“22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1.22-25)
There was another announcement in the morning paper of a nearby community enacting residency restrictions as well as a no loitering policy for those whose names appear on the state sex offender registry. I wish that I could say I read the article with a complete sense of calm but I can’t.
Part of my anxiety came from comments made by a detective interviewing me as part of my registry-required face-to-face meeting with the local police in the new city where we now live. He shared that the local council was looking to follow in the footsteps of other cities and towns in this part of the state. But he also expressed concerns that the police had as well as their desire to find an alternative solution to that kind of legislation, legislation he felt only served to drive offenders underground.
I am not going to say that I went into panic mode over either of these situations because that would be a distortion. Let’s just say that I asked myself the same question most of you ask. “Will there ever be a day when people no longer define me by my past?” The answer is probably not.
The day after my meeting with the police I attended an organizational meeting of the Northeast Wisconsin Prison Aftercare Network (PAN). Thirty-nine people representing various ministries and services listened as the goals and objectives of the organization were shared by coordinators of the Southeastern Wisconsin PAN. These people reach out on a daily basis to help men and women in prisons and jails as well as those returning after sentence completion. I left that meeting encouraged and a bit hungry for more.
As good as this gathering had been, however, it was a teaching that weekend on God’s word that reminded me of something more important. My identity is not defined by those who legislate restrictions. Rather, my identity is in the Lord to the extent that I am willing to listen and then act with obedience on what God’s word says.
I hated prison but not every memory I have of that time is a nightmare. I met some people who had done terrible things and caused considerable harm and pain in the lives of others. And yes, I was one of those people. But there was also good in them just as I think they saw the good in me.
These were men who worked hard to recognize the evil they had done, the pain they had caused their victims, and took the steps they needed to take to minimize the potential for doing the same thing again. And in hindsight, I think we all shared a common bond—a desire to be the men God created us to be. Doesn’t that sound like the way all people should be?
The men who attended chapel services solely as a means of getting out of their cells for an hour or so returned to their cells with little or no evident change in the way they lived. Those who had listened, maybe even had taken notes, had determined that the old way of doing things had to die. Because of their commitment, when they looked in the mirror each morning, they could see gradual changes and they liked what they saw. I know that I did.
Do what it says
Merely listening to the Word is, for me, a little like God calling out “Hey, Bob! I have a suggestion to make” while I sit in my easy chair and do nothing. If God would say “Stand on one foot for a full minute and for the next week everything will go your way,” I’d be out of my chair and hopping around within seconds. But God also has a way of making it more difficult than that. He might say “Pay attention to the people around you, serve them, and pray for them.” Somehow I know that it would take a little more for me to get out of the chair. It shouldn’t, but it does.
The key issue here is that how we respond to self and others is more important that how others respond to us. You might be yelling “Unfair, unfair!” –especially in light of what I shared at the start of this article—and you’d be right. No, it isn’t fair that people lock themselves into deep levels of hate toward any of us, but instead of condemning them, we should be praying for them.
He will be blessed in what he does
When we live according to God’s word to the best of our ability, we will see changes in our lives. And guess what. Others will notice the manner in which we live as well. If we live as we are called to live, those same people may not necessarily alter how they feel about sex offenders in general, but they cannot deny something different about us. It is that difference that will eventually encourage them to rethink how they feel and maybe even how they respond.
The verse says that if a man “looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom” on a regular basis, he will be blessed. We can all say that we are blessed by a beautiful day because something in us recognizes God’s handiwork. But the blessings we recognize at the end of each day that come because of another person seem to be the ones with the greatest impact. For the most part, the blessing received was unexpected and we think “Boy, what happened was really nice. In fact, it made my day!”
Some of you do everything you are called to do and still feel as though nothing good ever happens in return for your efforts. One man wrote, “What’s the use? I just got a 24-month defer despite everything I’ve tried to do to show my sincere desire to change. Shouldn’t God do a better job at His end of things?” I couldn’t answer the man but then I know I don’t have the answers. God does.
The Nike commercials used the phrase “Just do it” and people responded with a resounding “Okay.” They took to running, lifting weights, riding bikes, and changing the manner in which they lived at very basic levels. Out of shape men saw posters of muscle-defined athletes and hung those posters as incentive. They saw the goal but lived each day with a belief based both on faith and on the words of a company willing to support that goal through their product. Would that people who claim faith in God lived their spiritual lives with such determination. Besides, God’s goal is better than any Nike offers.
As I left the detective’s office that morning, I told him that a residency restriction would do nothing to prevent me from reoffending. What would prevent reoffending was within me—my attitudes, my boundaries, and my desire to continue the changes I have experienced. If memory serves me, he nodded.
So I challenge you just as we are all challenged by God to listen intently for His will. And then I challenge you to ask for grace each and every day to follow and be obedient to God’s will. If you think this will be easy, you haven’t been paying attention to yourself. It’s hard work.
We need to continue praying for one another, praying for our victims, and praying for society in general. We need to see the goal God has for us, believe that achieving the goal will involve active participation, and then just do it!
