Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Hope in a Land without Police
A couple weeks ago, my wife and I had some friends over from the church. The women were sitting in the living room doing what women do best—talking. And the men were sitting in another room—doing what men do best—eating. And there were a couple law enforcement officers at the table doing what they do best—eating donuts. Not really. Actually they were telling police stories.
They were telling these stories about hangings, suicides, homicides, and beheadings—all of which had taken place in our city. And I’m sitting there dunking these little pizza rolls in this tomato sauce. And the more they talked the more I lost my appetite.
I don’t know if that’s a cop thing to gross people out with crime stories, but they were enjoying the different colors my face was turning and the way my eyes bugged out. I didn’t sleep too well that night. They had given me a little peak underneath the dark side of our community.
And that’s why here at Grace Baptist, we thank God for the thin blue line who serve and protect us every day. Imagine what it would be like to have no police officers, no government, no law.
My youngest brother Luke and his wife are flying to Zambia today to do a survey mission trip at an orphanage that twice in the last 3 weeks has been robbed by a gang of thieves. They beat up the staff, even broke one older woman’s arm. And when the missionaries went to the police station. The only officer there was drunk.
Luke told me about this Friday night. And as you can imagine he’s a little nervous right now. But imagine a land with no police, with no law.
That’s what Israel was like in the book of Judges. Deut. 33:5 indicates that the Lord was king in Israel. But when we come the book of Judges, it says, “There was no king in Israel. And everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
This morning we’re going to see a picture of what life is like without God’s law. And I’m going to warn you up front: it’s disgusting. I hope you’re not planning to have pizza rolls with tomato sauce for lunch. But it’s also scary, because it looks a lot like America today.
