UNEXPECTED
DEVELOPMENTS
David
Anguish
In 2015, Anthony Rudkin of Somerset,
England burglarized his neighbor’s apartment, stealing some jewelry and a
Playstation 4 video game console. He planned carefully and wore gloves so he
would not leave behind his incriminating fingerprints.
On March 4, 2016, he was sentenced to
two years and five months in prison after admitting to his crime in court.
What went wrong? During the burglary, a
large bag of flour spilled across a hallway. Rudkin did not notice, walked
through it, and left a floury trail straight to his apartment’s front door.
Police followed that trail, found in his apartment a pair of shoes whose soles
matched the profile of the ones that had left the trail, and arrested him.*
What Anthony Rudkin tried for his
burglary people keep trying in life generally. “She may have gotten trapped in
addiction, but I’m smarter than that.” “I know the affair destroyed his marriage,
but he didn’t plan to cover his tracks as well as I have.” “I’ve studied all
the variables. I guarantee you, no one will get hurt.”
Anthony Rudkin’s case shows the flaw in
all such arrogance. The smartest of us don’t know everything. The best organized
among us can’t always plan for the person we never expected to be there.
What we don’t know can, and often does, hurt us, sometimes greatly.
God is not bound by our limits.
Possessing perfect consistency of character (1 Peter 1:15-16), all knowledge
(Psalm 147:5), and perfect motivation (1 John 4:8), he wants to protect us from
what will harm us and provide what is best for us. Knowing of his holiness,
knowledge, and love, we trust that when he says not to do that, or expects us
to do this, it is in our best interest to comply.
Twice in Judges we read, “In those days
Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right” (17:6; 21:25;
NET). The rest of the book shows how well that worked.
How different would things have been if
Israel had listened to a different guide? “Your knowledge is beyond my
comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. Where can I go to escape your spirit? Where
can I flee to escape your presence? . . . even the darkness is not too dark for
you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same
to you.” (Psalm 139:6-7, 12).
*
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/03/04/trail-flour-spoiled-british-crooks-half-baked-burglary.html. Accessed March 6, 2016.
March 2016
www.davidanguish.com
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