Those who lack the incomparable energy of love and the strength of moral clarity, who neither pursue nor value virtue, who do not hold to the inherent and sacred dignity of all people, use violence as a tool for their own ambitions. Theirs is an intentional choice to further pursue and consolidate the power they covet without regard to human suffering.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another. Galatians 5:16-17
The cruelty, mistreatment, harassment, and degradation of others that we too often see in our world and are seeing, as with all forms of violence both physical and psychological, are sins of the flesh. They flourish when the Spirit is not at work in us. Our basest human impulses, not the Spirit of God, are the source of all the inhumane things that we do to one another.
As Paul enjoins, we must choose to reject these malignant inclinations , and instead welcome the sublime path into which the Spirit of God leads us. The two ways are not compatible. The flesh through its own schemes cannot serve the purposes of the Spirit, but must be surrendered to it. We must die to ourselves, to our flesh, the violent, cruel, and unenlightened self we can easily be, to find life in the Spirit.
It is inconsistent with Jesus to resort to naked power and aggression as somehow the path to goodness. These inhumane approaches can never create but only destroy. They are the path to death, not life, and are wholly incompatible with Christ.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20
Good can never come from evil, and peace is never the result of violence. When anyone is devalued, harmed, or mistreated, no matter what the reason is, good will not be the result in the economy of God. Violence moves us toward a sinister and hopeless future of endless retaliation and increased human suffering.
Those unmoved by the Spirit often employ violence as a tool for their own ends, which is precisely the spirit of the kingdoms of this world. We should respond with sorrow toward the actions and the proclamation of the gospel of peace, not approval.
Can we follow Jesus and his kingdom of peace, while aligning ourselves with the Caesars of this world? Caesar will always be a calculating and pragmatic ruler who uses violence and terror as a tool, while Jesus, as far as the world is concerned, is an unrealistic dreamer with his way of peace through love. Do we want Jesus to save us but Caesar to lead us?
Violence is easy; love is hard. Practicing kindness in the face of cruelty is to open oneself to mistreatment, but it is also how we are united with Christ and his cross. The blood of the martyrs is still the seed of the church, the body of Christ which refuses to bow the knee to Caesar.
Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11
As Christ-followers, we are to be like God. We cannot champion violence, defend it as necessary, or believe that it has some usefulness. There is no godly way to take pleasure in someone else’s suffering or death, or to be apathetic. God is not.
Instead, we who follow Christ mourn all suffering, violence, and death. We know that whatever is done to “the least of these” is done to Christ. Harm done to anyone is done to Christ himself.