Alright, after seeing all the hype, viewing the video myself and doing extensive research on the issue as well as asking God for insight, I have come to my conclusion on the Kony 2012 campaign. Here are my thoughts:
As a missionary and just a person who has general compassion toward justice issues, I totally agree that what Joseph Kony did was totally wrong and his actions are evil, but to call him evil is wrong. He is still a person just like you and I. He has free will and though he chooses to live for evil, it does not make him evil. I feel like we as Americans have taken the "justice" issue way too far. It angers me when we as a country proclaim a man to be evil and then go on a man hunt to take him down cursing him all the way and corporately hating him. I remember when we did it to Bin Laden, it broke my heart. Osama Bin Laden died a hated man and now we want to do the same thing to Kony? From what God's been teaching me about love, it just doesn't sound like something He would do. God loves both Bin Laden and Kony, not their actions but he loves them. We should too.
In all my researching, God reminded me of the story of Paul. But before he was Paul, he was Saul who just so happen to be a murderer of hundreds of Christians. He persecuted people for being followers of Christ. But one day, as he was traveling to massacre more Christians, God stopped him in his tracks and revealed Himself to Saul. All it took was one encounter with Christ and it changed the course of Saul's life. Why can't He do the same thing for Kony? Instead of making a video that doesn't give us much to do rather then bash a human being made in the image of God just like you and I, why are we not praying that Kony has a life changing God encounter. What if we took a day and instead of posting posters about an "evil" man we rallied together as the body of Christ to cry out on behalf of this man that God loves even despite his current choices. Prayer moves His heart. We have the power to change this situation for better or for worse. How we use our words for or against this man, will change the course of his life. In our words are either blessing or cursing. The way you respond will directly affect this man's life. Speak words of life. Reflect love.
Let's remember who Saul went on to be. Paul, an apostle of Christ who's ministry was immense! He wrote how many letters that uplifted and encouraged the body of Christ during some of Christianity's hardest times. He saw people healed and led so many to enter into the freedom that he found after just ONE encounter with Christ. That's all it takes. Joseph Kony has a future and a destiny. Let's pray that he finds out who he was meant to be.
So in conclusion, the video's purpose and all the controversy about it doesn't really matter. It's just more drama and debating that we don't need. The video's job was to bring awareness and it did just that. So now that we all know all about Joseph Kony, we can pray for him even more.
