Like many of you, I was glued to the news last week awaiting the announcement of a verdict in the case of Casey Anthony, who was accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. The case has garnered gobs of media attention, and Casey has been described as a negligent mom who likes to party at best, and at worst—a mom responsible for killing her own brown-eyed baby girl.
When I heard the jury’s verdict that Casey was not guilty, I felt unsatisfied. A “not guilty” verdict doesn’t feel much like justice. My mind raced with thoughts of how very much I want to make the rules, and how I want someone to pay a steep price when something bad happens. Then, I found myself thinking about a woman long ago who actually was found guilty:
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They . . . said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ . . . Jesus said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ . . . At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:3–11, emphasis added).
According to Old Testament law, the crowd had every right to stone this woman to death. She had been caught in sin after all. But thankfully, God is a God of mercy as well as a God of justice.
The adulterous woman wasn’t the only one Jesus was merciful to. He also spared the crowd. The stones they were carrying were too heavy for them. They couldn’t bear the weight of enforcing the law on others, and Jesus knew it. So, He reminded them of their own crimes and freed them to leave the enforcement of justice (and mercy) up to Him.
Another individual who was a recipient of Jesus’ mercy was the apostle Paul, who hunted down Christians and ordered their executions (Acts 8:1-3). Our human minds would reason that he deserved punishment; he was responsible for the deaths of numerous saints, after all. Instead, God chased Paul down, forgave him, and outlined His plan to use Paul as “a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Imagine if believers refused to accept Paul because they were tripped up by their ideas about how justice should have been served to him.
Then there’s the sinful woman who washed Jesus’ feet. The rest of the dinner guests thought she deserved to be shunned because of her former lifestyle, but Jesus was interested in seizing an opportunity to demonstrate grace.
In the case of Casey Anthony, the verdict has been a reminder to me that the world isn’t mine to judge. I serve a God of justice and He will deal with the sin that permeates each of our lives. When I forget this and pick up stones, God sweetly urges me to drop them and walk in the freedom that comes from knowing His gavel will never condemn me because I am covered by His grace.
A couple of caveats:
- While God’s version of justice might not always line up with our idea of it, that doesn’t mean justice has not been served.
- While this post focuses on how we as individuals are not to judge others, the government has a biblical mandate to mediate justice and punish evildoers. As citizens, we should all use God-ordained means to stand against injustice and defend the victimized and oppressed, reforming our systems of justice if and when they fail.
But let Casey Anthony’s story be a reminder that the consequences for sin aren’t ours to dole out, and that we have been spared by a God whose grace is undeserved.
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).
“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love” (Ps. 33:5).
Leave a Comment:
We love hearing from you, and will post your comment as long as it is appropriate, and is written in a tone that is encouraging, edifying, and loving to others. Even then, know that the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts.
Comments
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 7:27 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 8:14 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 8:37 am
I agree the best response is to pray for her and her family, and examine our own lives in view of the only true judge, the Lord.
I am most saddened for how we seem to be bent on justice served and feel it was not. American justice was served and God's justice will be served as we all stand before him
One day. Isn't that what we really want? That Casey and all her family be right before God? We aren't the judge and I am praying she can see past us and hear God. This is my prayer for me, my family and our whole country. That we Would humble ourselves before the Lord and repent. Instead of gossip, and judging one another, What would God want us to do? Get on our face before Him and pray for us all. This case is just a microcosm of the heart of our country. May we return to him! May we seek Him while He may still be found. May the hearts of those return to you with broken
Contrite hearts. Lord we desperately need you!
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 8:54 am
This be an opportunity to tell my kids that nothing they can ever do will cause me or God not to love them. And that no sin is to great that God can't forgive if we truly are broken and seek forgiveness. I think our kids feel the pressure of being perfect and that's not gods message. Through Christ alone and following Christ in our lives we can be forgiven and made a new creation and be used to tell others of the love of Christ. So moms, let's all use discernment in how we speak
Of Casey. We are all desperately wicked without Christ. Our kids need to see that they can be forgiven when they fall just as I do.
The penalty of sin and live in his light.
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 9:17 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 9:27 am
It's also very sad to think that this woman will likely be pregnant again one day...
I am thankful for God's mercy and grace. But I also think that we sinful people often do not do things the way He would like us to - like judge by outter appearances???
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 9:47 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10:00 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10:34 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10:42 am
I think she should have been convicted of at least Child Endangerment or Neglect. It's not our right to condemn her but that is a right of the courts and I think they failed miserably. By law, crimes are supposed to be punished. If I don't make my child go to school, I would be charged with a misdemeanor count of Contributing to the Delequency of a Minor. It sickens me to think that she can be convicted of a similar level crime when she may have caused the death of her own precious gift from God.
Revenge is never good or necessary, no matter how strongly our hearts ache for it. I'm not condemning her. I just think the jury and the judge failed that little girl. My hope is that God will convict Casey for the rest of her life. That in itself would be a prison sentence of sorts. I will pray for her and her family. She'll need it.
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10:49 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 11:34 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 11:50 am
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 11:59 am
"We are not to judge hypocritically but we can judge biblically and in love. Do we know for sure she is guilty or some how involved? Probably not. We need to let God take this one and just pray for Casey and her family. And possibly ponder the sermon on the mount where Jesus explains God's standards are so high that anger in the heart is the same as murder."
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 12:06 pm
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Secondly, something awful happened to this little girl, but, based on the evidence that I know about, I could not bring a legal verdict of guilty. Scripture says that only on the testimony of two witnesses should someone be put to death. I grant that today those witnesses could be DNA evidence, fingerprints, etc., but the prosecution had none of those. The truth is, we really don't know what happened.
Thirdly, I would caution bloggers to double check their Scripture references. Any good Bible will note that this passage from John about the woman taken in adultery is questionable as to its authenticity. I would hesitate to use it to prove a point.
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 1:33 pm
All our righteousness is as filthy rags before our Lord and savior, He is the only one that can truly judge because He is the only one that can see your true heart. May each of you go humbly and in peace .
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 2:18 pm
My pastor asked us last week, 'If you were the only person in the world, would Jesus still have to face the complete agony of the cross for you?'. In other words, we must face that even our best is as filthy rags before the Lord, and none of us could stand before Him, if Jesus hadn't died for us, and we accepted the wonderful gift. That no matter how 'good' we think we are, we still need Jesus to pay our penalty. Ms. Anthony is no worse than each of us, for we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. And for this, I am so grateful!
on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 3:53 pm
About 3 decades ago, my family experienced death of two relatives who were killed by a group of men. They were stabbed multiple times and died at the hospital. It was a tragic time for my family losing two people to a brutal death. Certainly media was involved in the reporting and anger and fear grew in the community and in the region. The men were in prison and their families experienced hardships and were ostracized by people. In the end, the men were in prison, but both my family and the murderers families suffered.
I just wanted to say it's easy for people to talk about forgiveness and justice, but if you are a victim of a crime then a person may change feelings, who does not want to forgive, forget, and wants the person punished. I can understand if a person does not want to forgive, forget, and wants a person punished for crimes and such. The 9-11 attack is a good example how US searched for OBL and he was killed by the Seals and how people were happy about that especially, the victims families.
This issues of forgiveness and such is sensitive. It's easy for most to talk about forgiveness, but very different if you are a victim.
on Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 12:07 am
But how can people keep overlooking the fact that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty? There was simply not any evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she was guilty. I applaud those jurors for being able to look past their own feelings and see that the prosecutor could not prove her guilt. People, we don't know what happened to that baby. For all we know, Casey Anthony may not know either. I feel extremely blessed that I don't have to stand before human beings for my judgment. Only a righteous, merciful God.
As far as forgiveness goes, the Bible also clearly teaches that if we refuse to forgive, our Father will not forgive us either. It is hard sometimes, of course. But living a Christian life is not exactly easy. I know how it feels to lose a family member to a brutal murder. My cousin was beaten, raped, stabbed, and run over by a car. Her body could only be identified by a tattoo that she had. The man was caught, tried, and convicted, but I can honestly say that I hope he finds God's forgiveness and I harbor no ill feelings towards him. Forgiving someone is actually a very liberating experience. When you hold a grudge, you are hurting yourself, not the other person. There are a lot of things that are easier said than done, but that doesn't relieve us of our responsibility to do them.
Love in Christ to you all!
on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 12:32 pm
"No sin is greater than another in the eyes of God!"
on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Jesus says forgive people, but people don't understand what that really means. When some people look at verses about forgiveness, they believe that they can do whatever they want and later be forgiven by God. God doesn't forgive all people and he evaluates people daily. There are people who attend religious services and such, but don't really incorporate messages of the Bible in their daily lives. There are many people who ignore the world's poor and how many can say that they do services to combat that or other social issues. I don't believe God forgives everyone even if they asked and that's my opinion.
on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 11:28 pm
While forgiveness applies to those who truly understand how their actions hurt others and understand the good vs evil battle. God doesn't expect us to be perfect but he expects us to fulfill our true nature and rise above challenges not within our lives, but in a greater degree. It's easy for people to recite verses or do certain things while ignoring others. When Jesus says the word Godly it means carrying the cross and trying to live a life that Jesus had. Forgiveness isn't I'm sorry and expect Jesus to be okay with things. Forgiveness isn't applied to all people even if they ask. It's those that understand how their actions hurt others and those who understand what Jesus is about especially when battling evil.
on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 11:53 pm
on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 1:06 pm
on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 10:19 pm
I was not convinced she murdered her child. I am convinced that no matter what God is a God of mercy and Grace we must love those who are lost everyone has sin it is up to them to admit it and repent of it!
on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 12:44 pm