2 Peter 3:1 “… stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.”

We are imperfect people, and that’s why sometimes as Christians, we have knee-jerk reactions to things. In a moment we get angered and lash out, someone says something and before thinking it through, we immediately give a response that is in one way or another out of context with the discussion.

There might be a knee-jerk reaction by some Christian people who have been so turned off and appalled by the rejection of God and the wicked behavior coming out of Hollywood, to see all these homes burn down and think “I told you so” or something along that line. It can be easy for anyone to see the problem someone finds themself in and to think, “serves you right.”

In Luke chapter 9, Jesus and his disciples are in route to Jerusalem by way of a Samaritan village. The Samaritans rejected Jesus and this angered his disciples, particularly James and John. 

James and John ask Jesus to call fire out of Heaven to consume this Samaritan village and they even referenced God using Elijah to do this in the Old Testament.

But this is a perfect example of people taking scripture and using it to satisfy their own self-righteousness or their own sense of justice.

Here’s what Jesus said when his disciples thought a village being consumed by fire was a just response for rejecting Jesus:

Jesus said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the son of man, came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

If you’re of any other mind than one of compassion and the desire to bring these people to an acceptance of Christ, you may be of some other spirit than the Holy Spirit.

Be careful, Christian, there are snares out there we can get caught in when we try to reconcile the world according to our own sense of justice, - our test of greatness has everything to do with being like Christ, not of finding agreement in the misfortune of others no matter how “just” it seems to our fallen senses.