Hell Still Burns Hot

Henry Allen of the Washington Post has an opinion piece in today’s Washington Post that gives voice to a popular reaction to the death of Enron chief conspirator Kenneth Lay. The reaction goes like this: Why did he have to die, before spending a day in prison? It’s like he got off scot-free!

There was a day in America (an era we celebrated Tuesday), when no one publicly spouted such secular boloney. Most believed then, as many of us still do today, that at its best human justice was a noble attempt at mimicking the pure justice of God. Death was not a way out; it was merely a change in jurisdiction that placed criminals before a judge who saw right through their b.s. and gave them exactly what they deserved (though never without a degree of mercy).

Expressing disappointment at Kenneth Lay’s death is an act of hubris. It is to imply a belief that humankind’s feeble attempts at justice are better—more reliable, more firm, more tough, more fitting—than God’s justice.

That simply is not the case. Whether or not Kenneth Lay has gone to “a better place” only God knows. We can know for certain, however, that he has gone before a better judge.