Grace and Traffic Tickets

I was a just-married seminary student in Wilmore, KY. I had just left class and was driving home in my white 1993 stick-shift Ford Ranger truck when I came to a stop sign. I tapped the brakes, slowed down to about five mph, and (as is usually the case in small-town Wilmore) seeing no one else on the road, I turned right.

Blue lights in the rear-view mirror. I pulled over.

The cop came up and got my license and registration. He went back to his cruiser, and he didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Wilmore.

During the long wait time, I had time to think about it. I was a full-time student, just graduated from college, and my wife was a nurse. We weren't exactly one-percenters. We lived in a cheap duplex in a dingy neighborhood, and by all accounts to pay this ticket would mean that we would be eating fish sticks and hot dogs for the next month with Ramen noodles for dessert.

The cop finally came back to my window, handed me my license and registration. He noticed my books and asked, "Are you at the seminary?"

I said, "Yes sir."

He said, "I am too." Hopefully he was quicker turning in his papers and assignments than he was running license plates. "I'm going to show you something called grace," he said. With that, he handed me a warning. No ticket. Just a warning.

Now, anyone but a seminary student (or minister) would be overjoyed at that and wouldn't think twice about it. However, I had a problem with what he said.

What he showed me wasn't grace. At least, it wasn't what God tells us grace is.

In order for that situation to be true Biblical grace, the cop would have had to look at me and say, "Mr Kibler, you disregarded a stop sign. That will be a $75 fine and three points on your license."

I would say, "I don't have $75 and I'm already over my limit on points on my license."

He would say, "Yes, I know that. You can't pay it. So, I found another driver who has never had a ticket, who has never had any points put on his license, and he voluntarily of his own free will paid the fine and took the points on his own license. His bank account will be deducted, his insurance will go up, and the points will be on HIS license for three years."

I would say, "That's insane! Who would do that for me?"

And the cop would look at me and say, "Me."

Simply letting an offender go isn't grace. The law isn't satisfied. A debt has been incurred, and simply letting an offender go won't settle it. Grace is when the very person who has the right to punish chooses not to, and instead take the punishment on himself, satisfying the law and letting the offender go free.

That's true grace. That's the kind of grace Jesus demonstrated when He went to the cross and died for the sins of the world. He took our debts upon Himself, paid them in full, and set us free from the consequences of them. We, in turn, are called to surrender all things under His Lordship.

So the cop was wrong that day. He didn't show me grace. He showed me kindness, but that's a lot different than actual grace.

When we realize all that Christ has done for us, how can we do anything but give our lives to Him in gratitude? True grace cost Jesus everything He had, and that which was expensive for Him cannot be cheap for us.

Do the ordinary extraordinarily well

When I was nineteen years old, I had the amazing opportunity to play on the Bluegrass Bandits soccer team, which was the first step in the plan to build the then-nonexistent MLS (Major League Soccer). They started with regional semipro teams like the Bandits and then built the MLS teams out of those.

Needless to say, it was a high level of competition. I had never played against players like I did in that league. On our team alone we had players from national teams of other countries, lower-level professional players from England, Division One college players, and so on. Based in the smaller city of Lexington, KY (population 300,000) we played teams from much larger cities with a much larger talent pool and much more money- New Orleans, Little Rock, Birmingham, Charlotte, etc.

We were outclassed by most teams. The other teams were deeper, had more big-name talent, and probably had higher-level coaching than we did. Looking at our lineup, we were prepared to lose well over half our games and finish near the bottom of the league.

We won the Regional Championship and finished first in the Mid-South Division.

Looking back on that year, our coach did one thing that brought us to victory. He emphasized fundamentals.

We weren't flashy. We weren't spectacular. We weren't anything great to watch. We had no standout players.

However, we did the ordinary things extraordinarily well.

We did the simple things right. We passed with accuracy. We played good fundamental defense. We rarely committed turnovers. We played as a team. We hit accurate shots on goal.

And it brought about victory night after night after night over vastly superior teams with vastly superior players.

I learned a lesson that year. If you take care of the fundamentals, the rest will take care of itself.

Today I was teaching in my Inside Out Dad class in the Fayette County Detention Center. We were talking about forming character in our children and what we were hoping to pass down to our children as fathers. I told the men that their children could learn any job skill. They could learn any trade. They could learn any job.

But none of that mattered if they didn't have the fundamentals.

I believe the fundamentals are respect, manners, and dedication. I don't care how smart or capable a person is, if they are disrespectful, rude, and flighty/unreliable they are worthless. They are worthless to an employer, worthless in marriage, and worthless as a father.

Parents, a lot of us emphasize developing skills within our kids. We place them in sports. We place them in activities. We take them to baseball tournaments and soccer tournaments and academic team competitions and all other kinds of things to develop their skills and abilities.

But do we spend that amount of time teaching the fundamentals of respect, manners, and dedication?

Unfortunately, the answer is probably "no" for a lot of us.

I'm amazed at the lack of respect and lack of manners that exists in American children today. How rare it is to hear a child say, "Yes sir" and "No ma'am." How rare it is to hear "Please," "thank you," and "You're welcome" from a little person.

How common it is to hear young people backtalk their elders, curse like sailors, call adults by their first names (don't EVEN get me started on THAT one, GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR), and use "Yeah" instead of "Yes sir." The kid may be smart. The kid may be a good worker. The kid may have a lot of skills. But who really cares?

I'll take the respectful mannerly kid any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why?

Because a person who respects others and uses good manners will be able to open doors and connect with people far better than someone who doesn't. An employee who is mannerly and respectful to customers will bring in far more business than a capable but rude one. A man who is respectful to his wife (and vice versa) will have a far happier marriage than one where disrespect and rudeness dominate the relationship.

It's the fundamentals that count, parents. Take care of the fundamentals and the rest of your child's life will work itself out.


Fundamentals:

• Teach your children to do unto others as they would have others do unto them. If they do that, they will have no problems in life.

• Teach your children to always be on the lookout for a chance to use their manners. Insist on "Please," "Thank you," "You're Welcome," especially with people older than them.

• NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER let your child call an adult by his or her first name, even if the adult says it's okay. Have your children refer to ALL adults as "Mr" or "Mrs" or "Coach" or whatever the appropriate title is. Adults, do NOT tell children it is okay to call you by your first name, because it isn't. It is necessary for the child to know that adults are NOT on the same level as they are. It is good for the child to recognize and be respectful of their elders.

• Teach your children to do the fundamental things well. Be on time. Do what you say you're going to do. Smile. Treat others like you want to be treated.

Maybe we put too much emphasis on making good grades instead of being a good person. Maybe we put too much emphasis on future job training instead of future character training. Maybe we put too much emphasis on how much money our children will one day make instead of what kind of people our children will be.

Maybe we need to give attention to the things that don't bring awards but instead bring a good reputation.

If your child has good fundamentals, life will go pretty well for them. They will have little trouble navigating this life, because their fundamentals are good. A child without good fundamentals is like an athlete that can't dribble or catch. If you don't have the fundamentals, it doesn't matter what other abilities you have.

If you DO have the fundamentals, you'll do well. Very well, in fact. Set your kids up for success by teaching them the fundamentals listed above.

Victory, in sports AND in life, is achieved by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Why Can't Christians Date/Marry Non-Christians?

I think Bruno Mars is one of the best current vocalists out there. Incredible range on that guy. I was listening to "Grenade" the other day and it sounded more like a country song than a pop song:

"I would catch a grenade for you/ throw my hand on a blade for you/ 
I'd jump in front of a train for you/ I would do anything for you
I would go through all this pain/ take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes I would die for you baby/ But you won't do the same"

The song basically tells how dedicated he is to his lady friend, and she doesn't return his level of commitment. This dysfunctional relationship is known as being, "unequally yoked" in Biblical language. Basically what it means that that the two people have differing levels of commitment to each other. When that happens, someone is going to get hurt. Badly.

As I listened to poor Bruno sing the blues about how unequally yoked he is with this woman, I thought of what the Apostle Paul talked about when he told Christians, in the context of relationships and marriage, not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

I've had this question asked to me many times, especially when I was a youth minister- "Can a Christian date a non-Christian?" The answer is a resounding "no." When I would tell young people that (or adults) I would immediately get accusations of being judgmental or something like that. The Christian concept of only dating other Christians isn't judgmental or bigoted. Far from it. God doesn't want you to hate anyone or exclude anyone because of bigotry.

Can a Christian and a non-Christian love each other? Sure.

Can a Christian and a non-Christian communicate and respect each other and all that? Sure.

It's just that any relationship where the people are unequally yoked is going to have major trouble.

Everyone is moving towards something in his or her life. What we prioritize is what we move towards. If you are a Christian, your number one priority is Jesus Christ. As you move towards Him, your life, your values, your goals, your lifestyle, etc all take on the will of Christ as revealed in Scripture.

A person who is not a Christian doesn't share that priority. His or her life is moving in a different direction. Whatever he or she prioritizes is what he or she is moving towards, be it family, career, money, friends, whatever it is. As that person moves towards his or her priorities, the lifestyle, goals, values, etc will take on the aspects of his or her priority.

As the relationship progresses, the two people move apart. He's moving in one direction towards his priorities, and she is moving in a different direction towards hers. That's why marriage experts tell us that most marriages die with a whimper, not an explosion.

For example, let's say a Christian is married to a non-Christian. One of the most common causes of conflict is how to spend money. As the Christian grows in maturity, he feels the need to be faithful to the Christian teaching of tithing and generosity. So, he proposes to his non-Christian wife that they take the first 10% of their money and give it to the church he goes to.

She doesn't share his monetary values. She would rather that 10% go towards paying off debt or saving for college or on a new car. They are unequally yoked in their beliefs, and as anyone who is married knows, conflicts about money are no laughing matter. They are the number one cause of conflict in marriage.

That is just one small example of what being "unequally yoked" in dating/marriage looks like. There are many other issues that will pop up if a Christian marries a non-Christian, such as raising the children in the faith, spending the summer vacation going on a mission trip instead of to the beach, prioritizing church on Sunday instead of sports, etc.

It's not that God wants you to discriminate or hate or be fearful of non-Christians when it comes to dating and marriage. It's just that marriage is difficult enough when the two people HAVE the same beliefs. He doesn't want His people to experience the conflict and pain of a marriage between two people who are unequally yoked.

So you say, Dave, that's marriage. But what about just casual dating?

I don't believe in casual dating.

I tell my children that unless you see yourself marrying this person at some point in the future, they aren't worth dating. If they don't have the characteristics that you would look for in a spouse- faith, honesty, respect for you and respect for themselves, etc then why would you waste your time? Casual dating, with no plans for marriage, will always lead to the inevitable breakup, and why get into something you know will end in a possibly painful way? There is no wisdom in it.

Marriages that last for the long haul involve two people who can communicate at the deepest level possible, who share the common foundation of their most deeply held beliefs. If you are a Christian, you should only marry a person who shares your most deeply held beliefs and who will challenge and encourage you in the things that are of ultimate importance to you. The deep connection between a husband and wife who are equally committed to God is a wonderful one indeed. It is what makes marriage so wonderful by those who have it. The absence of that foundation is what makes marriage so terrible for so many.

If by dating or marrying someone you have to hide or minimize your most deeply held beliefs, you are in for major trouble down the road. Therefore, the Christian who wants to maintain and grow in his or her beliefs will date/marry only those who are walking that same road. The secret to a great marriage is being equally committed, equally yoked, together.

Poor Bruno Mars, if he had any respect for himself, needs to get out of that relationship he's singing about in "Grenade." If two people don't share the same amount of commitment, you will experience all the pain he sings about in that song. The same is true for people who don't share a common faith. 

The Prayerless Christian

I'm not very good at prayer.

I'm decent at some things about the Christian life. I love to read the Bible. I love to preach. I love to counsel, blog, teach, do prison ministry, go on mission trips, encourage orphans, visit hospitals, etc. I really like doing those things.

I just don't pray much.

I wish I did. As a pastor, prayer is of utmost importance. Communication with God is essential not just for my life as a Christian but especially as a pastor. You might even be thinking, "How in the world does the guy lead a church without praying much?"

That's a good question. One I don't really have a good answer to.

However, I'm finding that I'm not the only one with this issue.

Christians are good at all sorts of things. They are good at loving people. Yes, they really are. I've never met a more non-judgmental, caring, kind, giving, loving group of people as Christians. I don't care what the media says about Christians- they are the best people I know. Christians are also great at giving. American Christians, last year alone, spent $5 billion of their own money rescuing orphans from poverty through organizations like Compassion and World Vision, not to mention smaller organizations like our Catalyst Orphanage in India.

Christians are good at going to church. Millions of Christians attend church every week. Many millions more attend conferences to hear good preachers, listen on podcasts, watch preachers on YouTube, etc. Christians are good at sharing their faith and making converts. If they weren't, Christianity wouldn't be the largest religion in the world.

Christians are good at forgiving. Egypt's Coptic Christians, recently the victims of church bombings and murder by ISIS, publicly forgave the murderers and said that they loved them, much to the amazement of the Muslim world. Their culture is one of honor where revenge is almost mandatory, yet the Christians refused to take revenge and instead forgave. Christians are good at that.

However, many Christians just aren't very good at prayer.

I don't think it's because we don't want to talk with God. Far from it. It's just that prayer doesn't fit very well into American culture. In order to truly be consistent at prayer, it takes time. Time and silence. Time and intentional removal of oneself from media, smartphones, video games, computers, iPads, etc. It takes a quiet room with no distractions. It takes time of listening, time of pondering, time of reflection and seeking. That, my friends, doesn't happen much in America.

Our overstimulated brains have been wired for constant input. Silence, reflecting, removal of all stimulation is enough to drive most of us crazy, almost like an addict experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

For me, I can't start to pray without movie lines, songs, etc flooding my brain. I try to focus on God and having a conversation with Him, and all of a sudden a scene from Blazing Saddles or Dumb and Dumber goes through my mind, and then I start singing, "Pour Some Sugar On Me," (can you tell which generation I'm from?) and then I'm taken back to high school and the times I would blast that song from my Jeep, then my mind cuts to everything that I have to do that day, urgent lists of things that MUST be done right now, and then . . . . . .

And then my prayer life ceases.

It's very frustrating, because I love God. I love His word. I love His fellowship and His presence in my life, and I want to be good at prayer. I want to be able to shut it all off and get alone with Him every day. I want all those things.

It's just that developing a real prayer life takes such discipline, such sacrifice, such . . . . .  UNPLUGGING from normal life that many of us simply can't, or won't, do it. It's just too hard. It's like asking an addict to lay down his dope. Our stimulation-addicted brains just can't handle an hour of quiet silence where the God of the Universe speaks to us and we speak to Him.

I've become convinced of one thing- prayerlessness in the life of the Christian is sin.

What?

Yes. I'll say it again. Prayerlessness in the life of a Christian is sin.

In his masterpiece work, A Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes: "Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ. . . .  Prayer- secret, fervent, believing prayer- lies at the root of all personal godliness." -Foster, p 33

If you don't connect with God personally through prayer, you will have a tough time living out the Christian faith. It's just too hard. Without experiencing the power of God through prayer, you will burn out. Quickly. Take it from me, a guy who continues to struggle with the absence of prayer in my life.

I've also found that sin and prayer are mutually exclusive. The person who prays stops sinning, and the people who sin stop praying. Sin and prayer can't occupy the same space in your life. Either one or the other will win out. To pray is to root sin out of your life. To sin is to root prayer out of your life. You have to decide which one you value and which one you want.

Most of all, prayer is what pleases our Heavenly Father the most. As a father myself, I love it when my children come to me and simply want to talk with me. No agenda, not needing anything- just simply wanting some of my time because they love me and they know that I love them. It is the same with our Heavenly Father. Time is our Heavenly Father's love language.

Maybe one of the reasons there is such spiritual opposition to prayer is that our adversary, the devil, fears a Christian with a close connection with God. Satan is unable to tempt and destroy a person who is in close communion with the Father. Maybe that's why prayerlessness is so prevalent in the church. Maybe that's why we are frustrated and burned out trying to do what Jesus says. Maybe that's why people drop out of church, feel "unsatisfied" with their church experience, or have never really experienced the true power of God.

Today, Christians, is the day to connect with God in prayer. Not to get things, not because you need things, but simply because you love God and He loves you.

The Powerful Gift of a Growing Mom and Dad

The longer I live, the more I realize the importance of mom and dad in the development of faith in their children.

I believe that youth ministry and children's ministry are good things. I was a youth minister for nine years before being demoted to senior minister. I am a big believer in churches investing in their young people with specific programs and ministries dedicated to reaching them.

However, youth and children's ministries are extremely limited in their ability to be effective. That's because youth and children's ministries were never intended to be the sole or even the major conveyor of spiritual truth to children. God set up the mom and dad to be the primary teachers of faith to their children- a job that is woefully neglected by most moms and dads.

Why is this?

I don't think it's because moms and dads are evil. Far from it. Moms and Dads love their kids and want what is best for them. I think it's something else.

I think most moms and dads have taught their kids everything they know about the faith. Which, at the end of the day, really isn't much in most cases. I would imagine that if most church people were honest, there hasn't been a lot of growth in them in awhile. Oh sure, they've picked up a morsel here and a morsel there, but if we were gut-level honest, many if not most parents who come to church every week haven't made significant steps in their faith in a long time.

They are most likely still struggling with the same sins they were several years ago. They probably have similar patterns of prayer, reading the Bible, and other practices of Christians. They probably are serving in the same capacity that they were years ago, if at all. They probably haven't led anyone to the Lord in several years, if at all. In other words, when it boils down to it, Mom and Dad just ain't growing much. Well, let's be honest- Mom and Dad just ain't growing at ALL.

So it's no surprise that their children aren't growing either.

However, what if that weren't the case?

I like to give gifts to my children. I like to give them money. I like to give them sports equipment so they can play their sports. I like to give my children lots of gifts. We give our children gifts all the time, as we should. However . . . .

Parents- are you giving your children the powerful gift of a growing Mom and Dad?

Do your children see you as a different person than they did last year, or two or three years ago? Did they formerly know you as a reactionary person who went off because of the slightest provocation, and now they know you as a person of peace and understanding?

Did they formerly know you as a person who slept in on Sunday morning and now see you as a faithful church member?

Did they formerly know you as a person who never really engaged in the mission of Christ but now see you taking mission trips and serving?

Did they formerly know you as a bitter, unforgiving, mean person who now is full of joy?

Did they formerly see you as a person who obsessed over money who now is very generous?

Did they formerly see you as a person with no control over his or her mouth who now speaks words of kindness and love?

The list goes on, but you get my point.

Have you given them the powerful gift of a growing Mom and Dad?

As a former youth minister, I wish all my former students had had growing Moms and Dads. I wish that they had seen, in their homes, the life change in their parents. I wish that my former students could have grown up in homes where the grace of God was being talked about, shared about, and lived out by growing parents.

I wish that parents would have taken their faith as seriously as they wanted their children to.

Parents, today, give the powerful gift of growing parents to your children. Notice I didn't say "perfect." I said, "growing." I'm not so much concerned with parents being perfect (none of us are) as I am with parents that are simply living with a stagnant, lifeless, out-of-sight-out-of-mind faith. Parents whose faith is lifeless are robbing their children of a precious gift.

However, parents whose faith is life-giving and growing are giving their children a powerful gift. By their example, they are showing the growth process that God expects of all Christians. They aren't just sending their kids to church to learn about it. They are living it out in front of them. That's the way God intended for faith to be passed on. That's the way our children grow.

And that's the way that we ensure the blessings of God- the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control- are passed down to the next generation.

America's moral decline threatens the very existence of a free society

News story after news story says the same thing: Americans believe that our nation is in moral decline. The last study I saw showed the 80% of Americans stated that America is worse off morally now than we were ten years ago.

It's interesting because it's not just one group of people saying that. It's not just conservatives who bemoan the direction of society. It's also liberals saying this. It's a rare thing these days for both liberals and conservatives to agree on something, but one thing is for certain- both say that America is in moral decline.

The problem, however, comes in the next question- what is "moral decline?"

That question would have been easy to answer fifty years ago. There was a common culture and a common understanding of what was right and wrong. It was generally assumed that a person should be honest- that lying, stealing, and cheating were immoral. It was generally assumed that adultery was immoral. It was generally assumed that sex outside of marriage was immoral (even though it happened quite often) and it was generally assumed that physical violence, except for self-defense, was immoral.

**NOTE**(I'm not talking about a return to the "good old days." Those days really didn't exist, other than in our minds. Immorality was around back then too. The difference between that day and today, however, is that at least back then when it happened, people agreed that it was wrong. That doesn't happen as much today.)

It was also generally understood that these morals came from God. These were not inventions of humanity. They were laid down in God's laws (think Ten Commandments) and were generally agreed upon by the majority of society.

That has changed radically.

Since the 1960s, moral relativism has taken root in America. When I was in school in the 80s and 90s, the prevailing thought was that "what is right for you isn't necessarily right for me, and what is wrong for you isn't necessarily wrong for me." How did this occur?

Easy. America moved its understanding of morality away from the absolutes of God.

With the foundation of God's law removed from the mind of society, morals became things that were philosophically appealing to the individual, not things mandated by a higher power with authority over our lives. Morality became personal, not universal. All of a sudden, if an individual found adultery philosophically appealing, regardless of what anything or anybody else said, it suddenly became okay. If violence was philosophically appealing to an individual, it suddenly became moral to commit acts of violence. After all, who are we to tell them they are wrong?

For example, the Antifa movement chants, "Any time, any place, punch a Nazi in the face." Well, is violence immoral? For Antifa, it isn't. It is perfectly moral for them, they believe, to commit acts of violence against "Nazis," which they define as anyone who thinks differently than them. They believe they are taking the moral high ground in acting violently towards them. They have created their own morality, and believe themselves to be on the side of good. Honestly, who are we to tell them they are wrong . . . . .  if we hold to moral relativism and say that what is right for you is not necessarily right for me?

So, in essence, we have no morals. We are left only with things that each individual places value on as "right" and "wrong."

How, then, do 80% of people in America say that we are in moral decline? What morals are declining, and honestly, why do we care?

Think about it- if right and wrong is determined by the individual, how can America be in moral decline? Answer- it can't be. Moral relativism states that right and wrong is up to each individual person, and therefore, no one can be immoral. The term "moral decline" implies that there is an objective standard from which we are moving downward. However, if all the people in a society are simply living out what they believe to be right, there can be no "moral decline."

America can only be in moral decline if morals are actually universal, dictated to us by an authority outside of ourselves, and non-negotiable. 80% of Americans, therefore, believe that there IS an objective moral standard out there, and we are moving downwards from it.

I agree with that assessment.

Churches used to be the conveyor of morals to a community. Fathers and mothers would communicate truths of the Bible to their children- "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not lie, Do not covet, Honor Father and Mother, Don't use the Lord's Name carelessly, Remember the Sabbath Day, Do not worship idols . . . .  and the number one moral- YOU SHALL HAVE NO GODS BEFORE ME."

As our society has de-emphasized the role of church in a community, and with it the role of Christian morality, our society has suffered. Drug use is epidemic in America right now as people seek escape from life or just find a way to feel good. Divorce is rampant, tearing homes apart and growing entire generations of children raised in broken homes. According to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, there are 27 million shoplifters in America, or one out of every eleven people in this nation. Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in America, ruining its victims for years and stealing away financial security.

Why do we care?

Because our entire way of life depends on it.

John Adams, one of the founders of this nation, upon his vote to ratify the Constitution of the United States, issued this warning- "This Constitution is meant only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the the governance of any other."

John Adams knew that a free society would HAVE to be a moral society. A society where people had personal privacy, the freedom to move around, assemble, speak, practice religion, question the government, etc would have to be self-governed. A society that was characterized by immorality would necessitate a police state- a state resembling a prison where all behavior was monitored, no freedoms were granted, and the government kept a watchful eye on all activity.

This is why we care about America's moral decline.

I am as shocked and as saddened as you are about hearing about the terrorist bombing in Manchester, England. As of the writing of this blog, there is intelligence showing another terrorist attack is imminent. As disturbing as the bombing was, what truly bothered me were the pictures coming from England showing the English army soldiers patrolling the streets.

Armed patrols of military units decked out in tactical gear, usually only seen in war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, are now on the streets of Manchester, England. They are walking through streets of a nation not at war, not under occupation, not being threatened by a foreign army. However, they might as well be. That looks more like a police state than a free society.

The only response the government has to morality is to step up policing and take away freedom. It's the only tool it has to counteract it.

We have immoral people committing acts of violence in school. The response is to have metal detectors and police officers in school.

We have immoral people stealing from shopping malls. The response is to have security officers, cameras, and increased surveillance.

We have immoral people threatening terrorist acts against us. The response is more government surveillance of email, social media, text messages, etc.

See, an immoral society, a society which cannot police itself, a society where violence and theft and lying and cheating are rampant, is begging for a police state. When the people cannot police themselves, the government will. As America slips further and further into moral decline, we will see more surveillance, more police, more National Guard, more laws, more rules, and more incarceration. We will lose the very freedoms we cherish due to the increasing immorality of our society.

This is why we care.

This is why parents must step up and teach their children the Biblical morals that were at one time woven into the fabric of our society.

This is why we must take seriously the Biblical mandate to discipline our children.

This is why we must stop believing this false philosophy of moral relativism that says morals are subjective and up to the individual- after all, could the Manchester bomber really be considered immoral or wrong? He was simply doing what he believed to be right. Who are we to judge, right?

This is why we must take seriously our commitment to our local churches. They need to become once again the moral voice in our communities, teaching right from wrong and training parents to teach their children right from wrong.

Our very way of life- our very society- hinges on the level to which we hold to morality. Right now it is in danger. It is up to us to turn it around.

"I had things to do . . . . "

I was in court the other day waiting for the trial of one of the graduates of my prison ministry program. There was a woman at the stand, talking to the judge. I had missed the first part of what was going on, but I quickly got the gist of what was going on.

The woman had been on probation and had missed her court date two weeks prior. Because of that, she had been arrested and put in the detention center for probation violation. There she was now, in an orange jumpsuit, talking to the judge.

The judge said, "Ms _______________, last Friday you were supposed to appear in court to have your supervised probation changed to unsupervised probation, basically meaning you were going to be free. No more checking with probation officer, free to leave the state, etc. I was going to set you free. Can you tell me why you failed to appear in court?"

She replied, "I had things to do."

I blinked several times. Did I just hear correctly? Did she just tell the judge she had "things to do?" I think the judge was as startled as I was. He was probably expecting some kind of excuse or reason, but I doubt he was expecting to hear that.

He took off his glasses, looked down, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and said, "Excuse me, did you say that you had 'things to do?"

She nodded.

He said, "This was a trial to SET YOU FREE. Do you understand that?"

She nodded and said, "I didn't think you'd mind."

The judge just stared at her.

The line from Forrest Gump ran through my head when Forrest went to see Bubba's family and Bubba's mom asked Forrest, "Are you crazy or just plain stupid?" (And of course, Forrest answered, 'Stupid is as stupid does, ma'am.')

Yes. Stupid is as stupid does. And what this lady did was stupid. I guess Forrest WAS correct. Stupid actually IS as stupid does.

The judge said, "The lack of respect shown to this court is upsetting me. You were going to be set free, but now I have no option but to charge you with probation violation as well as contempt of court. You were looking at six years, but were on probation. Now, your sentence of six years in the detention center is back. Good day."

A woman who was about to be set free from her sentence of six years got sent back to the slammer.

I tried to think of something that was so important that she couldn't show up in court- something so important that it was worth missing a judge's hearing to be set free from a sentence of six years in jail. Something so amazing and important and worthwhile and fulfilling and purposeful that it was worth going to jail for six years for.

I couldn't think of a single thing.

I shook my head as I watched this. What in the world was this woman thinking? But then I realized something. I wonder if that is what many people will say when they stand before God on the day of their judgement. God will look at them and say, "I died for you. I died for your sins. You were sentenced to hell because of the sins you committed. I took your sins on Myself and I wanted to set you free, but you didn't even show up. You never honored Me as God. You never acknowledged what I did for you. You couldn't make it to church for worship, just to say thank you. You refused to accomplish My Great Commission to go into all the world and make disciples. I had a purpose for you, gifts and talents I blessed you with and you didn't use them to honor Me or build up My church. There were children who needed adoption, but you never did. There were people who needed you and you weren't there. There were things I wanted you to do with My money (yes, it's mine, not yours) and you spent it on yourself. You went your own selfish way, never acknowledging Me as God. Why?"

I wonder if most people will respond, like the lady did, "I had things to do."

I'm racking my brain trying to come up with something so important, so meaningful, so pressing, so utterly essential to our being that would cause us to miss God's invitation to be set free from an eternity in hell. Something so important and so pressing that would keep us from His church. Something so dadgum essential to life that we would willingly go to hell for eternity for it.

I can't think of a single thing.

Yet, how many of us are missing it? How many of us will have nothing better to say to God than, "Well, I had things to do," when He asks us why we didn't show up? Why we didn't do what He wanted us to do? Why we were so busy that we couldn't make disciples, pass on our faith to our children, why we couldn't prioritize worship on Sunday mornings, why we couldn't stay faithful to Him?

So many of us take the glory of God so lightly. We think of God as so trivial. We think of His justice as no big deal. We think lightly of His sacrifice on the cross. We give a patronizing smile to the eternal consequences of sin and think nothing of it, saying the same thing the woman said to the judge, "I didn't think you'd mind." We think of God as a giant cosmic teddy bear, a large version of Mr Rogers, or a kindly old Captain Kangaroo who just doesn't mind in the slightest what we do because, after all, we have things to do.

People, nothing is worth eternity. It's time for us to take the glory of God seriously. It's time for us to take the sacrifice of Jesus seriously. It's time for us to realize that the justice of God is as real as His grace and the wrath of God is as real as His love. The earthly judge I saw a few days ago wouldn't put up with being held in contempt- do we truly think that our Heavenly Judge will put up with our contempt for His justice?

The woman thought the judge wasn't all that. It was obvious by her actions towards him that she had no respect for him or for his authority. She found out very quickly that she was wrong. Let's not be such fools when it comes to God.