Thursday, September 11, 2014
Is it just me or do you also recognize that today’s society is not very forgiving? Take a high profile professional athlete, singer, musician, politician, league commissioner, owner or official, or any other celebrity, and let him commit a crime, be caught in a lie, or make a remark or take a position that is offensive and it seems that everyone wants to fire or punish him or her immediately. That being said, I hope you don’t think I’m coming to the defense of everyone who does wrong, making them the victims; I am not. I believe that the punishment should fit the crime. However, if we believe in the idea that a reputation is not built in a day but in a lifetime, why is society so quick to denounce and completely give up on those who slip up once or twice? It really disturbs me to see TV networks devote hours upon hours of a person’s crime or mistake, or a controversial news story, sometimes even an entire day, running it over and over again. Are there are no other news stories in the world to cover?
Think about this: If Moses, David, and the Apostle Paul were all living today, they would all be in prison because of the crimes they committed. Then, there was Chuck Colson. He was sentenced to prison for his part in the Watergate Scandal of the early 70’s. In 1973, he committed his life to Christ and upon his release from prison started his Prison Fellowship ministry and later his daily radio program, Break Point. I suppose there were many who never again trusted him or believed his conversion to Christianity was genuine, but he did many good things for millions of people nonetheless. To doubt the conversion of wrong doers is to doubt the power of God. Paul wrote: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away ; behold , all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The reason this matter is important is because sooner or later you and I will be seen doing something wrong, or heard saying something we should not. On that day, we may encounter some who will not be very understanding or forgiving. A comforting thing to consider, however, is that those who know us and love us will not turn their backs on us on that day. What’s even better is that our God is the God of the second chances, and the third, and the fourth, and many, many more after that. If we fail Him a thousand times, He will forgive us a thousand times if we ask Him. Perhaps, also, when we see others slip and fall, we will realize it can happen to us as well, and remember that the Bible says: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” (1 Cor. 10:12) I trust we will be more careful in the future regarding what we think or how we view and deal with wrongdoers, and pray we may do it God’s way and not society’s.
Memory verse for the week: (John 4:23) “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
