The topic of today’s
editorial is a subject that has always been of special interest to me, not only
because of my former career in law enforcement, but also how it applies to our
salvation. I want to talk a few moments about “personal responsibility,”
both in our secular and our spiritual lives.
I’ll start off by
telling you a funny little story that, when you think about it, isn’t really
very funny but it illustrates a common attitude seen today in many
people. We’ve been studying about the parables of Jesus in our Sunday
morning Bible study and leading up to several of them was Jesus’ encounters
with “lawyers/scribes.” So actually, I guess that this “attitude” isn’t
just common to today but pretty much all times.
Our little story
features a “lawyer” who was dying of an incurable disease. He asked his
wife to bring him a Bible. She did so and watched him as he frantically
turned the pages, reading passage after passage. Finally she asked him,
“What are you doing? You’ve never read the Bible before and, in fact,
never shown any interest in religion.” He told her, “I’m looking for a
loop-hole.”
Have you ever thought
much about the word “loop-hole?” It means something like “a small or
narrow opening in a fortified wall.” Or, something like a “way of escape
or evasion.” In other words, a “loop-hole” is simply an “alternative” or
in lawyer-speak, an “escape clause.” Basically, some way of getting
around a law and by so doing, escape a responsibility for an action.
If we want to look at a
Biblical example of this, we don’t have to search very far. Back when
there were only four known people on the earth, one of the four (Cain) killed
his brother (Abel). If you open your Bibles to Gen. 4:3-9 you can
read the account of this murder.
By doing so, you’ll see
that the reason he slew his brother was because his sacrifice was not
acceptable to God and Abel’s was. I picture this killing as being the
result of a jealous rage. The important thing about the account of this
incident and why it applies to our subject today, is the reason Cain’s
sacrifice wasn’t “acceptable”
to God. Briefly stated, he did not do what God required. Had he
done so, it would have been accepted and the crime wouldn’t have occurred.
Now, how I see this
occasion to be fitting to our topic is this. When you read the passage
there in Genesis you’ll see where God said that if he had “done well,” or as
instructed, his sacrifice would have been accepted. By simple deduction,
Abel died because Cain did not “do
well” or as God instructed.
Now why I cited this
passage to you is to point out Cain’s action following the commission of the
crime. How he serves as an example of people who do not accept
responsibility for their actions. When God asked him “Where’s your brother, Abel?”
Cain’s reply was, “I don’t
know, am I my brother’s keeper?”
It’s as if he was
saying, “he’s not my responsibility. Am I supposed to keep track of him,
to know where he is?” Of course, he knew where his brother was. He
had killed him and his body was wherever he had left it. He was
responsible and he knew that he was yet he tried to deny that
responsibility. It’s also important to know and understand that it didn’t
fool God in the least. And, anyone today who thinks that it will is just
as foolish as Cain in thinking that they can get away with denying their
responsibility. That they can avoid paying the penalty.
In our secular world we
have numerous “codes” and “regulations” by which society’s behavior is
governed. There are “Civil Laws,” “Criminal Laws” and the one that a lot
of people are familiar with, “Traffic Laws.” The point is, that we have a
responsibility to obey these laws or pay the penalty for breaking or ignoring
them. Of course, here’s where we find the “loop-holes” and that’s where
we find the “lawyers” using them to mitigate the penalties.
And here’s where we find
the problem as it relates to God and His laws. Man thinks that, because
he can get around man’s laws, that he can do the same with God’s. Man’s
laws, simply by being written by men, are corruptible. God’s laws are
“incorruptible” because man has no authority to change them, to rewrite them in
any way. (Rev. 22:18-19)
I mentioned at the onset
of this lesson that we have a personal responsibility both in our earthly lives
along with our spiritual lives. The Gospel teaches us that we are to be
good, law-abiding citizens (Rom. 13 & 1Pet. 2) and to be caring for
others. Or, as Peter tells us in 2Pet. 1:3-8 that Christians are to have
the “divine nature”
in us that we see in Christ.
Even though the word
“responsibility” does not appear in the King James Version of the Bible,
another word that means the same does appear. That word is “duty.” We all have
duties, both to ourselves, to our families, to society in general, but
especially to God. Christian’s are not to shirk those duties. To
not try to find a way around them. To not look for “loop-holes.”
As we read in our
introductory passage, our ultimate responsibility is to “Fear God and keep His commandments; for
this is the whole duty of man.” And, should we not do so
we’ll be like our example, Cain - our sacrifice will not be “acceptable.”
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
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