Crime.

I always found it fascinating that visiting people in prison was included in the virtues rewarded by God in Matthew 25.

This should give us some idea of God's attitude to criminals and crime itself.

Certainly God does not write them off in the way that most modern people do.

There is no cry for harsh penalties or the lock them up and throw away the key approach.

There are no Burn in Hell headlines that we see in the media.

Instead God treats prisoners as human beings.

He tries to help them and restore them to society.

This hints at Restorative Justice.

God's approach is rehabilitation, re-education, and reform.

There are reasons why people turn to crime.

Not the least of these being the criminal oppression imposed by plutocrats.

Corporations and businesses expect everything and give nothing in return.

Entrenched poverty and injustice are strong motivations for crime.

But most of all God loves His children even if they are criminals.

In my experience God punishes no one.

He writes off our debts and lets us start again.


Photo Credit: ewar woowar Flickr via Compfight cc