Love (mercy) vs. Justice

[Anna Brie]

Your article, @hope , got me thinking about the struggle between people loving there enemies and true justice.
The authorities in my story are partly representative of God, and I’m trying to find the right balance between righteous judgement and Christian love.
Should you offer mercy to those you know will just turn back to doing evil?

I suppose in a way God does grant mercy even to those who do not turn to him, by allowing them to live longer.

Any advice?

[Hope Ann]

That’s hard…because justice does need to balance mercy. Even God needed justice satisfied (by Jesus’s death); He didn’t just forget all sins because He felt like it. But God forgiving sins and man forgiving or showing mercy in any position is quite different, so I guess it partly depends on how close your allegory is. (Is it allegory?)

If it was a more ‘human’ judge, he could maybe show mercy in some ways, like a lesser punishment instead of a death sentence. But I don’t think it would be mercy to let someone bad go free when it is known they’ll go back to hurting others. Banishing them to a deserted island or something of that sort instead of declaring a death sentence could be enough. Or if they were let free but not given power to harm anyone.

Or maybe love and mercy can be offered, but once rejected the evil will have to face their punishment.

If the authorities closely represent God in an allegorical form however, then you’ll have to take into account the fact that God is holy and all sin must be paid for. Yes, He’ll have mercy, but a price will need to be paid or else He wouldn’t be a just Judge.

And…I’m sorry. I don’t know if that was any help at all. It’s more of a rambling mess, but I don’t know enough about the specifics of your story or the situation to add more details (not as if that ever stopped anyone 😉 ).

INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

[Kate Flournoy]

I think @hope said everything I could have @anna-brie… I will just point out that the Father is justice, and the Son is mercy— and there had to be justice before there could be mercy. Love fulfills justice and makes mercy possible. And you have to accept the love before you can claim the mercy. If you don’t accept it, you only get what you justly deserve. The love is a gift, yes— but if you reject the gift you can take none of its fruits.

INFP. kateeverythingwriting.wordpress.com

[Anna Brie]

Thanks for your thoughts.
What I probably really meant was if you weren’t certain they wouldn’t turn back to evil. I think I have a solution for my specific situation now.

I did have another thought at church today though. We are to forgive our enemies, but just because you have forgiven someone doesn’t mean they won’t receive justice. I recently read A Mighty Fortress by Faith Blum and she had a murderer and worse who became a Christian, repented of his sins and had already been forgiven by some of those he had wronged. He still had to hang though.

If someone is truly repentant they will usually be more accepting of punishment. There are people who have become Christians, turned themselves in and spent the rest of their life in prison.

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