When did we decide that our fellow human beings do NOT deserve a second chance? Heck, I believe there are times when a third, or fourth chance is needed. Humans eat, breath, hurt, laugh, feel, and (hold on to your hats here) MAKE MISTAKES! Being imperfect is the human condition. I talked with a mom yesterday who told me that her 20-something year old son is looking for employment. Actually, he’s been job-hunting for many, many months. Several years ago he got into trouble. He went to jail, served his time, and has not been in trouble since. However, when a potential employer pulled up the young man’s past record, he was told that he is “un-hirable”. Are you kidding me?
A situation involving five outstanding students in a local school district has been the dominating story for the past week or so. It seems these young men pulled a “prank” and they cut down two trees on the high school campus. The high school seniors were suspended, and then sent to a continuation school. A judge ruled that they should be allowed back on campus, but when they returned to school, the district refused to welcome them back. They have taken their case to court. Apparently, restitution and remorse is just not enough! Mistakes will not be tolerated.
I see this unforgiving attitude all around me and in every walk of life. Oh, there is one exception – the famous! The famous are forgiven mistakes, missteps, misspeaks, misleadings, and misguided thinking. It seems sometimes that the famous and infamous get off scot-free for seriously egregious transgressions – rape, murder, child molestations, and other sexual crimes. Names like, R Kelly, Michael Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Pee-Wee Herman come to mind.
A few months ago, the local Television news, talk shows, and newspapers covered a situation that demanded our attention. It seems that a group of homeless sex offenders were plugging their rechargeable tracking monitors in at a lighted downtown historical building. These men are homeless because of the myriad of restrictive laws that keep them from living near a park, school, or other gathering place for children. Mind you, they can get close to these places during the day, but they just can’t SLEEP near these spots. (Don’t get me started!) Of course, our city leaders spoke out against the paroled homeless men. These guys are doing their very best to comply with the law by keeping their GPS monitors charged at all times. They COULD cut the monitors off and go on the run. They COULD allow the batteries to die and hide out until they get caught. They COULD commit some small crime so they could go back to jail where they’d have a bed and three square meals a day. But they are doing the best they can under the circumstances. They are complying. Bear in mind that the vast majority of these men are NOT child molesters, but rather they are young men who had consensual sex with their under-age girlfriend, a guy who peed in public, someone who received a sexual picture on their cell phone, or someone who made a bad call while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Here’s the kicker in the whole question about whether or not we should allow sex offenders to charge their monitors at our downtown monument - our local police chief is himself a man with a checkered past. Some of his early indiscretions were made public when he became the police chief. He got into some trouble and was arrested a time or two. When he was 27 he was involved with an underage girl. The only reason he is not a registered sex offender today, is that the laws were different then! Our beloved police chief was given the opportunity to be a better man. If he had committed his crimes today, he would never have been able to become a police officer, let alone the admired and respected police chief that he is today!
Human beings make mistakes. Human beings DESERVE the chance to reform and to contribute something positive to our community and to our world. Some of the most beloved contributors have overcome obstacles, bad choices, addictions, and challenges. I think of Johnny Cash, Drew Barrymore, Abraham Lincoln, Steven Spielberg, and Thomas Edison, just to name a few. As a Christ-follower I look at over-comers like, Paul, David, Moses, Hosea’s wife, Noah, Jacob, Jesus, and more.
You deserve a second chance – everyone does! Look around. Reach out to a brother or sister who needs a hand up. Believe in someone today. It may make all the difference in both your lives!
Showing posts with label Moses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moses. Show all posts
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
40 Days!
My son has been on parole for nearly three years. His parole will end 40 days from today! 40 days. Experts will tell you that forty days are all you need to change the course of your life. If you can stick with a new behavior forty days then it will become a habit – a permanent piece of the whole of you. Want to give up smoking? Give it up for 40 days and it will no longer be a habit. If you want to add exercise into your life, it will ONLY take 40 days to make it as routine as breathing. A Google search of “40 Days” opens page after page after page of hits. You can find books, calendars, and personal betterment courses – a veritable buffet of 40-day challenges. Ancient writings and artifacts (including certain monuments) make it clear that a cycle of 40 days was once carefully time tracked. There are extensive math equations that prove how effectively the solar year can be perfectly broken down into 40-day increments. There are even early writings that are attributed to a Jewish philosopher named Philo Judaeous (c. 25 BC - 45 AD) who wrote about the significance of the 40-day cycle, and in fact, made reference to the Biblical book of Genesis. The Bible, you see, is filled with examples of 40-day stints replete with testing and conquering.
In the book of Genesis we read about Noah, his big boat, and the flood that washed the earth. The rains came for forty days and forty nights. When the boat finally came to rest on the top of the mountains of Ararat it was forty days before Noah opened the window. According to the customs of Biblical times, it took 40 days for a body to be embalmed. Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain before descending with the tablet on which was written the Ten Commandments. The Lord then told Moses to have some men spend 40 days exploring the land of Canaan and to report back with their findings. The men lied about what they saw and found and so God punished the Israelites by allowing them to wander in the desert for 40 years – one year for each of the days they had been told to explore the land of Canaan. The Old Testament plays out story after story of 40-day encounters, starring heroes like David and Elijah. Even Jesus spent forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan. He did better than the Israelites – no grumbling or complaining. He set the bar for how to successfully deal with our challenges. We give up far more quickly and under far less stress. I confess…I’ve wimped out on a few challenges and I REALLY hate being in the proverbial desert! But in the Bible, as in life today, if we can stick it out for 40 days, there is a rainbow on the other side of the storm. There is milk and honey after the desert.
Okay…I said all that to say this…40 days! Can I get an “Amen!”? My son will be free from “the system” for the first time – well – ever! He was 18 when he became a pretty hard-core drug user and was imprisoned by his addiction. Then he went to jail, then prison, then parole. The next forty days will (for me) be a time of reflecting on where we as a family have been, and rejoicing with my son for where we are today. I am amazed at who my son is and I am blessed to have the privilege of watching him become a man. I’ve encouraged my son to spend some time over the next forty days reflecting – reflecting on where he’s been, who he is today, and where he hopes the road of life will take him next. I plan to take that same advice. I will reflect not only on where I’ve been, but where I NEVER want to return!
Forty days! Amen!
In the book of Genesis we read about Noah, his big boat, and the flood that washed the earth. The rains came for forty days and forty nights. When the boat finally came to rest on the top of the mountains of Ararat it was forty days before Noah opened the window. According to the customs of Biblical times, it took 40 days for a body to be embalmed. Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain before descending with the tablet on which was written the Ten Commandments. The Lord then told Moses to have some men spend 40 days exploring the land of Canaan and to report back with their findings. The men lied about what they saw and found and so God punished the Israelites by allowing them to wander in the desert for 40 years – one year for each of the days they had been told to explore the land of Canaan. The Old Testament plays out story after story of 40-day encounters, starring heroes like David and Elijah. Even Jesus spent forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan. He did better than the Israelites – no grumbling or complaining. He set the bar for how to successfully deal with our challenges. We give up far more quickly and under far less stress. I confess…I’ve wimped out on a few challenges and I REALLY hate being in the proverbial desert! But in the Bible, as in life today, if we can stick it out for 40 days, there is a rainbow on the other side of the storm. There is milk and honey after the desert.
Okay…I said all that to say this…40 days! Can I get an “Amen!”? My son will be free from “the system” for the first time – well – ever! He was 18 when he became a pretty hard-core drug user and was imprisoned by his addiction. Then he went to jail, then prison, then parole. The next forty days will (for me) be a time of reflecting on where we as a family have been, and rejoicing with my son for where we are today. I am amazed at who my son is and I am blessed to have the privilege of watching him become a man. I’ve encouraged my son to spend some time over the next forty days reflecting – reflecting on where he’s been, who he is today, and where he hopes the road of life will take him next. I plan to take that same advice. I will reflect not only on where I’ve been, but where I NEVER want to return!
Forty days! Amen!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Foil or Plastic Wrap?
I’ve chosen to live my life somewhat transparently. I could have buried my head deep under a blanket and kept myself safely wrapped in the warmth of my own bed. Okay, I did do that on occasion and you know what I found? I discovered that my bed doesn’t judge me, jump to conclusions about me, make false assumptions about me, or call me names. Yep, staying buried in the safety and warmth of my own bed might have been the better choice. However, I chose to be transparent.
I was hoping (still hope) that my story would give hope to others. “She lived through those things, maybe I can to.” Those are the kinds of things I would hope someone might say about me. However, living somewhat transparently means opening oneself up to the judgments and accusations of those who haven’t walked in your shoes.
A couple of months ago one of the pastors at our church made a brave and truthful statement. He said, “When I was young I was not a very nice person. I made a lot of mistakes. In fact, the only thing that separates me from men in prison is the fact that I was never caught.” Now, that’s transparency for ya. And that statement isn’t just true about him. It’s true about MANY of us! Another pastor in our church has been honest about the fact that his son is serving a seven-year sentence in Federal Prison. That young prison inmate has written a book about his decisions and he tells what it means to be the prodigal son.
When my kids were struggling with drugs I prayed they’d get caught. Why? Well, the alternative to getting caught is most often death. Getting caught might mean having to pay dearly for one’s choices, but at least with getting caught there is still life – and thus there is hope. I have a friend whose son will be sentenced for his crimes next week. Because her son was caught before he died, my friend has had the opportunity to reconnect with him, see him get baptized in jail, and enjoy the fact that her family is once again whole. I have another friend who for several years lived in fear that not just one, but all four of her children could die from their addictions to meth and alcohol. One by one they got caught and one by one – slowly – they are getting well. I work with a woman who would have given anything for her son to get caught. Instead, she went in to wake her sleeping son one morning and she discovered his lifeless 23-year old body in his bed. That mom would most certainly choose having her child get caught and being sent to jail over burying him – if she’d had the choice.
I’ve chosen to live transparently. Let’s imagine that I put two bowls of leftovers in my refrigerator. I cover one bowl with plastic wrap and one with foil. I then leave the bowls of uneaten food for several weeks. The contents of both bowls will eventually become mold-covered science projects before too long, but when I open my refrigerator I won’t have to look at the bowl covered with foil. I choose to use plastic wrap so I can see the problem and get rid of it in a timely manor. That’s what transparency is all about.
I love that pastor friend of mine who told the truth about the fact that he had taken a bumpy road for his path in life. He gets it. Many of the Bible “greats” didn’t start out so great. Hosea’s wife was a prostitute; Jacob was a liar; David had an affair; Paul was a murderer. So was Moses. Miriam was a gossip; Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal; Noah was a drunk; Jesus was poor; John was self-righteous; Lazarus was dead!
You want to judge me? You want to judge my children? Go ahead. You don’t know the whole story. You haven’t walked in our shoes. If our transparency gives one person hope and the strength to face life’s challenges, than it is worth it. Your judgment is just one more challenge, and we’ll face that one too.
I was hoping (still hope) that my story would give hope to others. “She lived through those things, maybe I can to.” Those are the kinds of things I would hope someone might say about me. However, living somewhat transparently means opening oneself up to the judgments and accusations of those who haven’t walked in your shoes.
A couple of months ago one of the pastors at our church made a brave and truthful statement. He said, “When I was young I was not a very nice person. I made a lot of mistakes. In fact, the only thing that separates me from men in prison is the fact that I was never caught.” Now, that’s transparency for ya. And that statement isn’t just true about him. It’s true about MANY of us! Another pastor in our church has been honest about the fact that his son is serving a seven-year sentence in Federal Prison. That young prison inmate has written a book about his decisions and he tells what it means to be the prodigal son.
When my kids were struggling with drugs I prayed they’d get caught. Why? Well, the alternative to getting caught is most often death. Getting caught might mean having to pay dearly for one’s choices, but at least with getting caught there is still life – and thus there is hope. I have a friend whose son will be sentenced for his crimes next week. Because her son was caught before he died, my friend has had the opportunity to reconnect with him, see him get baptized in jail, and enjoy the fact that her family is once again whole. I have another friend who for several years lived in fear that not just one, but all four of her children could die from their addictions to meth and alcohol. One by one they got caught and one by one – slowly – they are getting well. I work with a woman who would have given anything for her son to get caught. Instead, she went in to wake her sleeping son one morning and she discovered his lifeless 23-year old body in his bed. That mom would most certainly choose having her child get caught and being sent to jail over burying him – if she’d had the choice.
I’ve chosen to live transparently. Let’s imagine that I put two bowls of leftovers in my refrigerator. I cover one bowl with plastic wrap and one with foil. I then leave the bowls of uneaten food for several weeks. The contents of both bowls will eventually become mold-covered science projects before too long, but when I open my refrigerator I won’t have to look at the bowl covered with foil. I choose to use plastic wrap so I can see the problem and get rid of it in a timely manor. That’s what transparency is all about.
I love that pastor friend of mine who told the truth about the fact that he had taken a bumpy road for his path in life. He gets it. Many of the Bible “greats” didn’t start out so great. Hosea’s wife was a prostitute; Jacob was a liar; David had an affair; Paul was a murderer. So was Moses. Miriam was a gossip; Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal; Noah was a drunk; Jesus was poor; John was self-righteous; Lazarus was dead!
You want to judge me? You want to judge my children? Go ahead. You don’t know the whole story. You haven’t walked in our shoes. If our transparency gives one person hope and the strength to face life’s challenges, than it is worth it. Your judgment is just one more challenge, and we’ll face that one too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)