human life is complex
As part of my prayers, I pray "Lord, I pray for everyone in the world to see and recognise you in themselves and in others too, and to treat each other accordingly. I pray for the strength and grace to do the same myself".
This came to my mind this morning on reading an article about someone in my area who ran extremely violent criminal activities which even included murder. What struck me though on reading the comments was how many people who lived near him said that he did a lot of good as well. One example was a young boy went missing and he arranged people to look for him and brought him back on his shoulders. There were other examples too.
This does not minimise or reduce the terrible crimes he committed of course, but it did make me think about how complex we are as human beings and we are never pure saintliness or pure evil. While we should rightly condemn acts of violence and cruelty, we should also keep in mind that redemption is possible. This doesn't mean 'wiping the slate clean', but it does mean that people can change their lives if they are given the opportunity. Naturally this has to come with the checks and balances that keep a society safe, but we shouldn't simply wipe people from the face of the earth due to what they have done.
Even for those imprisoned for life for murder there can be some redemption. While some may 'discover religion' when in prison for better privileges, there are undoubtedly those who do develop a sincere prayer life and, in some ways, become the ultimate solitaries. For some, this provides them with a peace and fulfilment that their previous life could never have provided.
Thankfully, most of us won't ever be in that extreme position but that doesn't mean that we can't work on our 'weaker' points, and we know that we all have them, including ourselves. We can also try to look differently at people that we take issue with. That could be gang members, people of different races or simply people that annoy us. It might not be easy, but it is the direction we should all take if we want a more peaceful society.
"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner"