Caught in the Act
I love books. If you go to the Resources Page on the top menu, you can scroll through some of my book collection. But I also love a bargain. Most of the books I have purchased have been at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores or with a coupon or a gift card. These discounted books sometimes offer surprises. I have found bookmarks, postcards and notes inside these books before. One of the best bargains I ever got was on a Bill Clinton book.
Yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores are fun to explore. My wife loves looking for lawn items and lawn furniture. Me? I look for anything presidential. One of our local community colleges has an annual yard sale/book sale. It was at one of these events that I purchased my Clinton book for $1. When I finally got around to reading it, I came across a page with a brand new, crisp one dollar bill between the pages. So the book didn’t actually cost me anything and the new bill was a lot prettier than the one I paid for the book with.
He was a man who worked very hard to earn his reputation. He had his views and opinions, but he would rarely share them outside a close circle of associates. His first term cabinet, which many called the greatest ever, was divided among those who shared his views and those who didn’t. Anything that offered the slightest hint of tarnish to his reputation, he immediately went to work on.
How, then, could such a man, with such a sterling character, be so careless? He had finally finished his terms and was moving back home after a long career of public service. They packed up 97 boxes, 14 trunks, and 43 casks to ship back to his house. Some of the other stuff, like furniture, he sold off in yard sale fashion. One of these items was his private writing desk. He sold it to a friend named Elizabeth Powell. It was what was inside the desk that grabs our attention.
Just like a vacation that ends, so must have been the steps of Adam and Eve as they were forced to leave the Garden of Eden. I’m not sure exactly where Cain and Abel (their sons) were born, but I know they grew up just outside of paradise. One, Abel, tended the livestock. The other, Cain, worked the soil.
It came time for Cain and Abel to thank God for what he had provided them from their labors. Abel went out and picked the choicest of the lot of his cattle and brought it to God. Cain brought his fruits of the field to offer God, too. The Bible says God was happy with Abel’s offering. The Bible also states that He was unhappy with Cain’s offering. The Bible doesn’t actually say why God was unhappy with the offering of Cain, it only says that He was unhappy with it. It might have been Cain did not bring the best of the field. Maybe his heart wasn’t in the right place. Maybe God wanted meat and not vegetables or some other reason. All we know is God didn’t like or accept Cain’s offering.
George Washington had been a public servant for so many years. He had just finished his two presidential terms and all he wanted to do was go home to Mount Vernon. He packed up some stuff and sold others. Shortly after he sold Elizabeth Powell the desk, she told him about the secret love letters she found hidden in it. For a man who worked so hard to earn such great respect, how could he be so clumsy?
The lady whose affection he desired in the letters was once married to a very rich man who was twenty years her senior. After this husband’s death she became very much attracted to this tall, handsome man named George Washington. It was after this that the little affair started. It lasted some 40 years.
Instead of trying to do better the next time, Cain decided the best solution to fix this offering issue was to eliminate his rival and his brother, Abel. No one would ever know. So he killed Abel. Cain must have forgotten that there are always three people who know your secret wrong doings. There is the person you do it with or to; there is yourself; and there is God.
The Bible says to be prepared when God comes for you. You know not the hour, so hopefully you’re not caught in an act that would embarrass you. Denial won’t work, just ask Cain.
When Elizabeth Powell told George Washington about the letters he was not worried. He knew he didn’t do anything wrong. Elizabeth Powell then revealed that the letters were, in fact, letters George Washington had written to his wife Martha.
Probably the best way to avoid the consequences and hurt that comes with doing something wrong is to do what is right instead. That way pride, not fear, will pound in your heart if you get caught it the act.
Prayer: Father, Often we are faced with opportunities that look very appealing, but we know are wrong. Hurt and disappointment hang around a long time after the spotlight is turned off. Grant me the ability to live a life where I’m not ashamed if I’m found out. Amen.
