#117of365 #FaithBites #FaithJourney

Today’s lesson is about seeing the value of someone’s contributions to the world, even if they have been a bad person at one or more times in their lives. I love superhero movies. I went to see Avengers: Infinity War last night and really enjoyed it. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. What strikes me as I watch more and more superhero shows, there are good people who do bad things (Batman and Deadpool for instance) and bad people who do good things (Killer Frost and Deadshot for example). These make our characters deeper. We see that they may have been evil vile people, but then choose to save a life or sacrifice themselves for the greater good. At the same time, we see our role models, the heroes perform acts less than admirably (see the Green Arrow for example).  This makes us love our heroes and villains. They aren’t all bad, they aren’t all good. They are people like us. We make mistakes. We sin. We screw up. We repent. One action, shouldn’t erase all of the good things we did or our contributions.

To step into the real world, let’s look at Bill Cosby for instance. He is now guilty of serious crimes. He will be punished for those. He should not be lauded or put on a moral high ground. His work as a comedian though is solid gold. He was America’s Dad. Many of us watched the Cosby show. similarly, many liberals can’t stand to watch Roseanne because she supports Donald Trump. Her work in the 90s was great and the new revival tackles many of issues that hit all of us today.

The bible is very clear on forgiveness of sins. We talked about that in a previous faithbites. We have also talked about the Lord being around you at all times.

“The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17

“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” – Ephesians 4:28

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Matthew 7:1-2

Jesus saves. Jesus forgives. We need to look at someone as a whole person, not just one action, even if it is terrible. They will be punished by the law and if they repent, they will be forgiven by the Lord. We don’t need to take that anger and hate into ourselves. We can enjoy entertainment for what it is. We can remember how we felt when we watched the Cosby show and still despise the crimes he committed. We can watch Roseanne and see how she is addressing many issues in her show even if we don’t agree with who she supports.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not easy at all. It is hard to separate it. And yes, there is a difference between one crime and someone continuing to do it. I have found myself empathizing with Villians on the screen. seeing their motives and seeing the good in the face of horrific evil. This, to me, is what it means to be a full person.

Are you able to look at someone as a whole person? The good and the bad? Are you willing to see the contributions as well as the harm to society?

I am willing (with the help of God).