Jake was introduced to a high school assembly as an ex-convict who had
been involved in drug dealing, drug abuse, and armed robbery ($37.40 from a
QuikTrip store at gunpoint). The auditorium got quiet. Every eye was fixed on
Jake as he shared stories about the streets, prison, parole, and freedom. Jake
did not emphasize his crime and his life in prison, but he maximized his
spiritual conversion that so radically changed him. He announced that it was his
privilege to have been in prison. Otherwise he probably would not have faced up
to the things that eventually set his life on the right course.
Ex-convicts perform a great service in putting out such warnings, but
most would-be criminals need something more to deter them from involvement in
crime. Sheer determination, the horror of prison, and material goals work to
help keep some people out of prison, but it is the love of God that makes the
difference in every human life.
Between 80 and 90% of those in prison are involved with alcohol and drug
problems, usually related to inner personal problems and character defects. Most
of the people in prisons have been abused either mentally or phyically as
children. Once the inner person is healed, the total life-style can change and
the approach to life be corrected. The Spirit of God coming to the spirit of man
makes the radical difference in people like Jake.
As
a child Jake felt his dad didn't accept him. Jake didn't accept his dad's
life-style, so there was always conflict between them. Jake turned to sniffing
glue to exscape the tension of his homelife. He sold marijuana to get money for
other drugs so that he could forget all the demands life placed on him. After
many bouts with the law Jake was sent to prison.
The
Instituation of Correction was limited in what it could do for Jake with his
in-depth problems. The administrator's first responsibility was housing and
feeding those under his care. Rehabilitation came later if funds permitted.
People sentenced to prison know they need to change, many want to change, but
few have clues to what is wrong with them.
Jake was assigned to a two-man cell and worked in the prison paint
factory. To deal with the humdrum and boredom of prison life Jake attended
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He took moral inventory of himself and realized
he needed outside help, but in prison he knew no one to turn to. Eventually he
turned to God as an authority to respect, not because of His demands and laws,
but because of His love.
Discovering God's love, Jake realized that his parent's authority was
also based on love. Jake sought out his father to seek forgiveness for his
rebellion and rejection. In a meeting with his dad, the floodgate holding back
years of "bad thinking" was released, and Jake was able to begin healing. Next
came transformation of hate for the police to a tolerated acceptance of what
they stood for. Finally, a meeting with a Christian cop and a study of Romans 13
brought a complete change in Jake's thinking.
Jake attended Bible study classes, took Bible correspondence courses, and
sought the advice of the chaplains on how to live a sanctified life.
Jake now knows that going to prison is not the worst thing that could
have happened to him. He is grateful that he was slowed down, halted, and
changed to become a healed, whole person in Christ.
Jake did his time in prison and re-entered society a changed man. He
sought and found God's plan and purpose of his life, and now he communicates God
to others from a point of crisis and change. A person in Christ becomes new (2
Corinthians 5:17). Old values, attitudes, and habits are replaced by the grace
of God. God gives inner peace and love. For those who come changed, having been
imprisoned really is a privilege.
Reprinted with permission. Herald of Holiness July 1, 1988