"What Would Jesus Have Done?"

In June 1998, three white men in rural Texas in the United States attacked James Byrd, Jr., a black man.  They took him to a remote, desolate area, beat him, and chained him to a pickup truck and dragged him three miles down the rode until his body hit a culvert.  this has been dubbed the decade's (1990's ) most horrific hate crime. 

Three sisters of James Byrd are Jehovah's Witnesses.  How do they feel about the perpetrators of this horrible crime?  In a joint statement, they said:  "Having a loved one tortured and lynched produced an unimaginable sense of loss and pain. How does one respond to such a brutal act?  Retaliation, hateful speech, or promotion of hate-ridden propaganda never entered our mind. We thought:  'What would Jesus have done?  How would he have responded?  The answer was crystal clear. His message would have been of peace and hope." 

Among the Scriptural references that helped them prevent hate from developing in their heart was Romans 12:17-19.  The apostle Paul wrote:  "Return evil for evil to no one. . . .if possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge yourselves beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written:  "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.

They continued:  "We recall the realistic statements made in our publications that some injustices or crimes are so horrendous that it will be harder to say, 'I forgive you' and just walk away.  Forgiveness  in such instances could be just letting go of the resentment so that one can move on with one's life and not become physically  or mentally ill because of harboring resentment."  What an eloquent testimony to the power or the Bible to prevent deep-seated hatred from taking root!

Next time: Changing Attitudes

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000