TAGGED IN TACOMA
Don't you love it when the bad guys actually get caught? I know I do. I love it even more when they are caught at their own game!
Recently, I heard about a police sting that happened in, I believe, Tacoma, Washington. It seems that the police in that area are big on smarts with a pinch of sneaky on the side. This smarts and sneaky mixture netted somewhere around four hundred and twenty arrests over a four-hour period.
To make this undertaking even more appealing, no gunshots were fired, no people were hurt; and the whole thing only cost a thousand bucks! Four hundred and twenty bad guys for a thousand dollars — not bad bang for the buck, is it?
By now, you're probably wondering how the boys and girls in blue rounded up the rabble-rousers in such a rapid transaction. Well, here's how they did it. They simply informed the crooks that they had won a free, all-expense paid trip to Hawaii. All the felons had to do was drop by a certain address, on a certain date, between such and such a time, and pick up their prize. But, instead of picking up their prize, the police picked them up — to their surprise!
Now, I'm not sure if we should applaud the police department for what basically amounts to lying and misrepresentation, but something inside me, perhaps the fleshly nature, takes uncommon delight in crooks getting beaten at their own game. Regardless, I'm sure happy that these four hundred and twenty nogoodniks are off the streets and unable to prey on honest, law-abiding citizens.
Now, what could possibly be the lessons learned from such feats de blue? There are all kinds of lessons I could develop from this interesting little story, but I will leave you to do some musing of your own, and just point out one spiritual principle for you to digest over the next while.
It seems to me that Satan works in much the same way as the Tacoma Police Department. By this statement I don't mean to suggest that the police are evil, or that the boys in blue are "in" with the boys in red. Again, I applaud their efforts, and results.
What I am suggesting is that in this particular case, the police presented chains wrapped in the form of a shiny gift. This kind of trick is right up Satan's ally. Satan constantly offers us bondage in the form of a shiny gift, a good deal, or a way that "seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov.14:12)
Let me give you a few examples
of what I am talking about.
The most blatant of these shiny gifts appeal to us in the same way that the trip to Hawaii appealed to the crooks-it was the temptation of something for nothing — a vacation without any cost. We often fall into temptation and sin because we think we can take a vacation from our faith, without any cost. After all, what's the problem with a bit of flirting in the office, it doesn't mean anything; it won't go any further! A few glances at 'those' sites, won't affect me in the least. After all, don't I need to know what's out there so I can protect my kids? Now, such thoughts and activities are obviously gifts we should never unwrap, but there are lots of more subtle gifts out there for us to unwrap.
I know of many ministries that have been damaged, if not destroyed through the innocent guise of trying to help someone. Simply agreeing to counsel a women going through a rough time in her marriage has corrupted many a preachers' ministry, and destroyed many a family. The preacher wants to help, and the women needs help, but soon the preacher's willingness to listen, becomes an attraction that leads to other things. The bomb of adultery is often wrapped up in the shiny package of legitimate, needed ministry. Thus we have to walk the thin line between service and smarts. We have to put in safeguards that allow us to minister without exposing us to potential temptation.
Sometimes wrapped up in the shiny package of fellowship is the bondage of self-centered exclusiveness. We all need to be in a church where we feel comfortable, secure and accepted and there is nothing wrong with desiring such a level of intimacy. Such a strong sense of trust and belonging is absolutely necessary if we are going to have the kind of transparency and accountability that is needed to bring us to a deeper level of maturity. But, often, comfort, security and acceptance gets sidetracked into the bondage of self-serving ministry.
Look at it this way: every time we bring someone new into our fellowship, change takes place. With change comes a lesser degree of comfort and security. This is especially true when we bring new Christians into the midst of any congregation. New Christians, like new babies, need a lot of care and feeding and cleaning. Throw a few babies into the mix and stress happens! I still wake up with cold sweats remembering when we brought our twins, David and Graham, home!
Sometimes our churches have to make some rather fundamental changes in order to provide a place where new people will feel welcome or comfortable. But, most churches have at least some people who feel the church is there to nurture and encourage them, rather than reach out to new people. So a good package of intimate fellowship can become a self-serving bondage that keeps the church from being effective in reaching the lost.
The shiny package of correct teaching can unwrap into the bondage of legalism and finger pointing divisiveness. The shiny package of purity can unwrap into whistle-blowing judgmentalism. There are lots of shiny packages that appear to be good, and that, if biblically balanced, are good, but Satan uses them to unwrap bondage of one sort or another. What shiny packages have you received lately? What have you unwrapped that is leading you, or your church into chains? I know it's not an easy question to answer, but it sure is an important one!
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