James Foley, ISIS and Wrath

“For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.” – James 1:20

You’ve seen the photo by now, maybe even the video: an American journalist kneeling seconds before his utterly senseless, depraved execution. James Foley’s murder is just the latest link in a chain of outrages committed by this monstrosity called ISIS, a group representing Islamic extremism at its worst and man at his most depraved. Swift and strategic action is called for. So is disgust, heartbreak and prayers for the Foleys, and righteous anger generating whatever redemptive things can be done in response.

What’s not redemptive is what’s been going through my head ever since hearing about this. My first response when seeing the image sure wasn’t prayer. It was closer to a mental slasher film in which every horror flick villain from Freddy to Jason to Norman Bates was parachuted onto ISIS turf with free reign to creatively take revenge. I chortled at the idea, then shook it off, slapping myself for such animal thoughts, then fantasized and chortled again, slapped again, you get the picture. I so despise all that these venomous creatures represent that at my worst I wish them torment. Then I despise my own over the top rage, remembering Who I belong to and saying to myself, “Pick a lane, buddy. You either love your enemy or you don’t.”

And that’s the point. I’m susceptible to wrath, as I suspect a large part of the population is. Not just over international atrocities, though they sure can incite wrath, but over more personal injuries as well. After all, who hasn’t been betrayed, abused, humiliated, or abandoned? We bleed; we respond. Can’t be helped. And since the perpetrators of these sins aren’t generally the most caring of people, we often experience the brunt of their wrongdoing without ever getting an acknowledgement, much less an apology, from any of them. (Exceptions happen, but that’s just it – they’re the exception.) Something in us protests this; first the wrong, then the refusal of the wrongdoer to own it, then our ongoing pain over the wrongdoer’s unacknowledged wrong. That’s fertile ground for hard-core, unyielding wrath, directed not just at the original wrongdoer but towards any overt sinners we can vent our unresolved rage against.

Of course, rage over epic crimes like Foley’s killing is hardly the unresolved, misdirected type, and I likewise wouldn’t imply that all instances of wrath are born out of some old, uncorrected hurt. I would say, though, that the hurts of the past can and often do fuel and combine with the outrages of the present, creating a toxic cocktail too many of us get drunk on. In addition to being sinful and common, it’s contagious. Look no further than the French Revolution for a panoramic view of wrath on the rampage.

Problem is, we have no right to wrath. Anger, yes, because righteous anger can motivate us to correct wrongdoing, so Paul told the Ephesians to be angry, and sin not. (Ephesians 4:26) But wrath? Hardly. To my thinking, there are two primary reasons wrath is reserved as a right only God has. First, only God has the full view of the picture. Being omniscient (See Psalm 139, for instance) He knows all, giving Him, and Him alone, the perspective needed to righteously judge and punish. How many times, after all, have we had a knee-jerk angry response to something, spouting off curses and threats, only to find we didn’t have all the information and had formed the wrong opinion? (Just check out the reactions we’re seeing in Ferguson, MO, and I do mean reactions from both sides) That, I’m sure, is why we’re told that “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” (Proverbs 18:13)

Second, only God can punish completely and eternally. When He says “I will repay”, I tremble to consider what He means. Because no matter how vehement my white-hot anger gets, it’s a baby’s whimper next to the wrath of God. And if I as a sinful limited creature hate unrighteous, cruel behavior, how much more – infinitely more, really – does the Creator hate it? And how much more – again, infinitely more – will He punish wrongdoing, far beyond the limited ways my puny backlash would punish it?

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay”, He said, (Romans 12:19) so wrath is reserved for God alone, and for good reason. Only He can do it righteously, and only He can do it right.

Let’s keep that in mind when the news of the day ignites our passions, and let’s let it ignite our prayers as well.

God bless and comfort James Foley’s family and loved ones. God likewise bless and comfort Michael Brown’s family and loved ones. God speak peace and reason over Ferguson, and bring a quick end to the madness in Iraq.

And finally, God awaken us to whatever we can do to be part of the solution, never the problem.