Article January 20, 1997 Issue

The solution to crime: spiritual understanding

Sue E. Shields

I've been seeing reports on the activity of civic-minded people working to reclaim neighborhoods, to wipe out the use of illegal drugs, to curb violence and other serious problems. During a report on a troubled neighborhood, my heart went out to the people there. How could I help?

To get some ideas, I turned to Christ Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in the Bible. In it, Jesus gave specific instructions on how to deal with adversaries. He didn't say that we should condemn those who despitefully use us, but that we should pray for them (see Matt. 5:44). But how could I pray for a drug dealer?

That word condemn stood out. Suddenly I thought, "Who gave me the right to judge, to deny another the right to be redeemed, or to condemn anyone as hopeless?" To condemn is to become part of the problem, for it magnifies the problem instead of pointing toward the solution. And the Scriptures state, "Let the Lord be magnified" (Ps. 35:27). To me, this means to let God's nature be magnified, not the faults of others.

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