Proverbs 16:2 tells us that \u201cAll a person\u2019s ways seem pure to them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People usually do what they think is right. They do not think of themselves as being the bad guys. Like the Nazis in series 1, episode 1 (first aired September 14, 2006) of \u201cThat Mitchell and Webb Look,\u201d a comedy sketch show on the BBC, they are slow to recognize reality and shocked when they finally have to ask themselves, \u201care we the baddies?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I told an anti-Semite that he was filled with hate, he was outraged at the accusation; he couldn\u2019t recognize that his statements against Jewish people were hate-filled. He couldn\u2019t comprehend how he was living in contradiction with the command to \u201clove your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How could that be? How could someone ever be so clueless?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, what motivates a lynch mob? Anger, obviously. A desire for vengeance. But why? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the members of the lynch mob perceive that a wrong has been committed that needs to be righted. That justice needs to be served. Their action springs from \u201crighteous indignation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a certain general referenced a drone strike as \u201crighteous\u201d it wasn\u2019t because he believed that killing an innocent aid worker and seven children was a good thing. He thought the strike was good because he thought he was getting back at the ones responsible for killing 13 Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A desire for justice is motivated by a love for those who have suffered wrong. The lynch mob seeks to protect the vulnerable from an oppressor. Their hatred for their opponents is a result of their love for the victims and their love of justice and righteousness. Righteous indignation is a consequence of love, but far too often it\u2019s \u201clove in all the wrong places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too often justice isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is why God tells us \u201cvengeance is mine, I will repay.\u201d This is why the prophet Isaiah wrote that \u201call our righteousness is as filthy rags\u201d. We may think we\u2019re doing what is right. We may think we are doing a good thing. All too often, even our best efforts simply suck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Our best ideas, too often, turn out to be \u201chere, hold my beer\u201d stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen dies a martyr because of \u201crighteous indignation\u201d on the part of the religious establishment. They thought they were doing God a favor. They were certain they were being \u201crighteous.\u201d<\/p>\n
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