October 2006 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Chaplain’s Corner – October 23, 2006
Rev. Rich Hines
Answering The Victims of Crime
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as
their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain in a jail, prison
or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the
Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any deviation from the NKJV text is
placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations
from the original languages, or as notes from the original setting to help
apply the text to today’s culture.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make
a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
This month I want to address a challenge you Chaplains may often face. It’s
dealing with the victim of a crime. There may be times when you will talk to
the outside victim, but more often than not, you’ll end up counseling an inmate
who has become a victim of another’s crime, while in the facility. It’s true,
that those who have victimized others often become in time, victims of the
crimes of others.
When I served as Chaplain and dealt with such a victim, especially of a violent
crime on the inside, I always ended up taking them to Proverbs 3:31,32. There,
the Scripture says:
31 Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret
counsel is with the upright.
Let me break this down a little for you. In verse 31, “Envy” can mean either
envy or “to be jealous of” someone. The Hebrew word comes from the root idea of
being zealous, so the word HEAVILY INVOLVES THE EMOTIONS. God’s wisdom here in
Proverbs warns the true believer NOT TO BECOME LIKE THEIR OPPRESSORS.
This word, “Oppressor,” is a compound word. One side of it stresses this person
is a male, the other side relates to their wrongdoing or to the evil done,
especially in violent acts. The word also focuses on the resultant DAMAGE done
to their victims. The oppressor is the damager.
But it says to “CHOOSE none of his ways.” “Choose” means to select, which gives
the idea of selecting from a list of possible actions – both mental and
physical. “Choose none of his WAYS.” “Ways” refers both to a specific mode of
action and then also, a general course of life. God’s wisdom says, don’t select
the option to act or think like the evil attacker.
31 Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His (the LORD’S)
secret counsel is with the upright.
“Perverse person” in verse 32, refers to the one that turns aside and departs
from the right way of living. He turns aside from God’s way. The perverse
person is a morally twisted person. In verse 32 they are the same one as the
“Oppressor” in verse 31. The singular is used in both verses because here God
is talking about a specific incident with a singular attacker-victimizer.
Verse 32 says this attacker is an “ABOMINATION to the LORD.” The word
abomination means that which is abhorrent, disgusting even to the point of
nausea.
This brings to mind verses like Revelation 3:16 where Jesus said to fake Christians
-
“… so then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will VOMIT
you out of My mouth.”
That’s a strong way of saying He will have nothing good to do with them. They
won’t be in heaven with Him because they are abhorrent to Him. Look again at
Proverbs 3:32,
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but (THIS IS A HINGE
WORD) His secret counsel is with the upright.
God’s “SECRET COUNSEL is with the upright.” What a tremendous promise! The
UPRIGHT (most literally, “the straight” one) is the person that is the opposite
of the morally twisted person, the perverse person. His life is in line with
the true will and way of God.
To be in THIS WAY, a man or woman must be in a oneness with God through the
salvation only His grace can supply. They must be a “Believer” as defined by
the Bible. In other words, today - they must truly be a person that is “in
Christ.”
It’s always right and good to evangelize with Christ’s gospel, any victim of
crime! After all, without God, they are without the Ultimate Comforter. Without
Christ, they are without God.
God’s “Secret counsel” in verse 32, is His CLOSE INTIMATE DELIBERATION. This is
all about a personal relationship with the Eternal, Almighty, All-Knowing
Sovereign of the universe. This is something only reserved for those in a right
relationship with God through a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s
substitutionary death and resurrection that conquers sin.
Any victim needs comfort and restoration. Ultimately, that cannot come from another
human being. It has to come from God, and God alone. So, always seek to
evangelize your counselees. If they are already saved then the Proverbs passage
is really something they can lock onto.
Look at it again, it says to them:
31 Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret
counsel is with the upright.
I want to go a little deeper with this. When anyone is a victim, something
happens BEYOND THE INCIDENT. Something inside wants to react and eventually
become like the victimizer. We think, “He did it to me, I’ll do it to him – or
to someone else.”
If we allow ourselves to be victimized by our own sinful thoughts or even the
schemes of the evil forces around us, eventually we WILL BECOME LIKE THE
PERVERSE PERSON. We then will be an abomination to the Lord, and be out of the
arena of God’s secret counsel that comforts.
Believers that are victims of crime need to be counseled from the Bible. Here’s
another great passage to have them consider. Romans 12:17-21 –
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all
men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath (meaning
leave it up to God’s righteous wrath); for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I
will repay,” Says the Lord.
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a
drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” (a quote from
Proverbs 25:21,22)
But, what does that last phrase mean? Heaping “coals of fire” on the “head” -
in a pan balanced on the head, was an ancient Middle-Eastern custom. It was a
way of showing burning guilt and shame. The idea then is that the enemy would
be shamed into considering repentance. That interpretation goes with the tone
and context of the whole passage as emphasized in the final verse:
21 Do not be overcome (conquered) by evil, but overcome (conquer) evil with
good.
In a passage that began at verse 17 with, “Repay no one evil for evil.” The
idea in verse 21 must be - do not be ruled and conquered by YOUR OWN EVIL
RESPONSE TO EVIL DONE TO YOU, rather conquer THAT EVIL with doing good.
Which brings us back to where we started in Proverbs 3:21,22
31 Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret
counsel is with the upright.
This whole matter of not taking revenge, not getting even and not paying them
back, runs counter-culture to inmate society. BUT TRUE BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY
HAS ALWAYS BEEN COUNTER-CULTURE. Jesus widened the concept of allowing
ourselves to be taken advantage of, in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
5:38-42-
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.’
39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your
right cheek (an ultimate insult – with the back of the hand), turn to him the
other also.
40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, (which civil law said
was a far as they could go) let him have your cloak also.
41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, (Roman soldiers were allowed to
impress conquered citizens to carry their packs for just one mile) go with him
two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not
turn away.
The Spirit speaking through Christ’s Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 6:7
7 … Why do you not rather ACCEPT WRONG? Why do you not rather LET YOURSELVES BE
CHEATED?
The same Holy Spirit through the writer to the Hebrews in commending the past
good character and good action of the believers, wrote in Hebrews 10:32-24 -
32 … recall the former days in which, AFTER YOU WERE ILLUMINATED (meaning with
God’s light and were saved) you endured a great struggle with sufferings:
33 partly while you were made a spectacle both in reproaches and tribulations,
and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated;
34 for you had compassion on me in my chains (or ‘on the prisoners’) and
JOYFULLY ACCEPTED THE PLUNDERING OF YOUR GOODS, knowing that you have a better
possession for yourselves in heaven.
As the counselee asks “Why?” “Why can’t I take revenge?” You can say – so that
you show the sinner the character of a good and merciful God in heaven who is
ready to forgive you and them, through Jesus Christ.
May God bless His word to its hearers as you give it to them, dear Chaplains,