Don’t Turn the Forgiveness of Officer Amber Guyger Into Something It’s Not

You’ve undoubtedly seen this photograph.

It’s telling that — in our day and age — a singular act of grace can become so marred in controversy. But, then again, grace has always been controversial.

For those who don’t know: This is a picture of Brandt Jean embracing Amber Guyger. Brandt is the brother of Botham Jean, a black man shot and killed in his own apartment after Amber Guyger, a police officer, mistakenly entered his apartment thinking it was her own.

During Guyger’s sentencing hearing, Brandt delivered a statement to Guyger that perfectly encapsulates Jesus’ message of “enemy love” in the Sermon on the Mount.

I dare you to watch the video of Jean’s statement with dry eyes.

But.

There’s certainly a lesson to be learned here.
I just hope we’re not learning the wrong one.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a story about a man who has a large debt forgiven by the King. However, as the recently-forgiven man is leaving the palace, he encounters a servant who owes him a little bit of money.

Instead of extending the King’s spirit of forgiveness, the man demands the servant pay him what he owes. When the King gets…