A man having lunch at a Chinese restaurant noticed the table had been set with forks not chopsticks. He asked why. The waiter responded, “Chopsticks are provided only upon request.” “But” the man countered, ”if you gave your patrons chopsticks, you wouldn’t have to pay someone to wash all the forks” “True” responded the waiter, “but we would have to hire three more people to clean up the mess!”
I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard this over a store’s loud speaker = “Clean-up on aisle three.” And then you see a store employee rushing over with cleaning gear in hand. I have to wonder how often these days we’re thinking, “Clean-up in Washington D.C.?” Or “Clean-up in Sacramento.” If you aren’t thinking it, maybe you should be! Things are a mess these days! Laws are being broken nationwide and the guilty are simply strolling away from the crimes. City DA’s are allowing caught criminals to simply walk, and our judges seem to be a law unto themselves! Challenging times for sure!
There are credible reasons we have rules & laws. It all reminds me of a difficult time in the Old Testament when the land was in a state of unrest and turmoil. The Israelites had turned away from God and did “what was right in their own eyes.” This phrase is used 7 times in the book of Judges. We’re not talking about people who chose to do wrong – they actually chose to do right. The problem was they chose for themselves what was right — and wrong. They alone made that decision. It turned out to be a recipe for disaster.
But doesn’t this sound exactly like the condition we’re in today?! Unrest and confusion abound, all because we have decided what’s right – from the president on down. Never mind the laws – we now individually decide truth. We will do what is right in our own eyes. As a nation we have fallen away from God and we are in distress! What a mess!!
No person has the right to decide what’s right & wrong. No preacher has that right; no young person, no government, no court, no gay community, has that right. God only has the right to decide what’s right & wrong. Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
An insightful writer – Toba Beta – penned this piece: ”If you violate laws of God, you’re a sinner. If you violate laws of men, you’re a criminal. if you violate your own law, you’re pathetic.” Kinda funny but very true!
In 1992, Dennis Lee Curtis was arrested for armed robbery in South Dakota. Cutis though, apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet, police found a sheet of paper on which he had written rules for himself – guidelines for his robberies:
~ I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
~ I will take cash and food stamps – no checks.
~ I will rob only at night.
~ I will not rob mini-marts or 7 Eleven stores.
~ If chased by a vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
But “doing what was right in his own eyes” proved to be pretty pathetic, and when Curtis stood before the judge he was convicted by a higher set of laws. Score one for
South Dakota!
The truth is, without a God-centered standard for right & wrong, without any absolute plumb line, we will always be off track. We are truly limited when we sideline God from our body of laws!
A photographer was once assigned to take pictures of a large forest fire. He was told a small plane would be waiting for him at the airport to fly him over the blaze. He arrived at the airstrip and sure enough, there was the plane. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, “Okay, let’s go!” The pilot, looking tense, turned the plane into the wind and soon they were high in the air, though flying erratically.
“Fly over the south side of the fire,” said the photographer, “and make several low-level passes” “Why?” asked the nervous pilot? “Because I’m going take pictures!” yelled the photographer. “I’m a photographer – we take pictures.” The stunned pilot replied “You mean you’re not the flight instructor?” Oops!
Having a good flight instructor on board would be the ultimate security for any pilot, much the same way God’s laws provide security for our lives! Cecil B. DeMille once made this striking comment: “Man has made 32 million laws sine the Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mt. Sinai…but he has never improved on God’s law.”
