140 Characters

Is it possible to summarize the death of Osama bin Laden in 140 characters? Many people have tried in the last couple of days, some more successful than others. One article I found interesting highlighted research done byOpenBible.info's Stephen Smith in which he cataloged the top tweeted Bible verses 12 hours after the announcement of bin Laden's death. It's quite a list and includes Rick Warren's choice from Proverbs: "When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers" (this was #3). The number one verse, however, was also from Proverbs and gives a different take: "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice." The first verse is from Proverbs 21, the second from Proverbs 24. These passages encapsulate my own emotions as I watched Sunday night. Relief and--maybe if I'm honest with myself--joy at first, but those emotions eventually turned to deeper reflections on the biblical nature of justice and how we define and respond to our own "enemies." I mentioned a few weeks ago that I'm in the midst of reading a psalm a day and so far (I'm through 38) almost every psalm makes some sort of mention of having enemies and many express a desire for these enemies to perish. That's a very human desire, one that the psalms express nakedly. Of course, followers of Jesus also trip up over his command for us to love our enemies. Does that command have limits? Do we need to expand or redefine "love"? I wrestle with all these questions and emotions and wonder what the "proper" way to respond is. And I find myself realizing that 140 characters are probably too many. Instead, I go before God, not saying a word, and listen for wisdom and peace.