One evening several years ago, as my wife and I were having dinner at home, I noticed a golf cart pull into our driveway and pull alongside our golf cart. As we watched, the driver got out of his cart, unplugged our golf cart from the charger, and plugged in the cart that he had been driving. At that point, I went outside and introduced myself, asking if I might be of assistance. The intoxicated driver was surprised by my presence, and his sober girlfriend was extremely embarrassed. I explained that he was far more likely to have been greeted by the barrel of a shotgun than by someone who would happily help out AFTER they had been so presumptuous as to come onto private property and unplug a private cart that was charging just so that they could steal some electricity, and then I offered to drive them to their destination so that they could let their cart batteries recharge overnight at our house. Sheepishly, they agreed.
Because Daufuskie Island is a bridgeless island with a relatively low population and a similarly low level of crime, the County sheriff’s deputies are present sporadically. It is likely that the vast majority of tourists here never encounter a law enforcement officer, even in passing. Unfortunately, that has led too many visitors to conclude that they are free to do whatever they want here, without fear of consequence, because without an enforcer of the laws, there may as well be no law.
Reality can be quite different for some, because the deputies do have a presence here, and their timing can be quite unpredictable, so you may have gotten away with something stupid last year only to find yourself facing a fine of several hundred dollars or a trip to the mainland in shackles. And if you do something really stupid and the deputies aren’t here, they have boats and can get here in time to clamp down. So what might appear to be a place without an enforcer actually is a place where there can be significant consequences for poor choices.
We have a similar problem in our daily lives. All of us continue to violate God’s moral laws, and while there are some impacts on our lives (poor choices often lead to poor outcomes), we seemingly do so without the looming threat of an enforcer. After decades of living as we wish without apparently being held accountable by the moral law giver, we can conveniently forget that we will one day have an encounter with the enforcer who will bring the full consequences of our behavior to bear upon us. However, unlike the deputies who may or may not catch you on Daufuskie, God absolutely will hold you accountable one day.
The good news is that, knowing that we are guilty, God sent His only begotten Son to provide us with a way out of the mess that we have gotten ourselves into. The only just judge is extending us grace and mercy to save us from what we really deserve. The wise move is to humbly accept this offer, realizing that an eternity in heaven is far better than the wrong end of a shotgun barrel or an eternity in shackles. Even with a lifetime of making poor choices, this one wise choice can set you free.
Peace and blessing – Pastor Aaron