"Do you think God's gonna punish me for that?"

"Do you think God's gonna punish me for that?"

All of the inmates got quiet and looked at me.  I was in a large community cell deep in the Fayette County Detention Center talking to a guy in an orange prison jumpsuit, and he was telling me about messing his life up on drugs, having fourteen children by eleven different women, and trying to get closer to God and change his life.

He had just told me about constantly doing the wrong thing.  Then he asked that bombshell question.  I really didn't know what to say, but one thing was for sure- it was a question on every single one of the inmates' minds.  They all knew I was a minister.  Their entire lives had been one of punishment for what they had done.  It was their world.  They were used to getting caught, getting punished- in other words, they were used to judgment.  They wanted to know if they could expect more of that, not only from the justice department, but also from God.

How would you answer that question? 

I've never felt uncomfortable being in the prison.  By the way, when we go into the prison to teach fatherhood skills to the inmates, they don't come out to the visitor area.  We go through door after door after door into the very heart of the prison right to where the inmates live.  For two hours a week, I'm literally an inmate.

But I've never felt uncomfortable there.  I actually wish I could be there more often.  See, the gospel was intended to be a blessing to people who are broken and hurting.  Jesus' message of redemption and forgiveness and grace resounds with people who have no illusions of their own goodness.  People like the guys in the prison.

It's sad that I see more hunger for God in prison than outside the prison.

I have had more conversations about God, more chance to share my testimony, and been asked more questions about faith in my visits to the prison than I ever have anywhere else.  And when I share with these men, who are used to nothing but punishment and judgment, the wonderful story of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for their sins, it is like nothing I've ever experienced before.

The man in the orange jumpsuit was a black man.  A man from a different race.  We really had nothing in common.  He grew up in the inner city- I grew up in the wealthy suburbs.  He had children by 11 different women- I have children by my wife of seventeen years.  He is an inmate- I am a minister.  And yet, as he asked me that question, I sensed we had more in common than most people would imagine.

This man standing before me had become a Christian while in prison.  I asked him if he had a Bible.  He lifted up his mattress and pulled out a Bible that looked like it had been through the ringer (definitely more worn than the Bibles I see on Sunday morning) and I went to the story of the thief on the cross in Luke 23.  (Advice to Christians, when dealing with hurting, broken people, always, and I mean ALWAYS, take people to the cross.  Take them to the greatest story of mercy, grace and hope ever written.)

I still had not answered his question.  Instead, I read the following from Luke 23:39-43:

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I read that loud enough for all the inmates in the room to hear.  I didn't really have to- they were already quiet.  I closed the Bible and handed it back to the man.  I said, "Jesus said that to a thief.  A criminal.  Do you think He would tell you anything different?"

He continued looking at the Bible, but he nodded his head.  He asked me if I could stay a little longer and talk some more, but I had a meeting to go to.  I told him that next week, I would schedule some time and we could go through more of the Bible together.  He thanked me and made me promise to be there next week.

I shook hand with all the guys, and then I said, "Guys, you may not believe this, but I actually really look forward to Tuesday mornings.  I really enjoy coming to see you all."

One of the guys said, "Man, thank you for coming.  You don't know how much we appreciate it."

I wonder how many of these guys would ever set foot in a church.  Probably not many of them.  But the hunger for grace, the hunger for God's word, the hunger for redemption- believe me, it's alive and well.  If criminals won't come to church, then I guess the church has to go to them.  I think that's been Jesus' plan all along.

When I come to the end of my ministry career, I would imagine that I will look back and see the time I got to read Luke 23- Jesus's amazing words spoken to a criminal 2000 years ago- to a roomful of inmates as one of the most memorable and most important things I ever did to bring the message of Jesus to a hurting world.  I wonder if I'm being as big a blessing to them as they are to me.  God is good.

You Should Hate Welfare

NewsFlash- 101 million Americans receive some kind of food assistance from the government.
NewsFlash- 97 million Americans are employed in the private sector.

You should hate welfare.  You should hate it with every fiber of your being.

If you need it, take it.  That's what it's there for.  If your children are starving and you have no other option, take it and use it.  Feed your family and make sure they are healthy.  But make sure you hate it.

Make sure that every time you receive a check from the government, you despise it.  Make sure that every time you receive that check, it burns you up and provides new motivation to better yourself and get off welfare as soon as possible.  Make sure that you feel embarrassed by that check, and vow to yourself that you will do everything to never need the government again.

Why? Dave, aren't you being mean?  Aren't you criticizing the poor?  Absolutely not.

If I were a sadistic parent wanting to control my kids, you know what I would do?  I would buy them everything they wanted.  I would shower them with money and gifts.  Why would I do this?

Because the very second I wanted them to do something, I would threaten to take it away.

See, when an authority such as a parent or a government gives you something for free, it automatically gives them leverage over you.  I want my kids to be in a 10 pm?  Take away their allowance.  They'll be in by 10.  Oh yes, they will.  They want the allowance too badly.

Government wants you to vote a certain way or stop being critical of it?  Take away the welfare.  Oh, yes, the people will shut up.  They need what the government provides too badly to fight it.

This is why you should hate welfare.  This is why you should hate food stamps.  This is why all the government freebies should be looked upon with disdain and suspicion and yes, hatred.  People who need something from the government are not free.

Not only this, but until people provide for themselves, they never actualize their full potential.  Look at what welfare does to people.  Does it provide more dignity?  Does it provide a higher self-esteem or greater sense of charity and generosity?  Does it make people more loving, kind, responsible, or self-motivated?  No.  It does none of these things.  People were designed to be independent- to only depend on God.

If the government were to come up to me and say, "We don't like your blogs or your ideas.  We want you to stop preaching on this or that or the other,"  I would tell them to get lost.  Why?  Because I don't need anything the government provides.  They have no leverage over me.  They can't take away my food stamps- I don't use food stamps.  They can't take away my welfare check- I don't get a welfare check.  They can't take away my subsidized health care- I don't get subsidized health care.  I suppose they could take away my freedom, but then again, they could take away anyone's freedom.

However, suppose I was on food stamps.  At first, I saw it as a benefit.  Then, after a while, I grow used to them and adjust my lifestyle to include them.  Then, I depend on them.  All of a sudden, the government comes to me and says, "We don't like your blog or your ideas.  We want you to stop preaching on this or that or the other.  If you don't, we're taking away your food stamps."  I go into alarm mode.  I've patterned my lifestyle around what the government gives me.  Now they have leverage over me.  Now they can tell me what to do- what to say, how to vote, what to think.  I humbly succumb to their wishes and start preaching watered-down messages that threaten no one in power.  See the problem?

Only when people don't need what others can provide are they free.  Yes, people- if you love freedom and liberty, you should hate welfare.  You should despise it.  Like I said earlier, if you need it- if you are faced with starvation, you should take it.  That's what it is there for.  But you should hate it.  You should vow to be on it as short a time as possible, because while you are receiving government assistance, you are its boy.  You are its slave.  It can control you, because you need what it can give you.

This news report that 101 million Americans receive some kind of food assistance from the government, including 48 million on food stamps, should alarm all of us.  That means there are 101 million Americans that need what the government provides.  101 million Americans that today are not free.  101 million Americans that can be told what to do by the government.  This statistic is a threat to liberty and freedom.

I've learned in life that nothing is free.  Everything comes with a price.  I wonder if the 101 million Americans that receive food benefits from the government know this.  You can bet the government does.

Beware of Guilt Parenting

Parents aren't perfect.  We screw up.  Some of us screw up a lot. 

Because of this, many of us do something really stupid. 

We base our decisions on what to do as a parent, not on what is best for the child, but because we think we owe our children something.  This is known as Guilt Parenting.

For example, we all know that divorce is a prevalent thing in our society.  Parents know that divorce is rough on the kids, and rightly or wrongly, many parents blame themselves for allowing their marriages to fall apart.  They feel that they have robbed their children of a two-parent home, caused all kinds of issues for their kids, maybe even scarred them for life.

So, in order to make up for this, when the kid stays out too late, the parents let it go.  After all, the parents owe the kid something due to the divorce, right?

Or, the parents shower their kids with gifts and toys.  Whatever the kid wants, the kid gets.  Why?  Because getting everything you want is good for the kid?  No.  The kid gets what he wants because the parents feel guilty and feel that they "owe" the child something.

While this may allow the parents to sleep a little better at night, it is awful for the kids.  Guilt parenting sets the kid up for failure, because- NEWSFLASH- no one other than their parents will make decisions about them based on guilt.

Their employers won't allow them to be late to work.  Their spouses won't cater to their whims or buy off their affection.  No one else will treat them in this way.  Guilt parenting robs a child of a strong sense of right and wrong, a sense of responsibility, and self-discipline.  Without realizing it, parents create a monster while trying to tame the guilt monster within themselves.

I was at the Fayette County Detention Center this morning, teaching fatherhood skills to inmates.  During the introduction time, I asked the guys how many kids they had and how old they were.  One inmate to my immediate left, a man whose shaved head was covered with tattoos, said, "I got four.  Three out there and one sitting right next to me."  He pointed to the younger man sitting next to him.  Then he added, "Pretty pathetic, huh? We're both in here together."

Here was a man with a lot of guilt.  Now, most of the people reading this blog aren't sitting in jail next to their children saying, "Pretty pathetic, huh?"  However, I would imagine that there are quite a few that are sitting at home or at work and are looking at their family life saying,  "Pretty pathetic, huh?"  They look at their own broken lives full of financial mismanagement, broken marriages, broken relationships, dumb decisions, tempers lost (at their children), and they say, "I owe my kids.  I've hurt them; I've ignored them, I've yelled at them, I've made decisions selfishly and it's affected them negatively.  I owe them."

Yes, you owe them.  But you don't owe them leniency or new toys.

You owe them the gift of a parent who doesn't parent out of guilt.

You owe them boundaries and consistency.

You owe them discipline and correction.

You owe them love and affection.

You owe them your time and sacrifice.

You owe them wise decisions, made after prayer and seeking the Lord in Scripture.

You owe them a stable home, not one built on chasing fantasies or emotions or what is cool or popular, but built on what will last for eternity.

You owe them the chance to fall flat on their faces and take responsibility for their laziness, mistakes, and rebellion.

Yes, parents, you owe them.  But you also don't owe them.

You don't owe them popularity or coolness with their friends.

You don't owe them happiness or ease.

You don't owe them new gadgets and toys and clothes and shoes.

You don't owe them the right to do whatever they want, whenever they want.

You don't owe them your silence or apathy.

You are the parent.  Guilt parenting will never raise healthy well-adjusted kids.  It won't even alleviate the guilt you feel inside.  Only God can do that.  I have never seen a good decision be made while guilt was the driving force behind it.  I've never seen views or attitudes that were shaped by guilt benefit anyone.  Guilt muddies the waters and makes otherwise rational people do very foolish and stupid things.

Stop parenting out of guilt.  Start parenting out of love.

The Rise of the New American Aristocracy

"Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent- the Lord detests them both." -Proverbs 17:15

"See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers!"- Isaiah 1:21


Benghazi, Fast and Furious Scandal, IRS being used as a political tool to punish conservatives, EPA scandal, NSA surveillance, DOJ intimidation of the press.  All of these things have one thing in common:  not one person has been brought to justice because of them.

Nor will they be.  I think we in America know this to be true.  At the end of the day, Eric Holder will still be Attorney General, Lois Lerner will still work for the IRS (now she's in charge of enforcing Obamacare), Obama won't be impeached, Hillary Clinton will be nominated for president, and business will continue as usual.  

Why?  Why are these people allowed to get away with such incredible crimes, despising the Constitution and acting in such ways?

The reason is clear- we now have leaders in Washington that are above the law.  

We have, in recent years, seen the rise of a new phenomenon- the new American aristocracy.  There is now a ruling class in Washington that is above the law, above accountability, and above any repercussion or consequences of their actions.  There is very little difference now between America and the fascist regimes of the first half of the twentieth century and the communist regimes of the second half of the twentieth century.  Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, Tito- all of these leaders acted with the same impunity as our leaders in Washington do now.

Why am I writing about this in a Christian blog?  

The Bible has a great deal to say about justice.  God hates injustice.  When most Christians hear the word "injustice," we usually think of the repression of minorities, sex slavery around the world, exploitation of the poor, etc.  However, the biggest injustice today exists with the most powerful people in the world- those that live in Washington DC and are charged with leading this country.

Proverbs 17:15 says that God hates it when those that are guilty are acquitted.  Christians, sometimes our understanding of grace makes us think that we should let evildoers off without any punishment at all.  This is completely wrong.  God calls us to free the innocent AND punish the guilty.  Where there is no justice, there can be no love.  Where there is no justice, the people become jaded and cynical and distrustful.  We can already see that happening in America.

The new American aristocracy- the new above-the-law-privileged-class in America- laughs at us.  They thumb their nose at any attempt to hold them accountable.  Without any shame at all, they look at the American people with condescending smiles on their faces and say, "There, there, good little sheep- we know what's best for you.  Isn't it so cute that you all think we are doing the wrong thing?"

Then, to show their utter contempt for the American people and for justice, the perpetrators are then given promotions and huge monetary bonuses.  Yes- Lois Lerner has been promoted from head of department for tax-exempt organizations to head of department for the enforcement of Obamacare.  The new IRS head, in his first act of office, gave out $70 million in bonuses to his employees.  The new American aristocracy.

One of the prophet Isaiah's harshest criticisms was of the Israeli government, as seen in Isaiah 1:21.  In fact, Isaiah starts out his prophetic warnings, not against the people of Israel, but against the government that was leading the nation astray.  Yes, we can as Christians demand that our government act with honesty and forthrightness without "being political."  Isaiah wrote that the city which was once full of justice was now full of murderers.  Now, was Isaiah being "too political?"  Was he afraid of losing his tax-exempt status?  Was he not extending love and grace and mercy?

No, Isaiah was doing something that has been lost in America- he was speaking the truth.  He was speaking the very words that God gave him to speak.  And the truth in America is this- we now have leaders in Washington that will never be held accountable for their actions, because they are in a new class.  An aristocracy.  A privileged, powerful class that has a different set of rules than everyone else.  

Unless this new phenomenon is brought back into American law and held accountable, we can expect to see fewer and fewer scandals- because they will no longer be scandals.  They will be the actions of a group of people above the law and above accountability.  We will see rampant trashing of the Constitution and outright criminal behavior, but it won't be criminal behavior.  Criminal behavior is only for people who can be arrested and imprisoned.  This won't apply to the new aristocracy.

It is time for Americans to call for justice at the highest levels of government before it is too late.  Isaiah's warnings to Israel went unheeded.  God's judgment came next.  Do we in America think we will be any different?