“The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’”-Genesis 4:6-7
There is a special class of criminal prosecution based on, “federal hate crimes laws (HC).” The first HC legislation was passed in 1968 with another bill signed into law in 20091. The current rise in HC prosecutions came after a man named Matthew Shepard was beaten to death in 1998 because of his homosexual lifestyle.
[Please bear with me for a second as I make a secular, legal point. (thanks-JS)]
This added layer of criminality is in addition to the actual facts of any crime. So a prosecutor must prove you are guilty of a crime and then, separately, that your motivation to commit the act was grounded in some form of socially motivated hate (race, lifestyle, politics, gender, sports fandom). That has always seemed unnecessary to me and I would think makes prosecution needlessly more difficult. Would I rather prove someone was guilty of killing someone (at the scene, murder weapon, motive, eye-witnesses) or do I want the legal system based on proving the level of social “hate” a criminal has toward the victim? Murder is bad. If you commit the crime, you should pay the penalty. I fact, the two men who killed Shephard were found guilty and are serving two life sentences under normal criminal statutes.
[Thank you for your patience. Now for biblical analysis.-JS]
From a godly perspective, all crime is motivated by hate. Therefore, Christians cannot be content with simply refraining from murder. We must remove the hate in our hearts. Jesus drills this home in the sermon on the mount; “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;”-Matthew 5:21-22. Our Lord makes the same point about adultery (Matthew 5:27-30) and resentful hate (Matthew 5:43-48). There is no crime without the unchecked cravings of the flesh, eyes, and pride of what we have and do (I John 2:16).
The first homicide in the history of the world started with hurt feelings and hate that was allowed to fester. In Genesis chapter four, Cain was angry with his brother because God viewed Abel’s sacrifice as superior. Notice God personifies Cain’s anger and says it “is crouching at the door” to control him. God cautions Cain to “rule over it” and to do well so he will be acceptable in the Lord’s sight.
It was not for the hate in his heart that God punished Cain. It was the actual act of murder. In the same way, we can be tempted to sin and not actually sin. James tells us, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”-James 1:14-15. We can be tempted and even desire to sin without sinning. Jesus proved that himself (Luke 4:3-13; Hebrews 2:18). What all Christians strive for is a removal of sinful motivation from our hearts. We must be converted in body, mind, and Spirit to the will of God and God’s holiness leaves no room for hate, jealousy, or covetousness. Our only crime should be overcoming fear with love.
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