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In a candid address, Dr. Leonard Johnson,
president of The Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists, told the gathering that the recent spate of
crime in our nation has prompted some to blame a certain
nationality for these crimes.
"Could it be that our society has developed a tolerance for
crime or certain types of crime? Because of our tolerance
for crime, drug trafficking, the sale of stolen goods and
the flow of illegal immigrants continue. Also, questionable
politicians and non-productive employees retain their
positions with the support of society.
To support his argument, Dr. Johnson quoted from page 16 of
the National Commission on Crime Report. It stated that
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"… all crimes are examples of failure to abide by
societal norms, some failures being more obviously
serious than others. It follows, therefore, that the
incidence of crime is related to the level of
tolerance of crime among the community at large." |
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The Report further suggested that over a period of time, our
society has "become conditioned to accepting behaviour and
practices which would earlier not have been
tolerated"(p.17).
In order to change this tolerant attitude toward crime, Dr.
Johnson suggested that we turn to the Bible for help. He
identified Psalm 1 as a description of godly and responsible
living contrasted with the ungodly way of life. In his
explication of this passage, he pointed out that one who
lives according to the Word of God and avoid ungodly
behaviour is a happy person. He is "like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season." He is happy because he does not follow the advice
or way of the wicked, for he is rooted and grounded in and
nourished by the Word of God. And the consistent study of
the Word brings joy and fulfillment.
It is clear that if we want to have a stable society that is
free of crime, we have to do more than complain and
criticize. We need to return to the values and approaches
that are outlined in the Bible. We need to follow a biblical
approach in our attempt to deal with the problem of crime
and lawlessness".
We must admit that Bible study is not popular with
many children today. It appears that we have not given enough
emphasis to this in training our children. Proverbs 22: 6
says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he
is old he will not depart from it." The implication of this
is that our society will not change with mere criticisms and
observations. The home and the church must lead an
aggressive campaign in doing first things first to make a
significant difference in changing the rebellious attitude
and behavior of our youth. But parents themselves must be
equipped and know what to do.
If parents don’t meditate on the Word of God and fail to
teach their children to study the Bible, we will have a
generation of ungodly people who will continue to do evil
(See Judges 2: 10 – 12). But when we train our children, by
precepts and example, to meditate on God’s Word, "we will be
training our young people to avoid walking (going) in the
counsel of the ungodly, standing (stopping) in the path of
sinners and sitting (joining) in the seat of the scornful."
Notice the progression of walking, standing and sitting. If
we teach our young people the importance of choosing the
right friends and associates, we would reduce the likelihood
of their becoming involved in gangs and crime and ultimately
save them.
The path of the ungodly is just the opposite to that of the
person whose delight is in following the Lord’s instruction.
Because the ungodly person persists in doing evil and
ignores the law of God and the law of the land, he will not
survive the scrutiny of the judgment; therefore, he will not
be in the community of the righteous and would eventually
perish.
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