There Are No Loopholes

I’m often asked what I think about this or that and there is never a shortage of subjects that need solving at the coffee table. When asked about the multiple conflicts erupting throughout the Middle East, all I can say is, the world is in a mess and most everybody has an opinion on what the best solution for each situation should be to bring about peace. The rub in coming up with the perfect plan for peace is – there has never been peace in the hearts of some men and cultures. The stigma of, you hurt me – I hurt you back, that prevails on both sides of a fence of superciliousness (look that up in your Funk and Wagnall), in my opinion, can’t be fixed. Then there’s the question of what to do about our own domestic backsliding. I’m afraid that in the interest of fair play, even our legislators have painted themselves into a corner of political correctness. They have tied their own hands behind their backs and are now too afraid to stand up, shake a fist in the air and say, “We’re going the wrong way!” I think we’re all turning into a bunch of Wooses sitting around complaining about our constrained law oppressed lifestyle in the land of milk and honey ignoring the fact that the foundation of our great nation is crumbling beneath us. The degradation of moral and ethical standards in this country has already produced cultures of hate and discord resulting in lawlessness in neighborhoods of some metropolitan areas. Ask the citizens of Colorado if they’re real happy with their decision to legalize ‘whacky tabacky’. All I can say is, since discipline and the will of God have been shelved, we’re going the wrong way!

The story is told of a young lady who came to a preacher for advice on her upcoming marriage. She considered herself a Christian with high Godly standards and was about to marry a ‘good ole boy’ but not a Christian. The preacher asked her to step up on a chair and then proceeded to help her step up onto his desktop. He said to the girl, “Now pull me up to where you are.” She tried with all her strength, but failed. The preacher, still holding the girl’s hand, gave a very slight tug and pulled her to the floor. He said to the young lady, “It is more probable that this non-Christian boy will pull you down to his level than it is that you will ever pull him up to your level.” Keep compromising the ideals of our founding fathers, drawn from God’s Word, and you too will find yourself being gently pulled down into the depths of ignorant bliss. For the lack of wisdom, the land of milk and honey is turning sour and beginning to smell rotten.

[Proverbs 11] One of the most popular entertainers of the Vaudeville era was W.C. Fields (1880-1946) While Fields could make audiences roar with laughter, he was certainly not a Christian and made no pretense of his disdain for the Bible. Thus, it came as a great shock when one of Fields’ close friends, visiting him in the hospital near the end of his life, found him reading the Bible one day. When asked what he was doing, Fields, ever the comedian, said, “Just looking for loopholes.” God’s law, unlike man’s, has no loopholes. No lawyer will be able to fool or sway the judge of all men or be able to negotiate a plea bargain. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…”, and 2 Corinthians 5:10 reads, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” If you were to die this very day, where would you spend eternity? God knows and he wrote it down for you.