osama.

osama bin laden is dead.

i know. you know. your pet chinchilla knows. 

anywhere and everywhere there is joy. celebration. rejoicing.

defacement of the man. mocking. ridicule.

pictures of the death. videos. 

as you continue reading, id like to be clear.

i am proud to be an american where at least i know im free.

i am not traitor. i am no terrorist.

i am not in support of terrorism.

but... i am a social work student.

but more than that... i am a follower Jesus Christ.

as a social work student, i have an obligation to the national association of social work code of ethics. one of my favorite of the values is finding, recognizing and understanding the dignity and worth of every individual. 

even osama.

as a follower of Jesus, i am called to a similar standard and hold the same value.

i want to state clearly, i understand the relief of the death of a major & dangerous terrorist.

i understand the man had death on his hands and hate in his heart.

but what i think people forget to remember is that he too, just as you and i, was a creation of God. he was knitted together by the works of our Father in his mother. 

made in the image of our Creator by our Creator.

criminals are criminals for many different reasons.

mental illness.

cultural & religious influence.

traumatic experiences [ig. rape, molestation, witnessing or experiencing a heinous crime].

family.

satan's lies.

the blood of our loved ones are on his hands. his heart was filled with hate and evil. he was broken. 

he listened the the voice of evil rather than truth.

relief for the death of a terrorist is understandable.

but we see toilet paper with osama's face on it, with X-ed out eyes and facebook posts with his bloody face posted everywhere with celebratory slogans.

if God loves him more than i am capable of loving anyone in my life, then the continued betrayal of a child, and the violent execution is heartbreaking not a time of celebration.

the heavens celebrate a new life, and mourn at the loss of another one. our hearts should match. but our celebrations are far grander for the death of an "enemy" than the salvation of a new believer ever before. our hearts feel no godly sorrow and mourning, but rather an earthly celebration of a false idea of a "victory".

my brother said "...and when people say they hope he rots in hell, that disgusts me. i can't imagine wanting anyone to go to hell." 

i agree. 

[i admire my brother a lot by the way].

if we choose to hate, then we are guilty of the same crime in our spirits that he was executed for.

as believer's we have an obligation & opportunity to love & show love. 

but unfortunately, we are the one's saying the most hateful things.