Periodically we will look at real life news stories from the headlines and ask, "Where do Faith and Life meet?" 2 Real life stories and a Gospel response.
$20K of casino winnings seized at border crossing. A Birmingham man one near $20,000 gambling at a casino, but lost every dime. He went home empty handed not because he got mugged, but because he was deceitful. Trying to avoid the $10K currency reporting requirement at the border two men split the money between them. The authorities verified truth during an investigation that one many LOST at the casino and the other won nearly $20K. The civil punishment for inaccurate declaration ... you loose it all. (http://www.freep.com/)
Proverbs 14:17-18, "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel. The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving"
US border police find a drug smuggling tunnel the length of six football fields. The tunnel had a light rail system, lighting, and ventilation to assist in moving drugs underground from Mexico to the US. 25 tons of marijuana seized. Reuters reports, "Mexico is in the grip of a raging drug war that has killed more than 30, 000 people south of the border since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on powerful drug gangs."
Proverbs 11:18a, "The wicked earns deceptive wages."
Regardless of your view on marijuana, this form of earning a living has caused a blood bath of killings. Is their a connection between recreational use and killings in Mexico? I'll leave that for you to debate....But this I know... that whether you call it "Cutting Corners" or "Lying" or "The Gray Area" or "Deceit" there is a much better way, a more clear path, a more fruitful path in life.
Hopefully our response to these events go deeper than, "Serves 'em right! What a dumb idea? Toss 'em in the slammer." Or worse yet continue to think that our actions or lack of actions don't affect other people."May these stories cause us to ask... "Where am I cutting corners? Speaking/Doing half truths?"
Our prayer then is like that of the writer of Psalm 120:2, "Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue." Let us repent.
Receive this promise! Take it home!
Proverbs 11:18b, "...But one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward!" You are being renewed in the knowledge of your creator (Col. 3:9-10). Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the truth, and the LIFE." (John 14:6)
