Conflicted

I did not hear the news of Osama Bin Laden's death until early this morning.  My first reaction was only, "really?".  My feeling on the situation was not necessarily an overwhelming one.  I drove into work, came into the office and proceeded to check my email, call back a client and to start working on some documents.  After awhile, I proceeded to check facebook where I found myself starting to squirm in my chair with what I was reading and seeing.  While I understand that as American's we feel the need to celebrate this man's death as justice for the hundreds, even thousands of lives that have been lost due to his actions....I do feel uneasy with the outward, very un-Christianlike comments that are being posted.  I started to think I was the only one that felt this way until I ran across two verses that were posted by a friend who is also a pastor.

  "'Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?' declares the LORD. Rather, am I not    pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" Ezekiel 18:23

  "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice."  PROVERBS 24:17

 I immediately felt relief that there are those out there like me who feel uncomfortable with the celebration of someone's death. Before I get tons of posts debating this issue, let me say this: I am honored to be an American and am proud of the men and women who fight for our country every day. I am thrilled for the families who have lost loved ones at the hands of terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden that they may feel some sort of relief and that justice was served. I do not feel comfortable with people stating that they wish for Bin Laden to rot in hell. As the verse states above in Ezekiel: God would have been pleased if he had turned from his evil ways and lived. We should not take pleasure in the death of another, instead we should pray for him and the countless others who are under the impression that killing thousands of innocent people is "God's work".