10-2-22
Dear God:
I'm torn. I knew this time would eventually come if I lived long enough. What to do? How to do it?
You in your infinite mercy have provided a mechanism to lift us out of the covid me-too-freakout. You provided omicron, which will be with us for the rest of our existence, as a countermeasure against our hubris in making bioweapons. You have showed that the bioweapon shots are killing humanity and maiming billions.
And now some "important" humans are finally "getting it.” Now, three years later, some doctors, who were all-in on the bioweapons, are now saying "gee, maybe the freakout and mandated poison goo weren't so good." Do ya think? Lord you knew this all along, and a small minority of lepers knew this as well. However, for almost three years the lepers were ostracized, harassed, lied to, spit upon, imprisoned, denied freedom of movement, fired from jobs, left to die alone, and basically banned from society. All for telling the inconvenient truth.
Now, these same lepers are told to "suck it up" yet again, for "the greater good" and forgive those who made us into lepers but yet now see the truth. Now that the inconvenient truth is not so inconvenient anymore, and those speaking it may not lose their jobs or social standing for speaking it, the lepers are told to forgive everything done to us for the sake of unity. "They're on our team now!"
Are they? Forgive and forget? Forgive and never forget? Forgive and go and sin no more? Don't forgive?
Jesus taught us to forgive continually. Seventy times seven times if need be. Lord, you forgive us continually when we repent and ask for forgiveness. But what if people don't seek our forgiveness? Is forgiveness required then? These “important doctors” who now see the evil don't seem to be asking for the lepers' forgiveness. They don't seem to see the wrongs they committed and how it affected billions of people. It's just "oopsie, maybe we should rethink things. Let's move on and kumbaya!" That's not seeking forgiveness. That's not repenting. That's blowing with the wind and going with the clique.
But I get it. Maybe that's the best humans can do. The kumbaya is the best that the "important doctors" can do in repenting. Yes, as a leper I wish to see a true repentance - a true "I'm sorry that my words and actions caused death and destruction to millions of people. None of this should have happened and I ask forgiveness from those I have harmed." Yes, that would be wonderful. Yes, that is never going to happen. We are humans and we are ruled by ego.
My ego now is telling me don't forgive those who don't truly repent in the way you would like. I know that is wrong. Help me with this God. There will be more and more people changing covid me-too freakout sides as if nothing ever happened. The forgiveness of us lepers (seven times seventy times!) will be challenged greatly, but we know we have to do it since forgiving those who trespass against us is the only obligation placed on humans in the Lord's Prayer.
Lord, I need help with forgiveness. Show me what to do and how to do it.
Sincerely,
Napoleon
Only a few lines written of this song, starts like this...
"If I DID what you SAID I'd be DEAD (!)
I'd say YOU'RE the one who's EFFED UP in the HEAD!
ad lib....best
As you suggest, scripture presents us with a very high bar. Nonetheless, while one appears encouraged to leave revenge to The Lord (Romans 12:19), does it not leave us free to seek retribution? And then again, we have the exhortations of the Old Testament:
~If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: (Leviticus 24:19)
~fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him. (Leviticus 24:20)
~You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19:21)
~Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. (Numbers 35:31)
It seems that a theme of 'quid pro quo' justice prevails?