Early on in the Old Testament there are two examples. Jacob, who along with his mother went out of their way to deceive Jacob's father Isaac and rob older brother Esau of his birthright.
Joseph of the Technicolor dream coat fame was an arrogant little twerp who no doubt deserved the beating his brothers gave him.
Both men triggered events that have resonated for millennia.
Not that they got scot-free for their behaviour - Jacob was left with a pronounced limp after wrestling with God; and Joseph underwent intense character development training in Egypt.
Today we have the story of Van Nguyen a young man who is soon to pay for his life for a decision he made to carry drugs into Singapore, a country which has the death penalty for that crime.
On Friday, December 2 he is to be hung if last minute appeals for clemency are rejected.
On the surface, it seems like a waste of a life. He had no other criminal record, he had smuggled drugs to help his addicted and indebted brother.
What good could possibly come from this?
Just as Jacob's actions established Israel and Joseph's experience allowed both Egypt and Israel to survive a devastating famine, and saving many thousand lives, it seem apparent already that Van Nguyen's story is changing lives already.
It seems that Van Tuong Nguyen's brother Khoa has turned his life around as a result:
"His brother has given him a lot of strength and turned him around and that he now wants to undertake a tertiary course and it's all because of his brother."Perhaps other people might learn the lesson also and reform their lives.
And what about Van Nguyen himself?
"I am glad and ready to go now. I believe, by then, God's purpose for me will have been achieved," he wrote to a close friend.Esau forgave Jacob, Joseph and his brothers reconciled and it would seem in this case we have a young man who has acknowledged his error and accepted its consequences.
"I truly believe God put me here for a reason, and now that his plans for me have almost been achieved, he is preparing for me little baby angels to play with when I return to Him"...
...God and faith are common themes. In a letter to a friend, written before his clemency was rejected, he writes: "The hidden providence of God – your undying support has gone a long way in keeping my pilot light burning; especially during my darkest moments."
As for his wish for 'baby angels' to play with, well that's between Van Nguyen and his Creator.
For those elect to focus on the individual rather than the lives wrecked by heroin addiction might ask how a loving God could allow Van Nguyen to die for this crime.
God understands only too well. He watched His only Son brutally tortured and executed. And that was for a crime He didn't commit.
While the death and resurrection of Jesus gives all of humanity hope, I believe in some small way Van Nguyen's death might give us pause to reflect on what it means to live a fulfilled life.
By contrast we have Michelle Leslie.
-- Nora
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