The questions started as soon as President Obama announced “we got Osama.” The answers remain as elusive as bin Laden was for all those years. Yet the pundits keep pouring out both. Here are some in the popular Q&A format:
Q: Will the world be safer now? A: Very unlikely.
Q: Will another just as evil rise up and take his place? A: Very likely.
Q: Should we expect retaliation from al Qaeda? A: Yes.
Q: Was he near death anyway? A: Reliable sources say he had serious health problems.
Q: How many deaths was he responsible for? A: Tens of thousands including those who died on 9/11.
Q: Did his punishment, death in a firefight with Navy Seals, fit his crime? A: from David Letterman: “Due to a typo in the Koran, he was disappointed to meet 70 “vegans” in Paradise.”
A: from The Bible: “It is appointed to a man once to die and then face judgment [of God]” (Hebrews 9:27). We don’t have to (or get to) answer this. Thank God!
Q: Should we celebrate his death? A: from Mark Twain: "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."
A: The Bible answers with a clear indication there is a BIG difference between wanting to see justice done and a vengeful heart. The latter hurts US more than the person whose picture is on our dartboard.
Wanting justice is simply a reflection of the image of God that He put within us. He is a just God.
But vengeance sets up a deadly cycle of hurtàrevengeà hurtàrevenge that never stops. The only thing that breaks that cycle is trusting God to give the proper punishment in His way and His time: “Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).
A: from my friend, the retired Seal, who would add this commentary on Romans 12 (and the great theologian, Augustine, would agree) that his comrades were simply instruments of God’s wrath: "For [the ruler] is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.…” (Romans 13:4, 7).
Instead of celebrating a death, I celebrate with great gratitude our sacrificing soldiers, veterans and our just Judge, Jesus Christ.
