Actually, even better than that passage from Matthew is this one from Luke:
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Now, none of this is easy to live up to. The tendency toward anger, the impulse toward revenge, is powerful and easy, and all too often I fail to live up to this best of principles. But I'm always trying, I always hold it uppermost in my mind, even when I fail. Particularly when I fail.
Two years ago, I made the horrible mistake of watching the video of Nicholas Berg's beheading. (No, I damn well won't include a link to it.) It was truly horrifying, perhaps the most devastatatingly awful thing I've ever seen, and I instantly regretted the "see something for myself and render my own judgments" idea that led me to watch it. The only consolation is that I watched the video without sound; if I'd actually had to hear poor Nick Berg screaming, I don't think I could have stood it.
The man who claimed "credit" for that horrible crime was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Today, as probably everyone has seen, the papers are all leading with the story that al-Zarqawi was killed in a massive U.S. bombing raid.
And I really only have one reaction to al-Zarqawi's death: I'm glad he's dead, and I hope it hurt.
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