like watching good guys kill bad guys on TV. I can try to kid myself and say "But that is different," but it is still me desiring the death of someone else, fictional or real.
That is about all I'm going to try to explain. I just want to leave you with some lyrics from Derek Webb's Mockingbird album that have really been shaping my thoughts.

My Enemies Are Men Like Me-
i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them
because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life
how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me
peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution

King and a Kingdom-
but nothing unifies like a common enemy
and we’ve got one, sure as hell
but he may be living in your house
he may be raising up your kids
he may be sleeping with your wife
oh no, he may not look like you think

In God We Trust-
in God we trust
so we fight for peace and He fights for us
in God we trust
even when He fights us for someone else
in God we trust
even when He looks like the enemy

Love Is Not Against The Law-
and it’s giving up your life
for the ones you hate the most
it’s giving them your gown
when they’ve taken your clothes
are we defending life
when we just pick and choose
lives acceptable to lose
and which ones to defend
‘cause you cannot choose your friends
but you choose your enemies
and what if they were one
one and the same
could you find a way
to love them both the same
to give them your name