Daily Devotionals

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

Devotional: November 23rd

“…the way of transgressors is hard.” (HYPERLINK "javascript:" b)

If proof were needed that the way of transgressors is hard, we would only need to pick out a daily newspaper at random and we would find plenty of illustrations. I did that just as an experiment and here are the results:

A Nazi war criminal who had escaped detection and capture in South America for 35 years committed suicide. The fear of trial and probable execution made further living unendurable.

A 74 year old man was kidnapped at gunpoint by three men who demanded $90,000 ransom from his son. The son is a reputed drug dealer, currently fleeing from police and federal drug agents.

A member of the U. S. House of Representatives was expelled from the House for accepting a bribe in return for a promise to grant a political favor. It appears that his ouster from Congress will be permanent.

Afghan rebels continue to battle invading Russian troops. The newspaper article does not mention the fact that the government of Afghanistan had previously bulldozed the only Christian church building in the country. Could the Russian invasion be divine retribution?

A police captain falsely reported that his car had been stolen. He hoped to collect insurance on it. He had been considered an outstanding officer and was likely to be tapped for police chief one day. Now he has been dropped from the force and awaits a criminal investigation.

Sometimes we, like the Psalmist, are tempted to envy the wicked. It seems that the world is their oyster and everything works out well for them. But we forget that they reap an inevitable harvest of guilt, shame and fear of exposure. Often they become victims of blackmail and extortion. They fear for their own lives and the lives of their family members. They have to maintain elaborate and expensive protection systems. They face the prospect of arrest, costly litigation and fines or imprisonment. Life becomes a nightmare instead of the dream for which they had hoped.

One man who had learned the lesson well said to Sam Jones, the preacher, with deep conviction, “I know one verse of Scripture and I know that one is true: ‘The way of transgressors is hard.’” He had proved that sin’s built-in consequences are inescapable and extremely unpleasant.