A 14 year old boy in Fort Worth Texas, was shot and killed by a woman when he tried to break into her home and as tragic as this may be, we cannot reasonably fault the woman for doing what she felt she had to do at that time as she was only defending herself from what she had perceived to be a threat to her safety.
According to the cited news items, the boy had made previous break-in attempts into her home which she had, before his final break-in attempt, reported to police. [1, 2]
The boy she shot may have been 14, but he was old enough to have known better than to break in and “burglarize” someone’s home and he was old enough to have known better than to do what he did which is why I hope and pray that the woman who was simply defending herself from what she perceived to be a threat does not face arrest or any charges.
It is already going to be a hard enough struggle for her with the fact that she, even in protecting herself, shot a boy who, for all anyone is concerned, could have just as easily been her own son who was killed and I cannot imagine how having to do something like that doesn’t haunt you for years to come.
Sadly, the poor and foolish choices that the boy made costed him his life.
Parents, how vitally important it is that from day one, that you raise your children up to be morally upright law-abiding productive citizens founded in the fear of and in the reverence and love for our Creator and that they learn to abide in His truth and in the sound wisdom and instruction of His Word, with the hope that in doing so, you might increase their chances of their days being many upon the earth and becoming decent God-fearing adults.
But then again, in order for children to be raised up in the fear and admonition of their Creator, the parents must in all humility, first submit themselves to His authority, learn to abide in His truth, be receptive to His love and mercy, and give Him due fear and reverence thus setting an example for their children to follow.
But if children have not the knowledge, fear, and love of God in them and if they are not adequately instructed to abide in His ways and persuaded to embrace His truth, if they are not being properly disciplined at home, and taught to be upright contributing members of society, then should it be any surprise to see their lives cut short as a consequence?
Parents, it is better that you should suffer the disfavor of your child and yet see his or her days extended and watch him or her become a productive, purpose-driven, morally sound, and God-fearing adult, than to give into appeasement for the sake of pacifying a temper-tantrum only to see them make destructive decisions that could end their lives before their time is due.
Understand parents, that it is not enough to take into consideration as to how the behavior and actions of your child affect them or you, but also take into consideration as to how their behavior and actions also affect others with whom your child may interact and as you hold your child when they are first born, as you read them their favorite bedtime stories, take them on camping trips and amusement parks, watch them perform in their school play, and cheer them on in their sports games, think every day about what kind of an impact you want your child to have on the people with whom they come into contact and what influence you would like to see them have on the lives of others because those days during which they appear innocent, full of wonder, and unconditional love will not last forever. They are but a stage in life that gradually fades as they mature and it is a stage that is too often taken for granted by far too many.
Those children are one day going to insist on making their own choices and demand their independence from you and the choices that they make are not going to be confined to just a flavor of ice-cream or a television show. Those choices are also going to involve moral and even spiritual choices as well be it for their betterment or their detriment.
It is not enough to simply keep a roof over a child’s head, to keep food in their bellies, or provide them with decent clothing to protect them from the elements, or even to shield them from external dangers and threats.
Their moral and spiritual upbringing needs to be considered just as vitally important and it is that upbringing that is the most neglected by so many parents for more than one reason; probably because they feel that their spiritual and moral upbringing is unimportant, or they don’t know how to go about shaping their spiritual and moral upbringing, or they are spiritually and morally bankrupt themselves and while there are some parents dedicated to ensuring that their children raised up to fear, love, and revere their Creator and to be morally upright, productive, and contributing members of society, I fear that there are far too many who abdicate their parental responsibilities and entrust the academic, moral, and spiritual upbringing of their children to so-called experts not ever taking into consideration as to what their children are being taught and that the minds of their children are being poisoned with lies, falsehoods which then turn their hearts towards things their parents may never have anticipated and away from the very things that they would like to see their children embrace and have a love for.
The spiritual, academic, and moral upbringing of a child does not begin at a school, preschool, or summer camp. It does not even begin at a place of worship. It must begin at home but first parents, in order to ensure that your children are not being led astray by systemic lies, you have to make sure that you are not being poisoned by those same lies yourself. And if you are ever to hope to see your children to be morally upright productive citizens, make sure you are that morally upright and productive person you want to see your children become, and if you want your children to have respect unto the things that pertain to God, make sure that you yourself have the love and fear of God in you yourself. Whatever it is you wish to see your children grow into on a moral and spiritual basis, aspire also to be the same because you are the first person who will influence the course of that child’s life be it for better or for worse both by the instruction you give them and by the example you set because as long as that child is in your care, you will be the first face they see in the morning and the last face they will see at night until they depart from your home to live their lives as they see fit.
Parents, if you love and cherish your children, do not just provide for their external and physical needs, but also be just as actively at work doing what you can to keeping them mentally and spiritually healthy as well and ensuring that they are imparted the wisdom and instruction that they need to make well-informed thought-out decisions, especially moral and spiritual ones that can greatly affect the course of their life.
And if you desire a bright future for future generations, do your part in setting the stage for that now, starting firstly with yourself and then your children, but that is going to require a change, not just in the lives of your children, but in your own life as well and in fact, that change has to first happen in you before you can ever hope to see it happen in your children and that change that is required of you is that same change required of all people whether they have children or not and it is a spiritual and moral change that does not take place from without, but begins with a transformation from within and before that transformation can begin, we must understand why we need to our inward person transformed and that requires us to humbly seek the God who created us and examine ourselves before Him which requires us finding out what it is that He expects of us; how we live our lives, where our priorities should be, and to what authority we should be submitting to, but that requires us to learn as much about our Creator as we can; His character, attributes, the truth of which He is the source, and the moral standards that He has set before us.
This examination cannot be merely confined to just our actions or the words that come out of our mouths, but it also involves that which is within ourselves; our thoughts, motives, and the attitude of our hearts and when we do an honest examination of ourselves before Almighty God, it cannot only be the most humbling experience that we may have, but it can also be the most terrifying knowing that one day we will have to stand before Him and give an account of all that we have done in this life and not only will our actions and speech be judged but also what drove our outward conduct and behavior as well which means even our thoughts, motives, and attitudes will also be taken into account and if we find ourselves falling short of that moral standard what then can be done to escape what is to be nothing more but an eternity of unimaginable unrelenting torment?
And what is it that produces within us those things by which we are condemned before a Holy God who will deliver to each and every one of us our final sentence and which causes us to fall short of His standard?
For when we stand before Him, He will not measure our own goodness with that of another, but rather He will be measuring our goodness to His goodness which is pure and unblemished and even if our outward performance were to be flawless, what about our inward person? What about the nature of our thoughts and motives? What about the attitude of the heart? If we could keep our thoughts clean, our motives pure, and our attitude right, only then might we attain moral perfection and thereby save ourselves from everlasting condemnation, but if we cannot keep pure and clean our inward person and if our thoughts be defiled, then those defiled thoughts, wrong motives, and bad attitudes will inevitably ill-influence what comes out of our mouths, our actions, behavior, and conduct and if we fall short of God’s moral standard of perfection by even so much as our inward condition which is taken as much into account as our outward performance, then what is it about our inward person that causes us to fall short even when we seek to live morally upright lives and to do that which is right and pleasing in the sight of our Creator?
Whatever it is within us that causes us to fall short, it certainly was not meant to be a part of how God created us because it constantly causes us to think, entertain, speak, and do that which is contrary to what God would have us do and how He created us to be and if that which causes to fall short of moral perfection was never meant to be a part of us, then how did it become a part of us to begin with?
That answer will never be found or satisfied in the wisdom of this world, but can only be answered by an act of divine revelation which our Creator has given us in His divinely inspired written Word which tells of us a time when the world in which we now live was not always as it is today, but was actually quite different and even opposite in nature.
For it is written in His Word that when God created the heavens and the earth, He made all things to be good and not evil, to be filled with life and not death or decay, and with joy, happiness, peace, and contentment and in that world there was a perfect peace, harmony, and unity between God, man, and nature that was enjoyed by all of creation but there was one thing that was forbidden to man and that was a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for God had warned the first man and woman whom He had created, Adam and his wife Eve, that in the day that he ate thereof that he would surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3)
And when they committed that first act of disobedience, something entered into them that defiled them and which ever since has corrupted the nature of man into that which was not meant to be and the corruption that entered into him is what the Bible calls sin.
Sin is not confined to just outward acts or even spoken words, but rather it is the corrupted condition of our inward person and when sin entered into Adam and his wife Eve, the sentence of death, as they were warned was brought upon them (Gen. 3:19) but that sentence and the consequences of their actions did not stop with them, for the very corruption that entered into them was then inherited by all of mankind since it is from Adam and Eve all of mankind descend (Rom. 5:12) which is why all people, in some form or fashion, sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and as a consequence, the sentence of death is upon us all, (Rom. 6:23) just as it came upon Adam and Eve who are the mother and father of all mankind and even worse, sin estranges us from our Creator and keeps us ever condemned before Him which is why they who are in sin cannot enter into the Kingdom of God which is without sin lest Heaven be defiled by sin as the earth has been defiled because sin taints, distorts, corrupts, defiles, twists, perverts, and destroys more than we can comprehend or ever know and is the reason why the entire creation, as it is written, struggles and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) and how it must grieve the God of life what sin has done to His once perfect creation because of all the death, decay, misery, pain, grief, suffering, sorrow, hardship, and evil that has resulted from it and why sin, when it reaches a certain measure, must face eventual judgment and elimination which also includes any and all people who take pleasure in their sin and in the things of evil rather than in the things that are good and right in the eyes of God but despite the fact that judgment must inevitably come due to the wickedness of this present world and the suffering, misery, heartache, pain, and grief that it has produced, our Creator is also full of love and desires to show mercy to all willing to receive it and it is because of His love for us that He is not willing that any should perish in eternal damnation (2 Pet. 3:9) but that all would come to repentance and a way He has provided in that He sent into the world His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who, being without sin, (2 Cor. 5:21) offered Himself up on behalf of the sinner, for it was His sinlessness that made Him to be that needed perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) to take away the sins of the world which He did when He willingly, in His love for us and in His mercy, took the demanded penalty for sin upon Himself by His death on the cross and after having satisfied that penalty by His death, was raised again from the dead (Rom. 4:25) that we might be justified in Him by our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins if we will call upon His name for the forgiveness of sins (Rom. 10:13) so that we may be saved from what would otherwise be an everlasting and unrelenting punishment with a torment beyond imagining and with redemption in Christ comes also a transformation that changes us from those who once lusted after worldly pleasures and took pleasure in the things evil into people who no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
It is that transformative change that makes us into a new person in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17) and makes us into better friends,
better neighbors,
better employees to our employers,
better employers to our employees,
better leaders to those under us,
better subjects to those over us,
better students to our teachers,
better teachers to our students,
better spouses to our husbands and wives,
better sons and daughters to our parents,
better grandchildren to our grandparents,
better parents to our children,
and just better people than we had once been before.
And just as we are changed from within and rescued in Christ and by Christ from eternal damnation through the forgiveness of sins, so one day, we will also be saved from bodily death (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) when our inherently corrupted bodies are changed into incorruptible form in which dwells no sin and wherein dwells no sin dwells no death and then lastly, creation itself will be liberated from the curse of sin when it is made anew for in the new world that is promised there will be no sin, no decay, no death, no evil of any sort, nor any corruption, or any misery, hardship, pain, suffering, sorrow, or grief of any sort, but only life, light, happiness, peace, harmony, joy, and contentment before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
If you have not done so already, wish to be an agent of change for the better in the world, and to be at peace about where you will be spending eternity, then I urge you reader today to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. It is but a simple and sincere prayer of repentance away:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1. Peter Yager, “Woman kills boy, 14, who tried to burglarize her, Fort Worth police say,” Fox 4 KDFW, December 14, 2023
https://www.fox4news.com/news/woman-kills-boy-14-who-tried-to-burglarize-her-fort-worth-police-say
2. Dan Lyman, “Armed Texas Woman Fatally Shoots 14-Year-Old Burglar,” InfoWars, December 16, 2023
https://www.infowars.com/posts/armed-texas-woman-fatally-shoots-14-year-old-burglar-police/
Scripture references:
1. Genesis 2:16-17
2. Genesis 3:3
3. Genesis 3:19
4. Romans 5:12
5. Romans 3:23
6. Romans 6:23
7. Romans 8:19-22
8. 2 Peter 3:9
9. 2 Corinthians 5:21
10. Hebrews 7:26-27
11. Romans 4:25
12. Romans 10:13
13. Revelation 21-22
14. Matthew 10:28
15. 2 Corinthians 5:17
16. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
17. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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