There was recently a story in the news where two young Amish girls (sisters) were missing from their family's roadside produce stand in northern New York state. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the pursuing investigation and the incident was well covered by every media outlet. Within a couple of days the girls appeared at some one's door asking for help. The two sisters had been abducted by a couple and had endured some type of abuse. The girls were able to identify the building where they were held and their abductors. I can't imagine the horror they experienced or the anxiety felt by their families, but thankfully they did survive and were returned home.
The suspects were promptly arrested and jailed without bail (rightfully so). Early reports stated that they didn't deny the allegations and one of the suspects seemed to be testifying against the other. The acts committed by the abductors is indefensible and wrong on every level. They will go through the criminal justice system and receive an appropriate penalty. A punishment that will remove them from society and keep the public safe from them for decades, if not the rest of their lives.
While these events were unfolding, the social commentary was ubiquitous. As with everything, everyone has an opinion. Many of the public outcry was venomous name calling of the abductors. This probably happens with any incident like this, I've just never took note of it before. I became curious, what could be the objective of the slander? It's obvious that there's no plausible defense to the abductors actions. The evidence appears strong enough to support a conviction and lengthy prison sentence. But most of the personal comments I heard were about the character of the abductors. I wasn't hearing a lot of concern for the girls or their families. Why?
The insults I was hearing had a common theme. Those people are pieces of ***, they should take them out and ***, they don't deserve to live, etc. It appeared that many people, who will have no role in the disposition of the abductors had installed themselves as judges in this matter. As if it's not sufficient for the justice system to carry out it's role, they want to personally punish the abductors and the only weapon they have at their disposal is hurling venom. The action itself is pointless. Name calling won't help the girls recover, it won't help the families, it's not evidence against the accused. It seems to be more of just an outlet to express anger.
Unfortunately when certain people ( I'll call them The Crowd) hear of an incident of this type they use it to express their own hatred. They've located a target for their hate and anger. There's no point to it, it's just something they want to do. They feel as if somehow they've standing on the moral high ground because they didn't do what their target did. It's easy to determine the right side in a case like this and there will be no one supporting the actions of the abductors. This gives the venom hurlers license to say whatever they want with impunity.
In this case the right and wrong are clearly divided, there's no gray area. What that couple did to those girls is wrong. They will be punished in this life and of greater concern they will need to atone for their actions in the after-life. As part of the human family I can't change what happened. I can pray for the girls and their families. I can also pray for the abductors. They need to change and they can't do it unless someone shows them how. As for the venom hurlers, they've always been around and always will be. They need to change too. Why? For their own spiritual development.
When Jesus was being led to His execution on Calvary he passed through a gauntlet of venom hurlers. They cursed at Him, spat on Him, insulted Him and probably committed other acts we don't want to imagine.Many probably didn't even know his name but they believed that they had attained the moral high ground. They had installed themselves as judges and were punishing Him with the weapons at their disposal. They could act with impunity for no one was coming to the defense of the Condemned. In that case the crowd was completely and terribly wrong. Their actions did nothing to better themselves or others. Jesus, being wrongfully convicted chose to forgive His accusers and the crowd With His example of love we should be able to learn how to judge less and forgive more.
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