You have probably heard the question, “Does the end justify the means?”
I have been thinking about that question a great deal lately.
It is remarkable how easily we can convince ourselves that almost anything is acceptable if the outcome seems important enough. We say that we are doing “whatever is necessary” to get the job done, protect what matters, or make sure things are done “correctly.”
But who decides what is necessary? Who defines what is correct? And what happens to the people who are harmed along the way?
When Progress Comes at the Expense of People
History is filled with examples of people being exploited in the name of progress, stability, wealth, and power.
Slavery was defended for generations because it benefited economies and enriched those who held power. Human beings were treated as property because their suffering was considered less important than someone else’s prosperity.
I hope we can agree that slavery, in any form, is horrendous. No economic benefit can justify the devaluing, abuse, and destruction of human life.
Political movements have also committed terrible atrocities while claiming to serve a greater cause. Again and again, people have decided that their desired outcome was important enough to excuse cruelty, oppression, and violence.
The pattern is painfully familiar. Someone is identified as the problem. Someone is made into the enemy. Someone becomes expendable.
Apparently, there always has to be a bad guy.
The Need to Create an Enemy
Once we label someone as the enemy, it becomes much easier to ignore their humanity.
We stop seeing a person made in the image of God. We see only a category, a threat, an obstacle, or a symbol of everything we oppose.
People are belittled and devalued simply because they do not fit the preferred cultural, political, or social viewpoint.
Look at the way public conversations are often framed. Watch the news. Read the headlines. Pay attention to social media. Notice who is presented as the enemy, and then ask why.
Why do we need to tear others down in order to feel that we are making progress?
Why do we make other people into villains when we may actually be afraid of people, ideas, or situations that are different from us?
Why does someone else have to lose their dignity so that we can feel secure?
A Child’s Question About War
The other day, my daughter asked my brother, “Why are there wars?”
He explained that people do not always get along. Sometimes one group wants something another group has, and people fight in order to get their way.
My daughter gave a wonderfully simple answer:
“Why do they have to fight? Can’t they just do rock, paper, scissors?”
It was sweet, innocent, and funny.
But there was also a surprising amount of truth in it.
She could not understand why disagreement had to lead to destruction. She could not understand why getting our way would be worth hurting other people.
Perhaps children can sometimes see what adults have trained themselves not to notice.
What If We Treated People as Valuable?
So I have to ask a different set of questions.
What would happen if we treated every person as someone of incredible value?
What would happen if we listened before responding?
What would happen if we tried to understand the other side, even when we strongly disagreed?
What would happen if we honestly examined how our own fear, pride, anger, or selfishness contributed to the conflict?
What would happen if, instead of belittling, devaluing, or destroying others, we looked for common ground and worked toward a reasonable solution?
This does not mean pretending that every belief is equally true or that every action is acceptable. It does not mean ignoring injustice or refusing to confront evil.
It means refusing to become cruel in the name of being right.
It means recognizing that another person’s dignity does not disappear simply because we disagree with them.
The Harder Work of Looking Within
It is always easier to identify what is wrong with someone else.
It is much harder to look within ourselves.
Perhaps we are sometimes quick to find fault in others because we do not want to confront the wounded, fearful, or unhealed parts of our own lives.
Perhaps anger toward others allows us to avoid our own grief.
Perhaps making someone else the bad guy helps us escape responsibility for the ways we have contributed to division.
Jesus warned about seeing the speck in another person’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own. His words remain painfully relevant.
Real peace requires more than defeating an opponent. It requires humility, self-examination, truth, repentance, and a willingness to see other people as human beings rather than obstacles.
When Will the Fighting Stop?
When will the fighting stop?
When will the anger and hatred stop?
When will we stop searching for someone to blame?
When will we stop making enemies out of people we do not understand?
When will we look within ourselves and admit that some of the conflict around us may be connected to the conflict within us?
The end does not justify every means.
A good goal pursued through dehumanization, cruelty, or violence becomes corrupted along the way. We cannot build a just future by treating people unjustly. We cannot create peace through hatred. We cannot defend human dignity while denying it to those we dislike.
Perhaps the better question is not simply whether we can accomplish our goal.
Perhaps we should ask what kind of people we are becoming as we pursue it.
And perhaps the path forward begins when we stop asking who must be defeated and start asking how we can seek truth, justice, healing, and peace without losing sight of one another’s humanity.
R Y A N S T R A T T O N 