Strong willed, backed up with reasons

Recently I got into a 'discussion', if you will, with someone. We were discussing the death penalty. I feel VERY strongly against the death penalty and will defend my opinion to my grave. Do not have this discussion with me....for days I was sick to my stomach, grouchy, and I'm still. not. over it.

Many good points were brought up by the opposing opinion....but to me they are all extinguished by God's. grace. and. mercy. I was feeling frustrated lately with the fact that I could be just another cheesy Christian that believes that God is love all the time and it is His will that none shall parish, that no one should spend an eternity in hell. Oh wait, that's not cheesy...

Maybe it's cheesy to be the one who believes that that all sin is equal, and all sin hurts God. Personally I'm not seeing the cheesy part yet.

Or maybe it's just socially frowned upon to not want death for someone who did such a horrible, ugly, hateful, inhumane thing. If I knew that this inhumane killer would at least have a chance at salvation after the death penalty, I may consider it. If I didn't think the one admitting the death penalty then deserved the death penalty, creating a chain with no good end, I'd consider it as well. Why not lock this man up for life? Why not let him think everyday of what he did to such a beautiful person? Why not give him a chance to enter into a relationship with the God of this world, the Man who made it possible for you and I to even exist. If it is His will that none should perish- who am I to trump that? No, it is not 'killer's' job either....but if you begin smoking pot I'm not going to correct you by taking it from you and calling it legal for me to smoke since I'm stopping you from doing it ever again. Ohhh....I'm rambling.

Secondly, I defend myself from the accusation that I know nothing about abusive relationships. I also deny any accusation of not wanting justice for what this man did. I agree, he should be punished....a horrible punishment even. But I, personally, refuse to wish an eternity in hell on anyone. I'm am no hoity-toit waiting for my seat in heaven that I did nothing to deserve.

So as I've been battling my feelings on this issue and evaluating everything I feel about it, and reaffirming that yes, this is what I believe, cheesy or not....I ran across a chapter in my 'David 90 Days With A Heart Like His" book by Beth Moore.

As David was being literally hunted down by Saul for no reason other than jealousy. After finding out that a multitude of priests, innocent priests, were killed because they warned David, because they helped him not get killed for no reason at all....David wrote Psalm 52. The four things David did in this chapter were 1. placing blame where it should be placed, on Saul, on evil. 2. reminded himself that God will repay evil, Saul. (realizing it was not his job) 3. placed his hope solely in God (not others, not the government, solely.in.God.) 4. reminded himself that God is Good (no matter how bad things look).

Beth Moore says that "even in the face of imaginable horror, we must cast our imaginations on Christ, our only hope...Keep having faith even in the face of unexplainable evil or disaster. You will be richly rewarded for your faith even when others have scorned you for still believing."

This was a good reminder for me. Also to remember that God is good. I think sometimes I let loud-mouthed, mean spirited christians skew my view of God. Sometimes I'm afraid to ask God for patience, or for understanding, or for help with something because I'm afraid He'll be like "oh ya, you want to learn this???" and then put me through something horrible to teach me that. Or He'll hold me up for the world to see if I doubt Him... calling me out infront of everyone.
These last few weeks I've been learning...God is not black and white. Thank goodness. But He is always good, He is always love, and it is His will that none should perish.

Therefore, cheesy or not, I. stand. my. ground.

I will refuse any further discussions. I am pro punishment, I'm even more pro prevention and rehabilitation. I'm not a 'head in the clouds' person. This is not written to begin anymore arguments, it's my blog, it's where I'm allowed to say whatever I want :)