I am shattered. I have been married for over 50 years and today I witnessed my wife’s downfall. All these years I thought she was perfect in every way. But, the bloom is off the rose for I was sitting white-knuckled with beads of anxious perspiration on my forehead as she blazed down the street at a terrifying 30 miles an hour. This heinous crime must not go unavenged. Justice must be served for behind her were the blue lights of a courageous patrolman doing his faithful duty to “serve and protect.” I will rest easy tonight knowing he is there keeping scofflaws off the streets of our fair city. Grandmas should not be permitted to turn our gentle streets into the mean streets of a mighty metropolis.
Now some of you might be thinking, “An infraction is an infraction.” And you would be correct. For Eve it was a bite of fruit. For Moses it was hitting a rock with a stick. Both of them and we, as a result, have suffered the consequences of those infractions. Little things do matter. A lie can be told with the arching of an eyebrow. Things left unsaid are often more dangerous than what is actually spoken. How many times on committees have I heard, when discussing a name for a job, “Well, I am not free to discuss this. But if you knew what I know.” That was it. The job went to another without any real accusation or evidence. Evil comes in many forms. It is most heinous when it dresses up in a robe of sanctimonious care. Jesus said it so well, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” Be careful out there.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 30, 2013
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org