Lie #7

Let's revisit another lie-- something the world tells us that we sometimes unquestioningly believe.

Lie #7:

Vengeance is sweet.

This weekend, I enjoyed my first Western and saw the remake of True Grit.   **spoiler alert**

Persistent 14 year-old Mattie Ross journeys to Fort Smith, Arkansas in the 1870s, determined to extract justice for her father's death.  Mattie bargains for the assistance of the U.S. Marshall Cogburn: "they tell me you are a man of true grit."  With the help of the drunkard U.S. Marshall and a stubborn Texas Ranger, they journey across the Indian Territory to capture Tom Chaney, her father's remorseless murderer, and have him hanged for the crime.  The trio persevere the harsh elements of the land, the constant threat of harm, and encounter both the dead and soon-to-be-dead.  'True grit' aptly describes not only the whiskey-prone quarrelsome Rooster Cogburn, but also the egocentric talkative tongue-tied Ranger LeBoeuf, and surprisingly the the tenacious, feisty, smart-tongued Mattie.  Mattie is coming-of-age in a ruthless world, and Mattie relates with Cogburn and LeBoeuf as twisted father and brother figures.  But I digress....

Mattie unexpectedly stumbles on the trail of the murderous Chaney when she goes alone to draw water from the nearby river.  She hesitates to shoot, and is instead abducted.  Mattie has a second opportunity.  The moviegoer watches as Cogburn gets sidetracked, LeBoeuf takes a blow to the head, and young Mattie confronts Chaney face-to-face.  Shotgun in hand, she points the barrel at Chaney.  The entire theater fell silent, wondering: would she do it?  Could she kill him?  After all, he murdered her father in cold blood.  Would she pardon him, as her father had?  That mercy cost her father his life.  As I watched the film, I silently wished she would show him mercy.  But there was a part of me that wanted her to avenge her father's death.  I'm not sure even Mattie gave this choice much thought.  She pulled the trigger and Chaney fell.  I didn't know whether to cheer or cry.  All three returned home from their adventure, minus the arm Mattie lost due to snakebite.

In the final scene of the movie, a gray-haired Mattie Ross returns to Arkansas to seek out her childhood companions, unsuccessfully.  She is depicted as a cold, hardened, old maid.  Her lips are tight, and her eyes are steeled.  Retribution had become a thief.  Mattie's quest for justice stole not only her arm.  She lost her compassion and mercy.

We often rejoice at justice served.  Did some of us applaud as Stephen King's Carrie set the prom ablaze after being the victim of cruel schoolgirl jokes?  Kill Bill (which I have never seen) grossed $70M in the name of revenge.  Braveheart, V for Vendetta, Gladiator, Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan, and even the almost-chick-flick Sleeping with the Enemy depict revenge as a major plot.  I was even pulling for the brainiacs in Revenge of the Nerds.  My kids cheered on The Karate Kid. On the flip side, we are uneasy with a due-punishment thwarted (The Lovely Bones).

The need to enforce punishment and inflict suffering on those who've wronged us seems to be a primal urge, fueled by wrath and fury.  Revenge, simply, is getting even.  It is the dark side of reciprocity.  This is a far cry from the lessons we believe in scripture:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:
     "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
     if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
     In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. --Romans 12:17-21, Proverbs 25: 21-22

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. --Leviticus 19:17

What good comes of exacting revenge on another?  Do we find peace through revenge?  I don't think so.  I suspect Mattie Ross lived a life devoid of love after vindicating her father's death.  She chose to exhume the body of Cogburn and relocate it to her family plot.  It was the closest she ever got to giving him thanks.  I suspect that if you were to peel away the scab of bitterness, vengeance may be the underlying wound that never healed.

There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground. --Amos 5:6

Do you think the world lies to us by suggesting we should seek our own justice and vengeance?  Can you think of a time when you 'enjoyed sweet revenge'?  How did it affect you?  How did it affect others?