David Bahn – Reflections

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Laws against hate crimes don’t impress me much. In my mind, murder is murder, aggravated assault is  aggravated assault; both are illegal and detestable. But my dislike for hate crime laws has much more to do with the issue of judging people’s motives than it does with whether someone is more or less aggrieved because he is a member of a minority or a certain protected group. Indeed, if someone is killed because he is homosexual or hispanic, the whole group suffers on some level. And if that group is perceived to be the focus of special persecution, it heightens the impact of the crime.

The problem is with the state’s attempt at judging motives. Every crime is an expression of hatred toward someone. Every crime is a crime against society as well as against the individual victim and his family. Most important, however, is that the state has no valid basis to judge people’s motives; that’s God’s prerogative. He alone can see the heart. He alone can weigh the reasons and test the motives of our actions. In fact we have a difficult time of understanding our own motives – much less those of others!

If, however, we wish to test our own motives we have a tool by means of which we may do so. The word of God goes to the heart. The word of God exposes our motives, thoughts, and intentions. So whenever we read God’s word and there is a quickening of our pulse, an unsettling of our spirit, or even the faintest a tap on the edge of our conscience, we know that some motive or thought has been revealed.

Any time that happens the call of God is the same: repent and believe. Repentance is a change of mind and heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Belief is the act of acting on that change of heart and mind – by the same power of the Holy Spirit. When the living and active word of God reveals some thought or intention you can be sure that God’s motive is to bring us closer to himself. His intent is always good, and he is forever calling us to repent and believe the Good New of his love in Christ.