April 2011
This month's view may offer
a radical view of justice for some, but
be assured, it is the only way to heal our
broken justice system. I pray that God will
open your ears to hear what He is saying
through many of His servants. That if we
will humble ourselves, pray, and turn to
God, He will forgive, and heal our land.
Crime and Justice
The purpose of the criminal-justice
system is to punish the guilty, whereas
restorative justice promotes respect and
restoration for victims, offenders, and
their communities. The Scriptures declare:
"The authorities are
established to punish those who do wrong.
So you must obey the government for two
reasons: to keep from being punished and
to keep a clear conscience."2
On the other hand, the
criminal is a slave to his or her own pride
and rebellion. According to the Bible, the
ungodly "...are hopelessly confused.
Their closed minds are full of darkness;
they are far away from the life of God because
they have shut their minds and hardened
their hearts against Him. They don't care
anymore about right and wrong, and they
have given themselves over to immoral ways.
Their lives are filled with all kinds of
impurity and greed."3
A district attorney once
told the parole board that I needed a new
heart. He didn't seem to believe I had one,
but that is exactly what God had given me.
Neither the Law of God, nor man's laws can
give a new heart to the ungodly. But God's
righteous Law can show our sinfulness and
need for righteousness.4
There are consequences to sin (even years
in prison), but in God's eyes, the punishment
for sin was placed on Jesus at the cross.
He died and rose again to give eternal life
to those who receive Him. By faith, the
Holy Spirit makes criminals into new creations,
and provides them with the ability to live
regenerated lives as productive members
of society.
But Who's Listening?
In the early '90s, I wrote
an article called "Stop
Crime God's Way," addressing the
missing factor in our criminal-justice system.
God gave us the answer centuries ago, but
God's solution for crime is rejected just
like His answer is for our personal lives.
Listen to the immortal words of Augustine
(A.D. 354-430):
"...let your indignation
against their crimes be tempered by consideration
of humanity: be not provoked by the atrocity
of their sinful deeds to gratify the passion
of revenge, but rather be moved by the
wounds which these deeds have inflicted
on their souls to exercise a desire to
heal them."
Californians are being
forced to listen as their massive-prison
population drains the economy. The courts
have ruled that prisoners must be released
due to inadequate health care. All efforts
to reform the criminal population are failing.
The authorities are seeing that it takes
a power greater than ourselves to fix the
problem.
Some Are Listening
In the Los Angeles Times
article, "The Time Might Be Right For
Kamala Harris," Cathleen Decker reports
that Harris, California's next Attorney
General, hopes "...to make the criminal-justice
system reform criminals rather than lock
them up perpetually." Of course, her
job limits her from reducing sentences,
but from her bully pulpit, she can call
for new approaches to heal the broken justice
system.
For instance, "Nine
days before her election, from the puopit
of Greater Zion Church in Compton, she (Harris)
mocked those who callled her views 'radical.'"
Harris said:
"We need to incorporate
the age-old concept of redemtion into
the work that we do in the criminal-justice
system in California. It is a broken system
and there has to be reform... Yes, I am
radical in my belief in what we can do
to improve the system. How can we change
without being caught up and burdened with
just a blind adherence to tradition? How
can we be smart on crime and not just
talk about 'Are you soft? Are you tough?'
The question should be, 'Are we smart?'"
Our newly elected Attorney
General has a 2009 book out called, "Smart
on Crime." The Los Angeles Times reports:
"In it, and during her
campaign, Harris argued that criminal-justice
money is wasted on the "revolving door"
that prison has become as 70% of 120,000
convicts released annually end up being
caught committing new crimes."
Let us thank God for opening
Kamala Harris' eyes to see the "age-old
concept of redemption."
The Age-Old Solution
The age-old problem is
sin, resulting in crime. Call it what you
want, but mankind was never intended to
solve his problems without God. Some would
dare say, "This is not relevant. It
has nothing to do with the crime problems
we're facing." To the contrary, it
is relevant to do things God's way, which
will make a significant difference in the
criminal-justice system whether you acknowledge
it or not.
Restorative justice is
getting back to doing things the way God
does things. He created mankind as one big
family. It harms everyone when one is hurt
or disconnected from the family. As we will
see in the next view, restorative justice
is based upon love, respect, care, trust,
and humility. These values can only be achieved
through faith in the amazing grace of God.
If we fail to see the relevance
of redemption through the new birth that
Christ offers, the crime problem will increase,
the victim will lack healing, the offender
will lack forgiveness, and the community
will lack restoration.
"Now, you can have sincere
love for each other as brothers and sisters
because you were cleansed from your sins
when you accepted the truth of the Good
News. So see to it that you really do
love each other intensely with all your
hearts."5
A Prayer For You ...
Heavenly Father, Your word
urges me, first of all, to pray for all
people. I plead for Your mercy upon them,
and give thanks. I pray for our President
and all others who are in authority to walk
in the Spirit of wisdom and righteouness,
so that our society can live in peace and
quietness, in Godliness and dignity. I know
this pleases You, my God and Savior, for
You want everyone to be saved and to understand
the truth. I know there is only one God
and one Mediator Who can reconcile God and
people. Open their eyes, I pray, that our
Mediator is the man Christ Jesus, Who gave
His life to purchase freedom for everyone.
Help me, Charles, and others to be a light
as we spread this message that You gave
to the world at this time. I pray in Jesus
Name.6
Scripture References:
Acknowledgement: A special thanks
to Sherry for transcribing this months view!
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