This is in answer to an e-mail my brother Lance sent me about the death penalty. This link will take you to the article he was referencing.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all

Here is my response.

I think that the first exposure that I received to the argument that the Bible mandates the death penalty was when I went to Prairie and took my first tour through the Old Testament. Since then, my views have (I hate to say it) evolved. Although I would like to point out that the evolution of my thinking has absolutely nothing to do with random mutations.

This is what I think.

It is a horrible injustice to execute an innocent man, but it is probably equally horrible to condemn an innocent man to prison for life.

It is an imperfect world. Innocent people get convicted from time to time. Some of them have almost definitely been executed.

We can't eliminate the criminal justice system because it is imperfect. There are predators among us and they must be dealt with.

My reaction to the news that led Illinois Gov. George Ryan to commute those death sentences was not that the death penalty was wrong, but that the system probably needs some sort of a balancing mechanism. If that many people on death row have been set free, how many innocent people are rotting in prison while serving life sentences? I am just as concerned about them as I am about those facing the death penalty. After all, as Bill Clinton's brilliant Surgeon General once remarked, "I suppose we all got to die of something."

I think that we could probably set up a process whereby any sentence longer than 20 years could be re-investigated from the ground up by a state police unit that would be, in some way, the equivalent of an internal affairs department.

I think that prosecutorial misconduct is a very, very scary thing, and that it is probably more common than we are aware of.

I think we should be impeaching federal judges on a fairly regular basis. We are not stuck with these peopel for life, or at least we don't have to be.

I think that they really didn't have any option other than execution during Old Testament times. They simply didn't have, and couldn't afford a prison system like the one we have today. If you took something from someone, you didn't go to prison. You paid it back plus 20%. If you couldn't afford to pay it back, you were sold into slavery for a period of time necessary to repay the debt.

If you injured someone, an economic value was attached to the injury and you had to pay that person for their injury plus 20%. This is the famous "eye for and eye and tooth for a tooth" passage. The idea is that you don't fine someone as much for a knocked out tooth as you would for a gouged out eye.

You'll notice that there was no mention of prison in the previous two examples. As I said, the system didn't exist, nor could they have afforded to construct such a system.

I just had Christmas with my family, and I was thinking about depression days and pioneer days when kid might have received an orange for Christmas. Our standard of living is amazing and it makes many things possible now that were not possible then.

The only institution that could have served as an equivalent to prison was slavery, but the slave system was not like the one set up in the South and it wouldn't have worked for capital crimes. Let's say that I had the resources to pay someone's fine and accept that person as a indentured servant until their labor paid me back the cost of the fine plus a small profit. Assuming that I could come up with enough money to pay for a human life, there is no way I'm gong to let a murderer loose in my farm or in my shop. I wouldn't have a system in place that would enable me to do that safely.

In the light of all these facts, I don't think we would be dishonoring God if we were to do away with the death penalty or at least modify it in some way.

Last, but not least, I am more and more impressed with the reality that no one gets away with anything in the end, apart from the forgiveness of God through Christ. Even in that case, the crimes forgiven have been paid for by the sufferings of the Savior.

The deeds are being written down and the books are going to be opened. How much time will all this take and in what detail will our lives be reviewed? I am beginning to think that they will be reviewed in great detail. If I will not loose my reward for a cup of cold water given out of compassion, then it makes sense to me that my good deed, which seems like a very small thing to me, is actually a very big deal in the sight of God. I suspect that every random act of kindness will be reviewed in detail.

There will be no shortage of time. God could spend 25 or 30 years reviewing my life with me in great detail.

This same process will apply to sins not covered by the blood of Christ. We must believe this, preach it, and be a witness to it.

Our problem, I think, is that we don't remember very much very clearly. All of our past, good and bad, get's lost in the mist of our memories. But that thing you did ten years ago, whether good or bad, will be reviewed in detail. And if it was a bad thing, and you protest to God about it, He can reach inside of you and press a neuron that will cause you to instantly recall, in vivid detail, every aspect of the incident under discussion. In deep hypnosis it is possible for a person to remember their whole life in vivid detail, even including sounds and odors.

We are like foolish criminals who commit crimes in front of ATM's or in other places where security cameras record everything in vivid detail. In our case, the recording is not just in the mind of God, it's permanently recorded somewhere in the recesses of our own brains.

I used to love Paul Harvey's stupid criminal stories. The guy hands the teller a note saying, "I have a gun. Give me the money!" The teller turns the note over after the criminal flees. He wrote the note on the back of an envelope. On the other side the teller sees his name and address. This type of thing actually happens.

Imagine an even stupider criminal. He plans his crime in great detail. Then he writes a letter to a judge. "You need to be at such and such a place at such and such a time. Bring some cops and a jury. This is what I'm going to do. We can have the trial in five minutes after the crime. This will save time and money."

Every sin is just that stupid. You visited the no-tell motel with sweet Susie from the office and nobody saw you? You think you got away with it? In a worst case scenario, the biggest worry you have is that your wife will find out?

The entire crime was caught on film. The Judge was holding the camera. And you will be called into account.

So, Merry Christmas to one and all. Thank God for the gift of His Son which has resulted in a whole lot of video tape being erased. All praise and glory to the King of Heaven, who is perfect in love, in justice, and in power.

Overwhelmed

As I have been meditating on this whole business of heavenly rewards, this is what the Holy Spirit has whispered in my heart. When it’s all said and done, when the judgments have been rendered and the rewards have been given, we will all be overwhelmed by the sheer kindness of God.

Overwhelmed by the sheer kindness of God. I’d like to get me some of that too.

Waht kind of reward?

So when we get to heaven, we’ll have everything we could want or need; streets of gold and all that. That being the case, what is this reward thing all about? What will it be like?

I’m not sure. The Revelation of John talks about crowns which may be symbolic of public recognition, but again, I’m not really sure what the exact nature of the rewards will be like. But while I do not have much information on the nature of the gift, I do have a great deal of information on the nature of the Giver. His genius is both perfect and infinite. So whatever it actually is, if He wants to give it to me, I want it. Badly.

And if I am reading the gospels correctly, Jesus wants me to be motivated in my everyday life by the coming reward. I guess it’s going to be kind of like Christmas. There will be presents, but no one knows for sure what they’ll get. Sometimes we get stuff that we don’t really want or need, but the rewards will never be like that. Perfect wisdom and infinite love. He has something for us. I gotta get me some of that.

Where to Invest

I thought I had it all figured out. Put everything in a mutual fund that mirrors the Standard and Poor’s 500. And just leave it there. Historically that will outperform the interest you can get from CD’s or bonds. And it will probably outperform any portfolio of stocks that you pick for yourself or have a broker pick for you.

This may still be good investment advice for a younger person. For someone my age, well, let’s just say I wish that I had moved it all into an interest bearing account right before the market tanked. It might also have been a good move to use all of my retirement money to buy gold if I had done it before the market tanked. The problem with gold, of course, is where are you going to store it? Somebody could steal it.

That being said, my other account is doing great! All it does is get bigger and bigger, no matter what the economy does. And nobody can steal it. Bernie Madoff can’t con me out of it. That is because I have set aside “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” (Matt. 6:20 NASB)

Every single penny that has gone into the offering plate is growing at interest. God remembers every dime. And He has promised to reward me.

All for four easy payments . . . but wait!

I can tell you how to double your income without increasing the number of hours you work each week. Using my proven system you can actually get paid twice for the hours you work. Not only that, 100% of your “second salary” will to into a unique financial instrument, 100% tax free! Not only that, it will be 100% tax free when you eventually draw on the account! And believe it or not, God doesn’t expect you to tithe on the second income! Imagine where you will be ten years from today if you literally double your income and save half of it tax free? And you can have my proven system for only four easy payments of $49.95! But wait! If you call in the next six minutes, we will make one of the payments for you! That’s right! You can have my proven system for only three easy payments of $49.95! That’s a savings of $49.95 off the regular price. And we’ll even include free shipping! Simply call the toll free number below!

But … what if I really had such a system? And what if I was willing to give it to your for free? Right here. Right now. Would you be interested in that deal?

My system is very simple. Pray this prayer at the beginning of your work day.

“Father, I have to go to work now. Please help me to be mindful of You throughout the day. Please help me to rely on You and to receive from You strength and wisdom to do my work. Please help me to do my work unto You, as an act of worship. Please help me to be consciously motivated by the reward I will receive in the life to come. Please make me an instrument through whom You can love and bless others this day. May the light of my testimony be used in bringing my co-workers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Amen.“

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (Col. 3:23, 24 NASB)

My system even works for work you do for which you receive no actual pay, like cleaning the bathroom. But you’ll probably need to copy the prayer and actually pray it at the beginning of each work day until it the whole thing becomes real to you.

Of course, if anyone would like to go ahead and send in those three easy payments of $49.95, I will go ahead and make the fourth payment for you. Honest!

Rewarded for Reading

Every time you read this blog you are earning a reward. A record is made of the time you spent reading. An account is being kept. In some sort of account a balance is growing. The day is coming when you will receive your rewards.

All of this became clear to me when I was reading the Sermon on the Mount recently. The Holy Spirit pointed something out to me that I had never noticed before. I had always gotten the part about praying in private and not making a big public display of it. But I don’t think the fact that God will reward us from praying ever really registered with me. (Matt. 6:6)

Every time you read the Bible, pray, go to church, or read Christian teachings (such as this blog) you are doing something that has eternal consequences. God will remember each and every time you do that which is right. And God will reward you.

More Than Enough Time

God is not overwhelmed by the details of your life. If the very hairs on your head are numbered, God certainly has the capacity to remember ever single good deed that you have ever done. We must not make the mistake of thinking that God’s memory of our life is anything like our own memory of what we have done.

How many minutes of my life have been spent in prayer? The first answer that comes to mind is “not enough.” The second answer is “I have no idea.” But the real answer is a specific figure, the exact number of minutes that I have spent in prayer. If I were to ask God for that number right now He could give it to me – instantly. He wouldn’t have to pause for a moment and do some math in His head. He knows the answer that the question down to the exact number of seconds.

So the question that comes to mind is this: is God going to specifically review with me each time I prayer or is He going to base it on the total minutes spent? How will this work exactly? While I obviously can’t give any kind of a definitive answer, I do know that Jesus assures us that something as simple as giving a disciple of cup of water will be rewarded. (Mark 9:41) That seems awfully specific to me. One thing I do know, there will be more than enough time to review my life in whatever detail God desires to us. There is no reason, from a time standpoint, why God couldn’t spend more time reviewing my life with me than it actually took me to live my earthly life.

The other thing I am sure of is this: our lives are much more important than most of us realize. Why? What’s the big deal? Maybe it’s something as simple as this:

In this life

For a creature born in sin

Living for God and

Resisting

The world

The flesh an

The devil

Requires heroic determination

And results in eternal glory

A History Making Recording

He knew that what he was doing was important. He realized that he was making history. And so he made a fateful decision: he would record his working life. So Richard Nixon had tape recorders installed in his office. In time, he would come to bitterly regret that decision.

In Jack Chick’s classic comic book tract, “This Was Your Life,” a sinner stands before God in judgment. Every time he tries to defend himself or to deny an accusation he is shown actual recordings of his life on a huge movie screen. Ultimately there is nothing he can say. The evidence is right there for all to see. It had been recorded.

You are an important historical figure. This must be so, because a recording is being made of your life. This may or may not be some sort of audio or visual recording, but the bottom line is that a very accurate record is being kept. God has a detailed record of every small act of kindness that you have ever done. He plans to reward you for the good that you do.

Please take a few moments and think back over the past few days. What have you done? What did you do that was pleasing to God. You may not even be able to remember, but God does and will remember. And He will reward you in the life to come for what you have done.