Isaiah Roman

Why I Cry Wolf…

From time to time I wonder whether or not the words that I write, or the things that I say have any effect at all. Oh, from time to time I do notice that people are irritated by my insistence on righteousness, or my disgust with sin. But, that’s not the kind of response that I am interested in.

I know that God tells us that the darkness hates the light. I know that I will be persecuted for pointing out sin when it presents itself. I know that when I sin, there will be those who will be more than happy to point out how much less than righteous I’ve been. Yet, that’s not the point I’m trying to make at all.

When I see a young woman wearing short-shorts and a skin tight t-shirt I cringe knowing that this poor girl has been taught by society that the clothes she is wearing are fashionable. The word that is used is “sexy.” The very term used to describe the look ought to be a clue; sex – y. But, If I point this out then I’m being sexist, a pig, or a boor. I shouldn’t have anything to say about what a person chooses to wear or not to wear.

When I see a young man, obviously convinced that they are predestined to live out a homosexual lifestyle I want to cry. The poor man doesn’t have to live out his life this way. There is an answer to their internal pain besides a hardened heart and a twisted concept of love. Yet, if I open my mouth to say something I’m a homophobe, intolerant, a backwards, ignorant old man.

When I see people scurrying about their own business with their life’s concerns, trying to make ends meet I see the frustration on their faces. No matter how hard they try, there’s always ten dollars more to make, or two more hours of work to do. They don’t want anything to do with God, or spirituality, because they have “real” concerns. When I try to explain that God IS real, and that their problems aren’t nearly as real as His loving care for them I’m insane, I’m out of touch, and frankly I’m just delusional.

Never mind that children are having sex in school starting at the age of 11. Never mind that homosexuality is the world’s leading transmitter of sexual disease and that it physically and mentally damages the participants. Never mind that people are working more and more for less and less and that psychotropic drugs are holding most people’s psyches together today.

When I point out things that are wrong, I’m being cruel, hateful, and intolerant. How dare I judge others’ behavior? How dare I concern myself with something that so obviously doesn’t involve me?

Yet, I am compelled to keep on ranting, raving about the dangers I see waiting for these people around every corner. To them, I’m just Chicken Little; “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” What they don’t realize is, that I might just be more like the little boy who cried wolf.

You see, although I may be wrong about my timing, and although you may call me a liar, eventually the wolf is coming.

Some day, when folks least expect it, they’re going to wake up wondering how it is that they are in the situation they find themselves. I sometimes wonder what  it must have been like to be a German during the first days of World War II. I wonder if they thought to themselves “how in the world did we get here?” Perhaps they didn’t think about it. After all, they had too many “real” concerns.

Why do I cry wolf? Unlike the little boy, I’m not trying to purposefully lie to you just for my own amusement. I do it because Because I’m like the traffic cop who spots a speeder. I call out the transgression and make the speeder aware of their problem. Most speeders would like to blame the traffic cop, but in all reality, the cop wasn’t speeding; the cop didn’t make them guilty.

I do it because I’m like the road engineer, standing in the middle of the road with a bright orange vest, waving a bright orange flag yelling “the bridge is out, the bridge is out!” Most of the traffic will simply gesture vulgarity and yell “get out of the way!”

One day, the wolf is coming. One day, the bridge will be out. One day you will have to take your life’s tickets before the judge and plead your case. On that day, there will be no pardon for “good behavior.” There is only one penalty for each sin; death. You only have one death to give. How many sins do you have to pay for?

If I can just save one person from that fate, just one, then it will have been worth all of the derision, castigating, and oppression that I’ve received. That is why I do what I do.

I beg you therefore loved ones, in view of God’s mercy, offer your “person” as a living sacrifice; holy and pleasing to God, this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.