The Biggest Difference Between The Righteous And The Wicked

Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

I love this Bible passage and I think about it often. A righteous man will fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail to live above sin, but by God's grace he will get back up. Some believers can live above reproach, but no one can live above sin.

As a Bible preacher, by God's grace I receive thousands of emails each year, many from believers who are frustrated with their failure to overcome sin in their life. I always direct them to Romans 7:14-25, in which inspired Scripture passage the Apostle Paul is transparent, sharing his intimate struggle with sin on a continual basis. 

Romans 7:14-25, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

We CAN have the victory over sin through faith in Jesus Christ. We live the victorious Christian life the same way we all got saved, through FAITH IN CHRIST.

The following passage teaches us how to overcome temptation to sin...

2nd Corinthians 10:5-6, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

This is not mind control; but rather, walking in the Spirit. The way that we overcome sin is when a sinful thought enters into our mind, we seize that thought, bringing it into obedience to Christ as this passage teaches. And when we mess up and fail, verse 6 tells us to revenge all disobedience. When I have faltered in my Christian walk, and look back in hindsight in frustration that I failed again, I determine in my soul that it won't happen again, not on my watch. I believe that is what this Scripture passage is teaching. We should have a desire and a determination in our heart, with God's help, not to repeat our same blunders.

I don't care who you are, you're either a child of God (Romans 8:9); or a child of the Devil (John 8:44). And if you're a child of God, you are still a sinner. As long as we are stuck in this earthly flesh, we will have to contend with the enemy of the flesh.

I don't know about you dear reader, but I have never wanted to live more righteously than I do today. I love my dear Savior and Lord, Jesus, and I want to please Him (John 14:15). I love God and owe Him my life for saving me from the eternal damnation of Hell, fire and brimstone (1st Corinthians 6:20). We all deserve to burn in Hell, but God loves us and made a way of escape through faith alone in Christ (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-9).

The biggest difference between the righteous and the wicked, other than the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit or lack thereof, is our attitude toward sin and evil. The wicked person has no regard or fear of God, and has only the desire to continue committing evil. Their only deterrent is fear of getting caught and going to the penitentiary. Thank God for our legal system, as imperfect as it is. Before the flood of Noah's day, God showed us what the world was like when there was no magistrates, government or court system. Thank God for the law!

One of the evidences that someone is saved is the conviction of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The inspired Holy Bible warns that if you are without chastisement from God, you are not saved (Hebrews 12:6-8). God is not an absent parent! It is 10 o'clock and the Lord does know where His children are at (Psalms 139:1-6).

It is quite normal for believers to fall, get up, fall again, rise up, fall again, and so forth. The Bible says that a “just man” falls seven times. Seven is God's number of completion. Creation was completed and then God rested on the seventh day. There are seven notes in a diatonic musical scale. There are seven colors in a rainbow prism. God likes the number seven for some reason. And for that reason, I indent all of my sentences with seven spaces. I love the number seven, it is my favorite number.

“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, "Unjust In The Least"

I love that awesome quote!

Feeling Ignored By God Is A Very Normal Experience

Luke 18:1-8, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

In the popular 2005 movie, The Island, the following script is heard...

McCord: (makes a reference to God)
Lincoln Six-Echo: Who is God?
McCord: You know when you really want something, you close your eyes and wish for it really hard? God is the guy that ignores you.

I sincerely believe that 100% of viewers can relate to that statement if they are honest. I am 59 years old and if all I had to go on was my prayer life, I would become an atheist. But when I read the inspired King James Bible, I say to myself: “There's no way that men could have written this amazing Book; and if they could have written it, they wouldn't have.” Moreover, the inspired Holy Bible was penned by approximately 40 different men, most of whom never met or knew each other, spoke different languages, coming from various different social backgrounds and education, and spanning a time period of at least 1,500 years. This remarkable manner in which the Holy Bible was given to humanity proves its divine origin.

Furthermore, when I observe and consider the universe, and the uncanny intelligent design in all of creation, I know that there is a God, and He is a good and faithful Creator.

In our text passage of Scripture, Jesus teaches a very important truth that God the Father intentionally ignores us when we pray, “though he bear long with them,” even though we “cry day and night unto him” (Luke 18:7). Our importunity in prayer pleases God, because it requires a greater faith to keep petitioning God when he is not answering.

I admit that this bothers me. It bothers me that God ignores me, testing my faith by not answering my prayers how and when I want Him to. What saith the Scripture? Romans 9:20, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” Who am I (or you) to question how God does things? I choose to trust Him, blindly if need be, trusting the great heart of God when I cannot see the omnipotent hand of God at work.

You Cannot Be Happy Tomorrow

Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

I heard a life changing sermon today by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001). It is titled, “The Yesterdayer, the Todayer, and the Tomorrower.” I encourage all of my ministry followers to start listening to the preaching of Brother Hyles on a regularly basis, if you don't already. I jotted down some notes from the sermon to help you. These are great truths!

Which category do you fall under: Yesterdayer, Todayer or Tomorrower?

Dear reader, if you're happy it is today. Until you get satisfied with today you'll never be happy. Are you a Yesterdayer? Are you always wanting today to be like yesterday, when times were better? You can't. Yesterday is gone! I am now 59 years old. I cannot feel 40, 30 or 20 again. I cannot relive those better years when my wife was loyal and with me. Now she is gone, again.

Are you a Tomorrower? Are you always looking through a haze to a brighter future here on earth. Many spouses think the grass is greener in someone else's marriage, so they divorce their spouse and marry another person, just to find out that the next husband or wife is just as bad, or worse. Some people are always chasing rainbows! Take off the rose-colored glasses and learn to appreciate what you have. Plant some grass seeds in your own yard.

As long as you're a Yesterdayer or a Tomorrower, you'll never be happy! People dream about tomorrow with fantasies, and then when tomorrow arrives they reminisce about how wonderful yesterday was. This is their whole life—never happy, never satisfied, never content. When we think about the past, we tend to only focus on the positive things that made us happy, but if we'll be honest with our self, the past did include negatives that we'd rather forget. So, whether we are looking backward or forward, we tend to only see what we want to see, not reality.

As a home musician, I have always admired other musicians. The Beatles were musical prodigies. They wrote hundreds of songs, at least 140 of them iconic masterpieces. I recently read a quote by George Harrison that reiterates the truth Brother Hyles is trying to convey:

“It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever is the now.” —George Harrison

I think one reason George's quote resonates with so many people is that, regardless of one's worldview, it points to something we all experience: the present is the only moment in which we can actually live and act. A born again Christian can certainly remember the past with gratitude, learn from it, and look forward to the future with hope. At the same time, Scripture also emphasizes faithfully living today. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:34, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.”

And Psalm 118:24 says:

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Those verses don't say the future doesn't exist, but they do remind us that today is where we make our choices, offer our prayers, and live our lives. Let's make the best of today.

Like Solomon in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, George is giving his perspective from a secular viewpoint. George was not a born again Christian, sad to say. One man who claimed to be a close acquaintance of George has publicly propagated the claim that George becoming a Christian before his death in 2001, but neither George or any of his family have confirmed the claim, and all supporting evidence speaks to the contrary. I reject rumors.

That being said, George was right (from a certain perspective) that there is no future or past, there is only the here and now. We know as Christians that there is a future, and we must all give account to God someday for our every word and deed (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36). George is simply saying that we shouldn't dwell upon the past, because it is forever gone and cannot be changed or relived. And we don't even know if we'll be alive tomorrow, so we ought not concern our self with it (Proverbs 27:1).

Another favorite sermon by Brother Hyles is titled: "Learn To Enjoy Where You Are, While On Your Way To Where You Are Going." These sermons will change your life dear reader if you'll heed the wisdom. Most people are miserable today because they're always looking to the future for happiness, or dwelling upon a filtered fictional past. They were complaining in the past as much as they do today, but they have forgotten how bad it was yesterday.

Many people are in a state of discontentment. They'll never be happy! They dream of going to paradise, but if they ever got there they'd still be miserable and it wouldn't be paradise, because they'd still be there! Until we can learn to relish the moment, and become comfortable in the present, we'll never be happy in life.

I think a lot of believers who contact my ministry—who are discouraged, down and destitute in life—it is largely because they have never learned to be content with today, satisfied with what they have. There are two ways to become rich:

1. Have all you want
2. Want all you have

I just want what I have. You can have very little in life, and yet be rich, if you are content. And contrariwise, there are billionaires who are miserable, still not content with what God has given them. Everything is a mindset in life. 1st Timothy 6:8, “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

I have never owned a new car in my life. I am 59 years old. I don't want a new car. I love old things. My present vehicle is a 2014 Honda FIT, and I love it, mainly because it is 100% paid for. I saved up money on Guam before I moved to Pensacola in 2021. I paid about $12,000 cash (including sales taxes) and bought the vehicle before I had even left Guam, from a Honda dealership in Pensacola. One of their kind employees even picked me up at the airport and drove me to the dealership to get my new (old) car. They had already acquired my license plates. They were very nice to me, which I am still very grateful to them for doing. I am still driving the same reliable vehicle and Lord willing, plan to drive it until it is either beyond repair, gets stolen or smashed. So far it has served me very well. I am happy with it. Thank you Lord!

I live a simple life. I have all I need and am content and happy in the Lord, despite my chronic health afflictions that torment me night and day mercilessly. God is faithful (1st Corinthians 1:9). Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 19:25, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” My full trust is in God my Savior!

Pastor Hyles says your whole disease is that you are not a Todayer. You're not satisfied with today. We foolishly have the wrong attitude, "It's always going to get like I dream it will be." But our fantasies don't include any negatives. You can't be happy tomorrow, because tomorrow will be today when tomorrow comes. So, if you're not happy today, when tomorrow comes and it is today again, you still won't be happy. Boy this is good stuff!

Dear reader, learn to embrace the moment, now! We can be happy right now, simply by thanking God in every thing, and learning to enjoy where we are at. This is what causes nearly all of our unhappiness. Be a Todayer. Get comfortable with today, right now! Yesterday is a cashed check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. All we have is cash to spend today. Spend it wisely. Worrying about tomorrow won't change anything, but it empties today of our Christian joy. God gives us trials and burdens to make us better, not bitter.

We're all guilty at times of being Yesterdayers and Tomorrowers, by either dwelling upon a filtered fictional past or by looking to the future through a blinding haze, missing the moment. If you've never come to grips with settling to be happy today, you'll never be happy. This is something that I think we would all be wise to continue working at, to learn to enjoy today.

The Ungodly Wife Has It All Backwards

1st Peter 3:1-2, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.”

The inspired King James Bible teaches that if a wicked, lost or backslidden husband won't listen to the inspired Word of God, he may still be won by the manner of life (“by the conversation”) of his own wife, seeing her fear of God. A godly wife has more influence over her own husband oftentimes than does God, as we see evidenced in Eve's influence over Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Tragically, many Christian wives have it all backwards. I have heard of countless cases where a wife insisted that her husband go to church, go for counselling, or do something else, or she threatens to divorce him. Many husbands would rather be divorced than to succumb to a rebellious wife! Hey, I dare you to try threatening God and see if He buckles ladies!

The carnal wife tries to force her husband to obey her; the godly wife leads her husband by example in the fear of God, as the Holy Bible teaches. You will never force a real man to succumb to your will ladies. You may boss a wimp around and get him to jump through your hoops, but not a genuine man. Many divorces have resulted because of a rebellious wife who refused to follow God's inspired Word. If she cannot get her way, then she files for divorce. Woe be unto that wife in eternity when she stands before God in judgment.

You cannot show me one verse in the entire Holy Bible that commands a husband to submit to his wife in any matter. No, you cannot! What saith the Scripture?

Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

Whenever I quote this passage of Scripture, nearly every time rebellious people will immediately run to other Scripture passages about a husband's duty to love his wife, and of submitting one to another in the fear of the Lord. That is called a red-herring, drawing the conversation away from the main point. They cannot stand it! Rebellious wives and complicit henpecked men resent the Word of God. That is, they resent the whole concept that a wife is required to obey her own husband as unto God Himself.

The Bible teaches in Ephesians 5:21, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” A husband and wife should submit to one another, desiring to make each other happy and content. But God knew that there would be tension at times, because in any marriage you are uniting two sinners. So, God put this next command in the Bible in Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” In cases where there is conflict, the wife (not the husband) is ALWAYS suppossed to submit.

Sadly, most American women (including Christian females) have been contaminated by today's feminist ideologies. They absolutely cannot stand the idea (biblical truth) that a wife is commanded to obey her husband IN EVERY THING. Not in some things, but in everything. If it's not illegal, immoral or unsafe, she must obey her husband, so says God.

I heard Pastor Jack Hyles say in a sermon, that once his wife ordered him to go change their son's diaper, but Brother Hyles refused to do it. She told him again, but he didn't budge. She finally figured it out that she needed to ask him kindly, and say “please,” before he would do it. That is 100% biblical. Shame on the defiant wife who attempts to tell her husband what to do!

Most so-called “Christian” women today are feminists and don't even realize it. If you sass your husband, fail to do his laundry, don't cook him decent meals, refuse to love on him, and you threaten to divorce him if he doesn't obey you—you are a dirty feminist! I speak to the utter shame and contempt of many women today. I wish divorce were illegal.

American women in particular have been groomed by our rotten corrupt ungodly culture to quit when the going gets tough, to abandon ship and file for divorce, looking for greener pastures elsewhere. Jeremiah 3:20, “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.” It is mostly because of government welfare programs that U.S. women can abandon their husbands and mooch off of taxpayers. So the defiant wife goes from her husband providing for her financially to Uncle Sam providing for her at the expense of taxpayers. That is so evil and unbiblical.

Ladies, you will never get your husband to do what you need and want him to do by putting ultimatums on him to, “Do this or else!” Sorry, it doesn't work that way. The God who created the universe and all therein has already told you what to do in 1st Peter 3:1-2, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.”

If you want to reach your difficult husband, then the only way is for you to lead him by godly example, by you being submissive to him in the fear of God.

• Being lazy and not picking up your shoes and clothes, that your husband has asked you repeatedly to pick up, is rebellion.
• Abandoning your husband and refusing to come home is rebellion, causing far more damage than anything good.
• Smarting off to your husband on the telephone is rebellion, not constructive to repair your damaged marriage.
• Behaving as a spoiled brat as a wife instead of a responsible adult is rebellion.
• Demanding that your husband go for counseling or else you're filing for divorce is rebellion, not leading by godly example.
• Filing for a divorce is evil rebellion which brings the judgment of God.

1st Samuel 15:23a, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry...” Kindly said, we are living in a society and generation of spoiled brats today. Get mad at me if you want. I am so sick and tired of women countering this type of Bible preaching by going after the men. GET RIGHT WITH GOD AMERICA!!!

That all being said, I do not intend any unkindness dear reader. I full understand that we are all guilty sinners, and we all have faults and shortcomings. But at age 59 I have seen a lot in my lifetime, and women today are a spiritual mess because of the evil influence of feminism. Please obey your husband. This is God's will for your life.

Lead Your Husband by Example by Submitting To Him; Don't Force Him To Submit To You

Please understand that I did not write this article to bash women, God forbid. I wrote this article to emphasize the important biblical truth ladies that you can influence your difficult husband by your manner of life. Although your husband is supposed to lead the home spiritually; if he does not, then you need to continue to obey him in every thing coupled with the fear of God. That is very important. You're not just submitting to your husband, you are doing so because YOU FEAR GOD. You fear Him because one day you must give account. As your husband sees your fear of God, he will fall into line, if there is any hope for him. 

Regardless of where your husband is at on a spiritual level, you need to be the godly example that the Lord intended for you to be. There is an old adage that is very true: “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Making demands of your hubby, sassing him in anger, trying to control him, screaming at the top of your lungs and threatening him, is what a fool does.

King Solomon had quite a bit to say about women in the Proverbs, and he should know, because he had 700 wives and 300 concubines living in his palace. Proverbs 14:1, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”

Showing Grace Toward Others

2nd Corinthians 8:9, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

Ephesians 3:8, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Ephesians 6:24, “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”

Philippians 1:7, “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”

I learned a biblical concept from my ministry friend Pastor David Baker Sr. (1967-2024) a couple years ago. I had commented that I thought a certain pastor was like another great man of God, and he posted on Facebook that he strongly disagreed with me. I kindly replied to explain publicly the reasons why I thought that certain pastor was in some respects similar to the great man of God whom I had compared him to.

I was concerned that I might have offended Brother Baker by our disagreement. But to my delight he commented to thank me for “showing grace” toward him. I had never heard that statement used before, but I loved and adopted it for my own. I often use that phrase now, “showing grace” toward others.

We would all be wise, especially God's children, to show grace toward the people around us. God has shown His grace toward all humanity, by the gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus. We all deserve to go directly to Hell to be punished forever for our own sins, but God in His mercy and grace has made a way of escape through faith in Christ. Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

Ephesians 4:29-32, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

Inefficient People Always Make Excuses

Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.”

Proverbs 6:10-11, “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”

I not too long ago filed a complaint against the Better Business Bureau in Pensacola with The Office Of The Attorney General for Florida. Their office is located in Tallahassee. The woman on the phone at the BBB gave me a hard time. She was belligerent and a snob. I am a person with disabilities, and am now considered a senior citizen. The woman had sent me three emails earlier that morning, which confused me. I couldn't just read them. I had to login at their BBB website to read each communication.

In one of her messages she said they were closing my case against a local financial institution. She had stated the reason why, with which I disagreed. When I called she was unkind to me, harsh and insisted that she didn't say what I had read. I knew that she was wrong, but because she was pressuring me I couldn't login and think clearly enough to find the message in question, She pressured me to get off the phone. She clearly couldn't have cared less.

After she rushed me off the phone, and I could take my time, I found the message and confirmed that in fact she had said exactly what I thought she had said. I tried to file a complaint against her with the BBB, but they dissed me and never bothered to return my phone message. So, I search online where to file a complaint against the BBB for giving me a hard time, and for wasting my time in the first place. I was directed to The Office Of The Attorney General Of Florida. I believe it was a frivolous matter, compared to some of the serious cases they no doubt receive, but I believe the way we treat others is important.

In fairness to myself, I don't know what kind of cases that The Office Of The Attorney General handles. My complaint was more than just hurt feelings. The woman at the BBB gave me a hard time as a person with disabilities. I had plainly told her that I am taking several different prescription medications and my mind doesn't think as fast. She was cold and didn't care, pressuring me to get off the phone. She should have been kind and told me to take my time to find the message she had sent me. She could have said she was going to grab a cup of coffee while I looked. At a minimum, she could have invited me to call her back as soon as I found the message. But instead she was calloused and belligerent toward me, making things more difficult. I have a right to complain when someone mistreats me.

When I sent an official email complaint to The Office Of The Attorney General, no one ever responded. So, weeks later I mailed a letter to The Office Of The Attorney General that took me over one hour to compose, carefully articulated. A couple weeks later I received a voicemail from the manager of The Office Of The Attorney General, saying she apologized for their lack of response. She made the lame excuse that their office receives 400 complaints every day, but she only has 7 employees working on staff. That is totally unacceptable for a government agency! Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) said it best: “The most important job is the one that doesn't get done.”

The manager of The Office Of The Attorney General promised me twice that someone would respond to my complaint the very next day, but no one ever bothered to do so. I never heard back from anyone. If they had any decency and were ethical, and truly cared upon the citizens of Florida, somebody would have responded of nothing else just to let me know that they cannot help me. It's called being courteous. I cannot read minds! I do not know what type of cases they handle. Where do they draw the line between serious and frivolous complaints? How am I supposed to know?

I thought my situation with the BBB was important enough to spent hours composing my message to them, and paying for postage, and taking my time to drive down to the mailbox to send them my complaint letter. The least The Office Of The Attorney General could (and should) have done is to dignify me as a human being by replying. In hindsight, I can only conclude that they thought my complaint wasn't worth their time, but it was (and is) important to me. I was horribly mistreated by the BBB. They were impatient with me. They dismissed my case without even bothering to talk to me first. That is rude and no way to do things.

When the woman in charge at The Office Of The Attorney General made the excuse that she only had 7 employees, and receives 400 complaints each day, I thought of a passage of Scripture from Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” In other words, people make excuses instead of getting things done. Shame on The Office Of The Attorney General for making excuses. I had also included a gospel tract by military chaplain David Rutkin.

I am not calling the woman who contacted me lazy. I'm sure that she works very hard. She didn't leave her name in the voicemail. She just said that she is in charge of 7 employees, and her office handles incoming complaints at The Office Of The Attorney General. But I do sincerely feel that she is inefficient and never should have told me she doesn't have enough employees to get the work done. That is really bad. I wrote this blog to emphasize the importance of little things. Nothing is unimportant! Never make excuses.

There's Nothing More Contemptible Than Lazy Police

When I lived in Chicago and was in my mid twenties around 35 years ago, a punk in a moment of road-rage punched his fist through my driver's window in anger. I was obeying the speed limit, but he wanted me to go faster. My blood was everywhere because the capillaries in the face carry lots of blood. I went to the local hospital and called 911. When the two lazy, worthless, incompetent police officers showed up, they made excuses and refused to go arrest the punk. They did nothing. God will hold them accountable in eternity.

One of the wicked police officers told me that he understood that when someone's rips a page out of your book, you want that individual to burn on Hell. Then the other trashy officer said that they just had an incident of a man in a tavern shoving an icepick into another man's eye, and that they had more important matters to deal with thine mine. What evil lazy men! Sadly, this is the world in which we live. The works of the flesh have always plagued humanity since the beginning when Cain murdered his innocent brother Abel.

Chicago's history is tarnished with corrupt politics, abusive police, dishonest detectives and crooked judges. Chicago is awash with police brutality, beaten confessions, spousal abuse by cops, tampering with evidence, wrongful convictions, bribes, et cetera. Ecclesiastes 5:8, “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.” Nothing escape God's eyes. Hebrews 4:13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

All my life I have heard inefficient people grasp for every excuse they could find in an attempt to justify their inefficiency. It's no way to do things!

Hating Sinners And Giving Up On Them Is Unbiblical

1st Corinthians 5:9-10, “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.”

Jude 1:22, “And of some have compassion, making a difference.”

Preachers and religious church layman alike have a long history of wresting Scripture out of context to fit their agendas. People often only see what they want to see in the Word of God. I hear pastors from the New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB, or NIFB) movement preaching hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community. They preach hatred of sinners!

In our text passage of inspired Scripture from 1st Corinthians 5:9-10, the Apostle Paul plainly counters his teaching not to keep company with unrepentant sinners, specifically fornicators, by clarifying that he wasn't talking about unsaved people. Paul goes on to elaborate, explaining that we ought not keep close fellowship with professed believers who still live like the Devil, that they might be ashamed and repent...

1st Corinthians 5:11-13, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

”2nd Thessalonians 3:14, “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.”

The Bible is not teaching to reject sinners here. The context plainly teaches that if someone professes to be a Christian, but is living in open sin, separated saints are not to keep company with them. Those are some strong words from God's Word. The Bible clearly teaches biblical separation from worldly sinners, whether they be lost or saved.

I Grew Up Around Skid Row In Chicago

I saw a different side of life that very few people ever get to experience. My father and I would often see men lying in the gutter of the street, not knowing if the man was dead or alive. Back then in the 1970's when you called 911, they'd just send a police Paddy wagon to take away the individual. I was humbled as a child seeing that on a regular basis all my youth.

I just cannot relate to Steven Anderson's attitude of throwing sinners out the door of the church, hating on them. I didn't grow up that way, thank God! I grew up viewing people as being broken instead of bad. And I sincerely believe that is how God views all of us.

There's Room At The Cross For Everyone

In the late 1800's at the North Orange Baptist Church in Orange, New Jersey, an interesting thing happened one Sunday. It was the church where the great American businessman Samuel Colgate (1822-1897) was a member. Samuel Colgate, son of William Colgate, was an American manufacturer and philanthropist, born in New York City. During a church service a prostitute came forward to be saved. She trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and expressed a desire to join the church. "I'll gladly sit in some back corner," she said.

The self-righteous pastor hesitated to call for a motion to accept her into membership, and for a few moments the silence was deafening. Finally, another self-righteous church member stood up and suggested that action on her request be postponed. At that point, Mr. Colgate arose in her defense from the back of the church and said:

"I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify WHAT KIND. We'd better ask Him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but apparently the Lord doesn't understand she isn't the type we want Him to rescue."

Purportedly, many in the congregation blushed with shame. Another motion was made and the woman was unanimously received into the fellowship. I love that true story!

The New IFB Are Wrong To Hate And Give Up On Sinners

Saul in the New Testament was guilty of hating and murdering Christians, a crime I would think is much worse than committing homosexuality. Yet, Jesus came to Saul in love and reached out to him with the Gospel, and Saul was saved (Acts 9:1-5).