Tim Wildmon
AFA president
April 2009 – As I looked at the photograph of famed trial attorney Richard “Dicky” Scruggs on the front page of my local newspaper recently, I was reminded of what the Bible says about greed. Scruggs was pictured in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed, having attended his sentencing in a federal court for attempting to bribe a judge. Now, the 62-year-old will spend several of his last years on earth in prison.
Here is a man who had all the money one could ever need and then millions more, and yet what got him in trouble was wanting a little more. Even if he had to cheat to get it.
About that same time, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs – steroids – for three years. Here is a guy who has all the natural talent in the world, yet he wanted a little more power so he could hit a few more homeruns, even if he had to cheat to do it. And as we all know, many of the big names in Major League Baseball in the modern era have now admitted to – or by their silence all but confessed to – doing the same thing. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, etc.
Long live Hank Aaron.
Inevitably when we hear of the rich and powerful falling, there is this tendency and temptation for the rest of us little people to revel in their humiliation. But to do so is foolishness. We all are capable of the very same things. Cheating. Lying. Stealing.
Perhaps money is not our weakness, but there are plenty of other attitudes, actions and vices that the Bible warns against, sins which have snared men down through the ages. Some, criminal acts punished by society. Others, while not criminal, but still deadly. If you need some reminding, here are a few mentioned in the New Testament: covetousness, malice, sexual immorality, envy, strife, slander, gossip, deceit, boastfulness, blasphemy, drunkenness, selfishness and idolatry. And then there is the father of all these evils: human pride.
The fundamental reason why we practice these things is that we care more about living for ourselves than we care about living for God. Again, it’s called pride. It’s also called sin. And we are all sinners.
Christianity teaches that there is a war between the flesh and the Spirit. Some people mock this concept. In less theological terms, we are given choices every day to do what is right or do what is wrong. To do what is moral or do what is immoral. To do what is ethical or to do what is unethical. In more theological terms – we are faced with the choice to sin or not to sin. While I do believe in the sovereignty of God, I also believe the Lord allows us the freedom to choose. And we must live with the blessings, curses and consequences that come with our choices.
In exploring this subject, the words of the apostle Paul are instructive in his letter to the church in Rome: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Then in his first letter to Timothy he writes: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.”
Even Jesus Christ Himself was tempted. But unlike any person who has ever lived, He faced down every temptation and remained sinless.
As we struggle each day to choose a life of righteousness, if we are moving toward the Lord, here are some of the virtues that should replace our vices: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, humility, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion and selflessness. These are acts and attitudes that please God and will give us a happier, more meaningful life.
I didn’t intend for this to be a sermon, but I guess it has become one. If you wish to borrow it go right ahead. Just make sure you give me credit.
Well, no, on second thought, you don’t have to give me credit because wanting credit is a sign of my pride.
I will conclude with another quote from Paul: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 
