There are some statements that sound powerful when spoken in anger, but become frightening when you stop and think about their consequences.
“Kill them and ask God for forgiveness. He will understand. Don’t let them kill you. They will ask God for forgiveness.”
Really?
Is that the kind of advice we want to give people in a society where one misunderstanding can quickly become a fight, a fight can become an attack, and an attack can end with someone lying dead?
We need to be careful about the messages we put into people's minds.
Survival is not revenge
Nobody wants to become a victim of violence. When a person is confronted with a genuine and immediate threat to their life, protecting themselves or another person can be necessary.
But there is a line between defending yourself and taking revenge.
If someone attacks you and you manage to escape, you have survived.
If you stop the immediate threat and get yourself and others to safety, you have protected life.
But if the danger has passed and you deliberately go looking for the person because you want to kill them, that is no longer simply about survival.
That is revenge.
And revenge has a way of creating more revenge.
“God will forgive me”
Perhaps the most dangerous part of the statement is the assumption that forgiveness can be used as a licence before committing an irreversible act.
“I will kill him and ask God for forgiveness later.”
But what if the person you kill also has children?
What if somebody is waiting for them at home?
What if the person was someone's father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife or best friend?
What happens to those people?
And what happens to you after the anger disappears?
The reality is that death does not come with a rewind button.
You cannot bring somebody back because you later realised that you acted in anger.
What about the person who wants to kill you?
This is where the argument becomes complicated.
What if somebody genuinely intends to kill you?
Should you simply stand there and allow yourself to die?
No.
Self-preservation is a natural human instinct. People have a right to protect themselves and others from serious and immediate harm.
But the goal should be to stop the threat, not to satisfy hatred.
If there is a safe way to escape, seek help, alert the police or protect yourself without taking a life, that option should not be ignored.
The difference matters.
“They will ask God for forgiveness”
There is another strange logic hidden in the statement.
“They will ask God for forgiveness.”
So because another person might be forgiven for killing you, you should kill them first?
If everybody thinks that way, then every violent person can convince themselves that they are the victim before they become the aggressor.
One person attacks.
Another retaliates.
A family seeks revenge.
Another family responds.
Then another person joins.
Before long, what started as one confrontation becomes a cycle of violence that nobody knows how to end.
We need fewer excuses for violence
Our communities already have enough problems without turning religious language into justification for violence.
Faith should teach people to value life, exercise restraint, seek peace and accept responsibility for their actions.
Forgiveness is important.
But forgiveness does not mean there should be no accountability.
A person can forgive someone and still report them.
A family can forgive and still seek justice.
A community can promote peace without pretending that wrongdoing never happened.
Before you act, think beyond the moment
Anger is temporary.
The consequences of some actions are permanent.
That is why, before you pick up a weapon, attack someone or make a decision that could end a life, ask yourself one question:
“Am I protecting a life, or am I allowing anger to decide who deserves to live?”
The answer could determine the rest of your life.
So perhaps we should rewrite the statement.
Not:
“Kill them and ask God for forgiveness.”
But:
“Protect yourself. Protect others. Stop the danger. Seek help. Pursue justice. And whenever possible, choose a solution that preserves life.”
Because asking God for forgiveness after an irreversible act should never be used as permission to commit that act in the first place.
Life is precious. Anger passes. Death does not.
What do you think? Is there ever a situation where killing in self-defence is justified, or should there always be another way? Share your thoughts.
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