Lines Blurred

Cops and robbers, cowboys and idians, russia and the usa. As a kid I had a pretty good idea of who the were the good guys and who the enemy was. It was very black and white. All indians were bad, all robbers were horrible, and the russians were of no use. It is great to have an enemy, someone that a group can villify and make into the enemy. Of course as we get older we realize that cops can also be robbers, the cowboys were not all good, and the russians were people too.
I know I want it black and white, I catch myself many times saying "he/she is a good person." They may have some qualities that I enjoy but I am sure if I was to spend every waking hour with them they may have some not so good qualities also. It makes me feel better when I can quantify if some is good or bad though. Over the course of the last five years I have met many people who have committed horrific crimes. Teaching in a maximum security prison has changed my perception and has blurred many lines that I had. Black and white is now not the only colors. Talking and shaking hands with a man who has killed mulitiple people, hugging a man who has molested numerous children is a strange feeling. Are these people all bad? No, but as I have begun to get to know these people it has blurred many lines and feelings of who people are. I have to believe that at our worst moments we are capable of commiting atrocious acts, and on these men spending their lives in prison in their best moments they are people we could enjoy and spend quality time with.
Even with those moments and meeting those men the most line blurring thus far happened to me last week. I have a friendship with a man who is convicted of a sex crime. It involved a minor and he lives within 1/4 a mile from my house. It has been easy to befriend people in prison because they are put away from society and I can visit and then come back to my life and not let the two interfere. This situation is different. Sex offenders are the modern day version of lepers. Most of us are scared and worried of these people that many don't even deem as human. Is it ok what they did? Absolutely not, and punishment is part of the consequences and solution to the problem. There are many who I know (and I am sure people I know that have never told me) that have been sexually abused. My heart breaks for these people.
My heart also breaks for the offenders. God created them also, and it is not the trendy or best church growth plan to befriend sex offenders. The scenerio that happened last week was my friend who was convicted of a sex offense had a meeting on friday with his probation officer. A couple of us went along to offer support because we knew it could be rough. My friend was accused of driving through my neighborhood suspiciously. He was put under house arrest until the situation was sorted out.
There were two diametrically opposed thoughts that came to my mind immediately. The first was I am so glad for my own kids safety that any suspicious activity from a sex offender is dealt with swiftly and until the truth comes to light they are locked away. The other side of me thinks of this friend of mine. The case was flimsy at best and after hearing the story realized he wasn't in my neighborhood or had anything to do with this incident. I realized that yes he was convicted of doing something horrible. It has ruined his life in many ways the suspicion is always going to be there. Any time anyone is mad they can accuse him and he could be locked up. Anytime there is an incident he will be the first to be accused.
I have heard it many times someone like that will never change. Really? if I believe in a God that cannot change sex offenders than I believe in the wrong God. This is where the lines get blurry. Of course none of us wants to see a sex offender reoffend, and for many these people are the scum of the earth (even in prison they are treated as scum). It would have been nice if the Bible had a list of people we could treat badly or hate. It didn't it said love your enemies. I have no idea how Jesus would have treated sex offenders, the only example I can see is how He treated the lepers. The people no one else wanted to be around. They had to yell out unclean,unclean keep away. Not a whole lot different than sex offenders today.Yet that didn't scare Jesus off. I still have my precautions and fear with sex offenders but by God's grace I will learn how to love them the way Jesus loved them in a safe protecting way.