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Living in the world, for a long time, I have painted an idea in my mind that there is no reward for doing good. While the evil ones, or people with wicked minds, sometimes get rewards for their behaviour, the good or kind ones get nothing in return but hate or being used. This idea has also changed over time.
Looking closely at the case in my country, where terrorists who are responsible for killing our people and soldiers find repentance and are granted amnesty for all their crimes, are put under a reform programme and, in the end, are reintegrated back into the same society which they had terrorised, living among others like ordinary people. Some will say that they are being rewarded for their crimes because they tend to be living in a better condition compared to those who had never gone astray and were law-abiding.
The story of the prodigal son in the Bible, where one son stood up one day and said to his father that he wanted the share of what belonged to him, will help us understand what mercy preaches. In hearing the request of the son, the father gave him part of what was his and set him free to go out to the world.
After the son had wasted everything and started suffering from having nothing, he realised what he had done and knew fully well that his father would receive him; he decided to return home. As soon as his father saw him from a distance, he was so happy that he welcomed him and prepared a feast to celebrate the return of his lost child.
This made the older son, who never left his father, angry and full of disappointment because of what was happening, making him also jealous of his brother, so he refused to partake in the feast. He asked his father why he never got a feast for sticking with him, and his father’s response was that all he had belonged to the faithful son. This signifies that being good also carries a reward when we look closely. Here, it shows us that mercy for the lost souls doesn’t reduce the value of being faithful and good.
While it is true that some prisoners get better healthcare and feed better than a lot of people outside the prison, it is even said jokingly sometimes that living in a prison is better than living outside the prison for the poor, since one could get better food and better healthcare, it should not make it sad for those outside the prison as it is a responsibility of the captor to feed their captive.
I have watched movies where a person on death row is still not allowed to die; the state puts a lot of resources into it, doing its best to see that he stays alive until his time to face his judgment. This may feel like a waste of the taxpayer’s money. The state is responsible for caring for prisoners as best it can. Some of these prisoners were caught up in the wrong crowd, and sometimes prison may help shape them into better citizens after spending valuable time inside; some may be innocent of the crime that put them there and are law-abiding like the rest of us outside. It won’t be fair for them not to get the best treatment they so desire simply because of some mistake or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Prison welfare is not a reward for those who are not law-abiding; it is only the responsibility of the state as a way of upholding its dignity. Even for the wrongdoers in society, being merciful towards the criminals does not make being an upstanding citizen less attractive. Goodness has its own reward.
My name is @rishagamo, and this is my response to the Hive Learners weekly featured prompt, week 231 Episode 02: “PRISON WELFARE”
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