God Loves Us . . . Really

God loves us but sometimes it doesn't sound like it. In the second chapter of the Old Testament God says to Adam and Eve, "if you are disobedient you will surely die." The Deceiver whispers, "He didn't really mean you would die." Then we see it in real life.

Six year-old boy Benji Easler died recently when the miniature train he was riding tipped over at Cleveland Park in South Carolina. In one respect it was a tragic accident. But there is more to the story.

The park managers decided to run the train two weeks earlier than normal to take advantage of the warm weather and the crowds that would likely use the train.

Two days before the accident a state inspector filed a report claiming that he had inspected the train and that it had passed inspection. Unfortunately, the paperwork was falsified. The train was never inspected.

Now we learn that the train operator was speeding when the train derailed and tipped over. But who hasn't gone a few miles faster than the posted limit?

There are also reports that the accident occurred on a section of the track that had been repaired last year.

Was it simply an accident or the law of unintended consequences? Did greed play a role in the early opening of the park? Did laziness or deceit regarding mundane paperwork hide the deadly defect? Did someone who ignored silly "speed restrictions" create a dangerous situation? Did shoddy workmanship last year play a role in a tragedy this year?

What went wrong? We have laws that keep greedy companies from gouging their customers. We have inspection plans for amusement parks and we hire state inspectors to do the inspecting. We've established speed limits on roads and rail. We've developed quality standards for acceptable workmanship. Why aren't these safeguards enough?

We have a governmental form of right-living; unfortunately, we also have citizens who lack personal integrity.

Plato, a philosopher who lived 400 years before Christ, saw the same situation in his home of Athens. As one writer put it, Athens had a residual corporate righteousness that "covered up for individual decay . . . Private vice would undermine public virtue."

Personal immorality, no matter how small, can have devastating effects for those around us. The writer of James reminds us that even tiny things like the words that we say can create great damage - it can even change the whole course of our life.

Disobedience to God's law often leads to dreadful results. If God warns us about it, and the Deceiver says not to worry about it, which one is telling the truth? But the deception goes farther.

The Deceiver not only lied about WHAT would happen, he also lied about WHY it happened. He implied that God did not love us. But if God warns us about real danger, and the Deceiver says not to worry about it, which one really loves us?

The moral code laid out in scripture is for our protection and provision. We are also instructed to "count the cost" of our decisions; as individuals, as churches, as communities, and as nations.

So what will be the cost of action in Libya when the defense secretary says, "it's unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve"? Is military action without defined goals going to cost more than we are willing to pay?

What will be the cost in the Wisconsin communities where teachers call in "sick" in order to protest in Madison? Will their students learn that you don't have to tell the truth to your employers as long as you have a good reason? Will they learn to lie in other situations?

The cost of church scandals have permanently scarred many, both by the initial transgression and by the cover-up. Children of broken families are always hurt by situations that usually start with a "wink-and-a-nod".

God loves us. That's why He calls us to personal integrity. That's why He asks us to count the cost. If that had happened, even once, in the last few weeks Benji Easler might still be alive.

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