2005-08-12
Good Morning Treasured Ones,
For the last couple of messages, I've been led to write about the issue of integrity and have shared a number of verses and passages which give us God's will in this matter. For example, 1 PET 1: 14-15, "Be obedient to God and do not allow your life to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. Instead, be holy in the all that you do, just as God Who has called you is holy." Christ reminds us we can trust our Father, because He stands by His word. MT 5 :48, "Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
With God's will for us in mind, I would be remiss if I didn't share some of what I see in our existing American justice system. My intent here is not to bash lawyers and judges, but instead, to share observations. We are told that we have the best justice system in the world. And yet, other countries, Japan for example, have a lower rate of recidivism and a smaller jail population than we do. That is because when a perpetrator is proven by the court to be guilty and sentenced, he serves out that full sentence. Apparently, plea bargaining isn't as much a factor as it is here. So, a potential perpetrator thinks twice before he commits a crime. The frustration that American police and bail bondsmen experience when they make an arrest and the perpetrator is out on the streets shortly afterward again must be tremendous. One need only look at the rap sheets for some of these "career" offenders to see what I mean. For a great many offenders, the jails have revolving doors. I have already written about the man who had committed a murder and threatened to kill his own wife. He was tried and convicted for that murder and served a few years of his sentence. During that time, he continued to write threatening letters to his wife, who had divorced him. However, prison psychologists testified at a parole hearing that this man was sufficiently rehabilitated to be released early "for good behavior." Once released, he went and actually murdered his then ex-wife. Surely, this is not what God intended in establishing a system of jurisprudence back in GN 9: 5-6.
Another case that has left me feeling like we have strayed a long way from God's true intent for the law is that of O.J. Simpson. Once again, it is not my desire to offend any readers who disagree with my views, but I would be remiss in not at least stating them. I watched the trial on TV as many in this country did. All the lawyers were doing their best to present their sides of the case. The defendant had a prior history of violence, despite his fame in the sports and entertainment industries. As one who finds the televising of any real court case and the reporting of its details before a verdict is in repugnant anyway, this one really disgusted me. After hearing the evidence presented and what I believe to be a false tactic, referring to "playing the race card," I felt then and still do today that O.J. Simpson was guilty. Race had nothing to do with this malicious and evil act of two murders, that of O.J.'s wife, Nichole, and a young man she happened to be with at the time-most probably for an innocent reason. Since the jury disagreed, this man was found innocent and released to a life of leisure. His temper flared again with a motorist in FL, but the incident received little coverage since no serious crime was committed. This raises the question: how many guilty criminals are free to carry on because of things going wrong with our justice system? The Dru Sjodine case in which this lovely young adult was brutally murdered by a repeat sex offender, Antonio Rodriguez, a man who should have never been released from prison is another example that raises the same question.
What are we doing wrong? Why are we more concerned for the perpetrator than for the victim? Why does our society feel that getting all mention of God out of our public schools and institutions is a good thing to do? Why are we trying to de-emphasize the principles upon which our country was founded? What is the matter with making a perpetrator proven guilty to serve his full sentence? Why don't the sentences fit the crime? Asking these questions are my real reason for bringing up these matters. PS 1: 1 comes to mind. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night." What would our justice system be like if every person involved with it were to adhere to JS 1: 8? "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Suppose a person thinking about committing a crime was reminded to muse, PS 51:2, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Suppose a lawyer preparing a case was to meditate on PS 19: 8, "The Lord's instruction is right; it makes our hearts glad. His commands shine brightly and they give us light." Would the city fathers be so anxious to tear down or move plaques and statues with the Ten Commandments on them? If police and bail bondsmen knew that those they arrest would really serve out their sentences, would they really have so many people to arrest? All they can do is consider 2 CH 20: 15, "Be not afraid. For the battle is not ours, but God's."
PRAYER: O Lord, what I have discussed above points to how imperfect we are, even in such a prosperous country as America. I believe in PS 37: 5, "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it and He will." And so today, I ask You to help us improve what is going so very wrong with the morals in our country. This is a big request coming from such a small person as myself, but nevertheless it is my prayerful plea. You alone have the power and sovereignty to put things straight. After all, that is what You did for us when You sent Your only begotten Son to the cross to die and be resurrected, giving us the hope of eternal life. You are a loving and compassionate God and I must assume that all these evil crimes, poorly thought out decisions, sly representations, harmful situations for those trying to protect us bring You great disappointment and emotional pain. You have courageously given mankind free agency, and many of us have misused it, including myself in my early years. We are sinners who are in dire need of Your direction, Your teaching, faith given to us by the Holy Spirit, and Your very presence in our lives. We can't obey Your command [1 PET 1: 16, LV11: 44-45; LV 19: 2] to "be holy because You are holy" without You. I pray that You will use Your wisdom and power to cause the Holy Spirit to infiltrate the souls of those who are acting with foolishness and evil and stop them. Yesterday, Dearest Abba, a teacher of grade 7 students spoke to me. She told me how much more difficult it is to help her students now than it was before, because of the homes from which they come. I know in my heart that the breakdown of the family unit in our society is at the bottom of these problems. So, it is with thanks and praise of You, that I make this urgent plea this morning. I know I can take joy in Your goodness. In Christ's holy name, I pray. Amen.
Next week, I'm led to begin writing about the question: Did Christ come to change the Law? This huge question is one over which there has been much misunderstanding. What God has said through the Scriptures will clarify it. We can also see how it applies to our daily lives. There are times when it seems that God is absent from our lives, and sometimes this feeling goes on for extended lengths of human time. But, He never abandons us. He has told us in IS 49: 16 that our names are written in the palms of His hands. We learn in IS 43: 1b-3, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." The problem has never been God's love for us or His presence; it has been our faith in those things. God cares deeply about each of us, and His silences for a time in our lives are His effort to allow us time to learn from the circumstances of our lives. Thus, we grow in our spiritual maturity. My belief is that God never does anything that will stop us from being sanctified and eventually be ready to answer His call to a life of eternal bliss with Him. Thus, we can take God at His word when He says in PS 107: 43, "Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord." We must be willing to quiet down and learn to listen for the Lord's direction. For His own reasons, He sometimes speaks to us in a whisper. We can know the truth of PS 55: 22, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit honest me to be defeated." In my heart, I know He has heard my plea today. You can know this too. We can also know that His answer will be what is best for our society in the eternal sense, that He loves each of us who believe or will potentially believe, and that we must accept whatever answer to this plea that He gives.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn