Punishing Crime
I know there is a lot of debate in our country about how to handle crime. There are those who want to be very strict and those who want to be much more lenient than we are now. There are a lot of people who want to give people a lot of chances before they really give out a an effective punishment. All the while, none of us want to be the victims of crime, and we feel sorry for those who are the innocent victims.. What should we do?
The Bible gives us a very important principle when it comes to punishing crime. I think God knows what is best, and He is trying to show us something that would benefit all of us. (Ecclesiastes 8:11) "When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong." In other words when it takes us a long time to decide how to punish a person for a crime, it emboldens that person to do more wrong. They think they can get out of the punishment and even avoid punishment the next time. We should not want to cause that to happen.
The human heart is desperately wicked. This is especially true for those who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior, but it is also true for us as believers, if we don't allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to do right. All of us need every incentive to stay away from crime. We need to receive the right punishment for what we have done quickly, so we won't think we can get away with anything. This is true for speeding, stealing, or harming others in a criminal way. God knows, and that is His warning to us.
Of course, we need to balance this with a very good system of justice which is administered fairly for all people. I know that is hard for us, as humans, but if we write the laws correctly, and then, we enforce them without prejudice of any kind, we can have a just system of punishments which can be administered quickly for the good of the criminal and society. I believe we need to stand up for such a system and do what we can to see it implemented. God would be pleased.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ecclesiastes 9-11.