Come,
my children, listen to me; I
will teach you the fear of the
Lord~ Psalm 34:11
Last week I came across a story
that perfectly illustrates virtually everything that’s wrong with our culture:
On November 30th 2010,
nineteen-year-old Nigel Sykes forced his way through the back door of a pizza
restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware. Sykes proceeded to point his gun at store
employees and demand that they hand over all the money in the store.
The store employees refused to
submit to his demands. Instead they wrestled Sykes to the ground, commandeered his
weapon and held him at gunpoint until police arrived on the scene. Sykes was
arrested and charged with armed robbery. He is now serving a fifteen-year
prison sentence.
Good triumphed over evil. The bad guy got what
he had coming to him and justice was served. Case closed. Or so I thought.
There’s a twist.
Sykes has filed a sizable lawsuit
against Seasons Pizza. He is alleging that the employees of Seasons Pizza used unnecessary
force in the course of preventing his attempted robbery. Sykes asserts that he
was punched, kicked and had hot soup poured on him as the employees attempted
to take his gun from him. The brutes probably used some rough language too. All
mocking aside, this situation is unsettling on many levels.
First of all, it’s far from unique. There are hundreds
of stories about an evil idiot who gets hurt in the course of doing something illegal
and stupid, then has the audacity to sue the very people they were attempting
to harm. We’ve become so accustomed to this brand of stupidity that we don’t
even blink anymore. It’s not a good place to be.
Additionally, it underscores the aimless
nature of many young men in our culture. It also highlights a justice system dysfunctional
enough to permit such an outlandish and senseless lawsuit to go forward.
But by far the most troubling
aspect of this story is what it says about some of the very rudimentary truths
parents, pastors and teachers are failing to impart to the children in our
culture. The first truth we absolutely have to start communicating to the kids
in our culture is:
If you don’t do bad stuff, bad
stuff is less likely to happen to you- John 5:14
There are some who seem to think that
bad stuff like being punched, kicked, and having hot soup poured on them just
comes out of nowhere. They assume that bad stuff attacks people for no good
reason. The truth is that the probabilities of something horrible occurring in
a person’s life go up exponentially when that person is doing something
horrible. If one wishes to avoid bad stuff happening to them, they should avoid
sins like adultery or murder. Refuse to use or sell drugs, torment people for
amusement, mistreat wait staff, steal, lie, drive like a jerk or attempt armed
robbery. It doesn’t guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to you, but it does
diminish the chances significantly.
It is possible to mess up your
life so seriously that it just can’t be fixed- Hebrews 6:6
Everybody loves the concept of
do-overs and second chances. Sometimes in our eagerness to teach kids about
grace and second chances, we fail to inform them that a life can be ruined
quickly and easily. One or two really bad choices at a young age will set a
person on a course guaranteeing they never reach their full potential. We need
to teach our kids that God forgives, but that doesn’t mean that the consequences
of our choices just go away.
When you do bad stuff, you should
feel bad- Jeremiah 6:15
There are some powerful lies that
have been floating around our society for the last forty years or so. Like the
lie that there are “no bad people just bad choices” and “it’s pointless to feel
bad over something you can’t change.” There are bad people out there and one
identifying mark of a bad person is that they don’t feel shame when they sin. Feeling
bad about behavior is only pointless when those feelings don’t lead to change.
It’s easy to forget that Nigel Sykes is a
whole lot more than a reckless mess, a good bad example, and a sad statistic.
Nigel Sykes is a real human being, made in the image of God, who was once a
sweet little boy with hopes and dreams for his future. This past week I have
found myself wondering what he dreamed about. Did he dream of becoming a
carpenter, a teacher, or maybe a fireman? Did he dream of changing the world
and making a difference?
I’m certain Nigel never dreamed that at nineteen he would be serving a
fifteen-year prison sentence for attempted robbery. Something went tragically
wrong in his life to get him to where he is today.
Preventing sad statistics and
helping little kids realize their dreams is at the heart of our mission as
Christians. But it doesn’t happen by chance. It takes a concerted effort on the
part of all Christian parents, teachers, and Pastors. It takes people who are
willing to stand up and tell the truth about right, wrong and the value of feeling
bad when we behave badly.
Teach
me your way, Lord, that I may
rely on your faithfulness; give me
an undivided heart, that I may fear your name~ Psalm 86:11
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