Black and White: Explaining the Death of Bin Laden

At the beginning of this week, Michael and I were all snug in our bed as is our Sunday evening tradition.  I have a long-standing Sunday evening date with ABC.  Michael pretends to not enjoy it, but after years of my 21st century soaps, as he calls them, I think he is also secretly addicted.  When the last bit of Brothers and Sisters was interrupted for a news brief I said, "Ugh!  This better be good!"

By now you all know what the new brief was regarding; it was ten years in the making after all.  The announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death at first shocked me.  Then it made me gleeful.  That emotion was quickly replaced with but remorse.  As a Christian, how can I find happiness in the death of another human being?  But then again, one could almost argue that Bin Laden wasn't human.  He was more a monster than a man.  Right?  I kept these thought tucked inside my head as I watched the new brief unfold and tried to make sense of it all.  But still the following verse kept reeling through my head:

Matthew 10:29-31

"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a 

penny, can fall to the ground without your 

Father knowing it. And the very hairs on 

your head are all numbered. So don’t be 

afraid; you are more valuable to Him than 

a whole flock of sparrows."

The next morning, my mom stopped by on her way into work.  She asked if I had heard the good news.  I said that I had and yes, it was a relief to not have to worry any more about Bin Laden.  We then when on to talk about our concerns about possible retaliation attacks against to US by other terrorists.  After all, Bin Laden hadn't exactly pulled off any of his stunts alone.  He had armies of men, women and children brainwashed and trained in his school of thought.

Upon her departure, my ever inquisitive children asked who died.  I got a knot in my stomach and thought, "Okay God.  I could use a little help here.  How am I suppose to explain this one?"

I told them that a really, really bad guy who had done some horrible things had been found after a long time of searching and had been killed.  Seven-year-old Ray said, "Oh!  Good!  They finally got that bad guy who broke into a house over by Blake!"

Hmmmm....  What am I suppose to say to that?  Yes.  That was a bad guy, but this guy was even 'badder'?  Despite the fact that 'badder' is not a word, I knew that wasn't going to cut it.  Kids are kids.  They know good.  They know bad.  They know black.  They know white.  Maybe we as adults are partly to blame.  We put so much emphasis on opposites: up/down, right/left, hot/cold, yes/no that maybe we make it difficult to understand there is a whole continuum; a whole scale of grey in between the black and white.

"No.  Not that guy Ray.  It was a different bad guy.  This man, Osama Bin Laden, has done some really bad things.  Before you were born, he planned for planes to crash into 2 important, big buildings.  It killed a lot of people and hurt a lot of others."

"Oh.  Well.  Good.  I'm glad he's dead."

Hmmmm....  Do I really want my children thinking it good someone is dead?  No.  I don't.  Life is precious.  All life.  But at the same time, IT'S OSAMA BIN LADEN for pete's sake!

"You know, that's how I felt at first too, but after I thought about it, I started wondering, 'I wonder how God feels knowing Bin Laden died.'  I bet it made him sad.  That makes me sad.  I wish there could've been a way for Bin Laden to change.  I wish we could've found a way to help him understand God's love and how God's love can change us."

This conversation has played out in mind many times through this week.  How do I help my children understand right from wrong, good from evil, black from white, but also help them to see that sometime there are some shades of grey?  I can't.  Not alone anyway.  That is why I am so thankful that I have God to help me through this journey of parenthood.

I've kept these feelings to myself all week this week  (I know, so not like me right?),  but I felt that maybe my feelings were wrong.  Maybe others would think I was a freak.  My thoughts even made me feel unpatriotic.  It's not that I'm wish Osama was still alive, but I do wish things could have been different.

A friend of mine posted the blog linked below.  It gave me permission to feel what I feel.  It made me realize that my confused feelings on the death of Bin Laden are not unjustified, un-American, or isolated.  I may not understand God's plan within all of this, but I'm sure glad He is in control.

view other blog about Bin Laden's death