"Dapat lang silang mamatay! Mga drug addict sila!" uttered a friend of mine while volunteering at a church event celebrating conversions.

Under normal circumstances, the scene might be ironic but sadly, this sentiment has become normal among some believers when it comes to extra-judicial killings or EJK---the controversial approach the Duterte administration has adopted in solving the nation's drug and crime problem. And this saddens me.

It saddens me that the lack of peace and order in our society and subsequent lack of confidence in our justice system became a breeding ground for such sentiments among people who are called to be salt and light of the earth. But the lack of concern for those who are perceived to be on the path of contributing to the further breakdown of law and order---if not already destroying it---does have a precedence in the Bible.

There was once a mighty city known for its great lawlessness and wickedness---(think modern-day terrorists living in one big city)---whose destruction would call for a celebration that a prophet by the name of Jonah, would RSVP. This is why he was so aghast that he would be called by God to warn them from their deserved place in hell.

No, aghast is a mild word to describe how angry Jonah was and how offended he was to be the messenger of repentance so much so that he'd rather disobey God, be thrown into a raging sea, and die. To the very end, he was angry and bitter at bringing about a 100% conversion rate. He was still engaged in a debate with God when the story leaves off. And that's where the problem lay. Jonah saw the 120,000 Ninevites with his human eyes, not through God's eyes. With human eyes, we can only see our anger; with God's eyes, we see souls in need of salvation from eternal punishment, just as we once were.

If God had seen us through human eyes, He would have never sent His only begotten Son to save us for we are all wicked na "dapat lang mamatay" but He did not leave us be. And that is how we should regard the drug addicts. We need to see them through our Father's eyes---souls in need of a Savior. After all, aren't we supposed to be like father, like child?

Yes, the addicts need to be made accountable for their actions especially if they had committed a crime but conviction must come first before punishment or in the case for the past two years, execution. Don't get me wrong. I am as frustrated as the next person at the slow justice in our land but we still need to believe in the law and in the Higher Law otherwise we too become as lawless as the lawbreakers. Let us not end our story like Jonah's with hatred for our enemies and anger at a merciful God. Let us not extinguish the light that we are to be which happens each time we cheer at the eternal death of a soul.