by David Scott Robertson
A few weeks ago, I pulled out of my driveway early to drive to the local YMCA to workout.
As I approached the end of my street, there was a News Channel 5 truck with a TV camera set up in the front lawn of a house, a police car, and crime scene tape draped across the front yard of the house directly across the street from the television camera.
I found out later that morning that a 17-year-old boy had gotten into an argument around 2:00 a.m. with his stepfather and had taken a 30" sword and fatally stabbed the man.
When I heard the news, my heart ached. I thought about the older man's tragic death, but I also thought about what else died about 2am that morning.
There was an empty seat in English class at the local high school the next day. There will be two empty seats around the Thanksgiving table this year. There will be no presents under the tree for these two men - one has gone on and one has gone away.
The boy traded designer jeans for a prison uniform. He traded the gold chain around his neck and the cool bracelet for leg irons and handcuffs.
He will probably never marry, never vote, and never serve his country in the military. He won't make the yearbook or graduate with his class. More than likely he will never go to college.
He won't see most of his friends again. In an instant, he's off the team, out of the club, disqualified from everything and disassociated from nearly every friend and family member for a very long time.
I think the newspaper reported that he will be tried as an adult. The future of a felon, especially a murderer, is not an easy one. Some would say that his life is "over." A tragic waste; a crying shame. All because in the heat of the moment, it "seemed like a good idea at the time" to lash out in violence. Wrong.
The irony of the freedom to make choices is that many choose poorly. What seems like a good idea at the time ends up sealing our fate, altering our destiny, re-routing everything good and in an instant removing - for years or for life - the freedom to make choices.
Two major thoughts emerge as I write this: (1) think before you speak or act; and (2) it's not over until God says it's over.
When this young man becomes an old man in prison and his classmates are becoming grandparents, people may have long forgotten him but God will not have forgotten this old man. God alone can redeem a man. God alone can take what the devil meant for harm and convert it to good. God alone can take a man behind bars and set the captive free.
There are millions who have made choices that "seemed like a good idea at the time" but are now reaping the horrible, tragic, and expensive aftermath of their rash decision. These are not just murderers, felons, and cons. They are housewives, business executives, and people from all walks of life.
Many come to Christ when their choices have devastated their lives. What about you?
What's it going to take for you to let go and let God have His way with your life? When are you going to let God guide your thoughts, words, and deeds instead of taking matters into your own hands? What is it going to take before you abandon the age-old excuse, "well, it seemed like a good idea at the time" and begin to walk in the Spirit?
DSR
7/14/05