Forgiveness and Hatred
Timothy Tin
With the increasing vaccination rate in the United States, various areas have begun to lift COVID-19 restrictions. However, the amount of Asian hate crime has not decreased. Asian groups no longer remain silent like before. They bravely step up and became advocates to fight for justice for the victims! Among the cases, the most worthy of our attention is the response of one of the victims to her attacker. According to a report by the New York Post on May 20, an Asian woman was continuously kicked on the head by an African-American man on the street of Manhattan. This Asian woman said that she forgave the man who attacked her and would pray for him. The perpetrator was 38-year-old Brandon Elliot, who was previously sentenced to 17 years in prison for killing his mother! The victim was 65-year-old Vilma Kari, who was violently attacked while she was on her way to church on Sunday, resulting in pelvic fracture. At that time, three strong men inside a luxury apartment witnessed the attack behind the glass but did not provide any help. They even closed the door! Vilma Kari does not hate the attacker, instead, in an interview with the TV show “Good Morning America”, she said, “This is the only thing I can do for him. I hope that one day he can turn from his old self or get proper support.” (https://www.sohu.com/a/467811547_162758) How can she have such a mindset?
The words and deeds of this lady let the world see two strong contrasts between the beauty and the ugliness of human nature. First of all, we saw the ugliness of racial discrimination and hatred. Violence shows the ugliness of human sins. Perpetrators have repeatedly vented their anger and hatred to innocent and vulnerable groups. What they have shown is not only personal spiritual and emotional problems, but the ugly culture of racial discriminations, hatred toward the society, and coldhearted bystanders. Do not think that those who are well-dressed, well-educated, rich and have high social status are able to hide evilness and wickedness in their hearts. The evilness of human heart can be seen clearly no matter who you are, whether you are mentally ill, homeless, or cybercrime criminals who always hide at home.
Let’s look at the victim Vilma Kari. She does not have hatred as a result of the perpetrator’s evil deeds, and when the perpetrator exposed the ugliest human nature, she was able to show her beautiful heart! We believe that only true caring people in the world can forgive those who hurt them. Vilma Kari’s love comes from the most beautiful choice in human nature: she chose goodness and does not choose revenge; she chose to forgive, Instead of hate, she chose to free herself out of anger. Although she suffered physical pain and psychological fright, she still bravely step out of the shadow of fear and chose to forgive the attacker with love. Because of this, she can free her soul. She will not fall into the abyss of self-resentment because of the evil deeds of others. Those who are full of hatred in their hearts will always be bound by their own resentment, even if they can escape from the police after committing crimes, their souls will never be free!
Therefore, the true freedom of life lies in the choice of “love” and “hate”. Brandon Elliott chose to “hate” and killed her mother in the past, and now he violently attacked an Asian woman. No matter how many times he goes in and out of the prison, he will never be able to get rid of his evilness and escape the judgment of God! Vilma Kari has chosen “love” and is willing to forgive Brandon Elliott. How is she able to make this choice? This is because she had chosen God’s love a long time ago. She chose Jesus Christ’s forgiving love for sinners. When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross by the wicked, Jesus also prayed for forgiveness to God, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Dear friends, are you unable to free yourself from the hatred that was resulted from the evil deeds of others? Have your hearts become ugly because of the ugliness of the wicked? I hope the love of Jesus can awaken your inner conscious and see the beauty of human nature and freedom from sins. The choice of “love” and “hate”, “freedom from sins” and “enslaved to sins” will affect your life’s destiny. Believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ and accepting God’s forgiveness will determine your eternal destiny!
Author: Christian Alliance Bible Church in Los Angeles, CA
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