Right or wrong, people free to choose

Linus Mathis/Spectrum

Editor's note: This is a response to a Spectrum piece by Rev. Howard Bess, &#8220Prisons and the future of Palmer,” printed in the Nov. 21 edition of the Frontiersman. Interested readers who missed it can find it under the Opinion link at www.frontiersman.com.

Let me begin by not listing my accomplishments, years of service or personal sacrifices. I am directed by the Lord to let my praises be on the lips of another, not mine.

I will also not attempt to garner credibility by way of endless genealogies, as they only engender controversy and strife. I should think also, that the length of time I have lived in this Valley is irrelevant to choices made by others.

Furthermore, I will not drop names (like &#8220Jesus”) nor use my platform as a minister to question or judge the motives of the good people of Palmer. Also, I will definitely not torture the Scriptures by arresting verses from their context, paraphrasing them without documentation or using them as a springboard for my own agenda, political or religious.

To do this would be repugnant and a foul stench in the nostrils of God and the highest form of dishonesty.

At no place in God's Word are we commanded to build a prison. The imprisoned mentioned by God were incarcerated unjustly because of their stand for Him and His Word.

We are, in fact, told that to be reproached for being a Christian is glorious, but we are prohibited from suffering as murderers, thieves or busybodies (I Peter 4:12-19). The individuals of concern to our Lord were imprisoned unjustly as noted clearly by the sheep or goat (sheep = righteous, goat = unrighteous) metaphor as well as right hand/left hand (right = righteous, left = unrighteous) and the term &#8220brethren” (Matthew 25:31-40).

Clearly, there is a great difference between visiting someone in prison and building a medium-security mega-prison in your back yard. To presumptuously question the choices and motivation of those opposed to this build is reprehensible and indefensible.

God gave us all free will so that we may choose, and He never violates or usurps our right to say yay or nay (Romans 11:29). Additionally, I've yet to hear any of those opposed to a prison in Palmer say they were opposed to a prison elsewhere.

No one that I'm aware of has denied the need for a prison or putting one somewhere in the Mat-Su. Just not in Palmer. And each of those opposed has their own reasons and are entitled to make them known.

Incidently, I have spent a good deal of time in prison outreach. Frankly, there are a number of the incarcerated who are not interested in the Gospel but use it to garner believability for a parole

hearing.

Notwithstanding, there are those who do desire deliverance, and nothing should stand in the way of their receiving visitation by Christians interested in helping. Any location in this Valley would easily facilitate this. It need not be Palmer.

And no one should castigate the citizens of Palmer for their choices. Honestly, prisons should not be in the gateway of any community, as this results in an indelible stigma.

Bess has charged the good citizens of Palmer with being fearful, selfish and uniformed, and this he has done in the name of Christianity. I would like to know, who died and made him the voice of Christianity?

As far as Christian viewpoints are concerned, he does not speak for me and possibly the greater percentage of Christians elsewhere. But like the liberal thinkers of our day, when an opinion differs from theirs, they engage in character assassination.

We all know that more often than not our elected officials not only do not represent us but go about pampering their own egos. Apparently, small-town religion is every bit as nasty and disrespectful as small-town politics.

To equate a law-abiding citizen with a murderer, thief, sex offender or any other evil-doer is outrageous. Fraternizing with &#8220jailbirds” cuts no ice with God or man.

I know. I grew up on the &#8220mean streets” of NYC, and I was not born with a Bible in my hand. I've seen many a man &#8220cross the line” over the years both in my ministry and before.

I can tell you, they are not you. There's a huge difference.

I am not saying they are incapable of repentance, but many of them never &#8220cross back over,” as testified to by the extraordinarily high recidivism rates. I am also not suggesting that they should not be forgiven. However, forgiveness does not alleviate the forgiven from the consequences of his error.

You might ask God to forgive you for giving in to lust and going into debt. He will forgive you if you are sincere, but you will still have to pay off the lenders.

Therein lies the rub. Far

too many miscreants are not made to adequately face the consequences.

Prisons are not built to accommodate the poor misguided offender. They are built to remove the offender from

society.

Why? So that no further harm is done to the innocent, and so that the malefactor can pay his debt to society. His debt, not society's! No community should be made to suffer defacement and pay the bills.

So yes, there's a huge difference between them and you. For Bess to call the mentality of those who don't want this prison in their back yard, scurrilously dishonest is beyond impertinence. That he would do that is confirmation of his own mentality (Romans 2:1).

He is entitled to his opinions, but he is not authorized to comment on the motives behind the choices of others, nor is he capable of same.

I'm not bothered at all by his opinion. But I take exception to those who deceitfully handle the Word of God. I've read articles written by Bess in this very newspaper, and in most of them he makes a point of telling the reader that the Bible is not divinely inspired. If he genuinely believes that, he should cease using it as a way to gain credence.

I'm not interested in debate or argument, as truth only needs a witness. I've given that (Romans 14:1-13; Isaiah 5:20, 21).

The Reverend Linus A. Mathis III is the founder and director of Frontier Christian Ministries. Contact him at fcm@mtaonline.net