Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlister, OK
May 9, 2012

“Preventative Measures”
“Do you know the saying, ‘Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well?’ It's true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted. “– Proverbs 5:15, 16 (The Message)

Solomon’s insinuation here is this: If you leave your door unlocked, do not be surprised if you come home and find your possessions gone! The result of one’s self-centeredness and seeking satisfaction in ways and places that is outside of the boundaries.
A good example takes us back to the post civil war days and a notorious outlaw by the name of Jesse James. I have a picture of my father dressed in a Confederate Soldier Uniform which he donned every year to commemorate “Jesse James” Days in the area where we lived. I could never quite understand how or why they dedicated a weekend of festivities to an outlaw, except maybe that at one time James and his gang lived in that area.
Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union Soldiers. After the war, as members of one gang or another, they robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Despite popular portrayals of James as a kind of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, there is no evidence that he and his gang used their robbery gains for anyone but themselves.
The James brothers were most active with their gang from about 1866 until 1876, when their attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota which resulted in the capture or deaths of several members. Jesse continued in crime for several years, recruiting new members, most notably the Ford brothers, Charley and Robert (Bob) but were under increasing pressure from law enforcement. They moved from place to place attempting to stay one step ahead of the law. On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, the Fords and James prepared to depart for another robbery. They went in and out of the house to ready the horses. As it was an unusually hot day, James removed his coat, and then declared that he needed to remove his firearms as well, lest he look suspicious. Noticing a dusty picture on the wall, he stood on a chair to clean it. Robert Ford took that opportunity and shot James in the back of the head. His intent was simple, there was a huge reward for the capture or death of Jesse James and Ford decided to claim it. The murder of Jesse James was a national sensation. The Fords made no attempt to hide their role. Indeed, Robert Ford wired the governor to claim his reward. Crowds pressed into the little house in St. Joseph, Missouri to see the dead bandit, even while the Ford brothers surrendered to the authorities but they were dismayed to find that they were charged with first degree murder. In the course of a single day, the Ford brothers were indicted, pleaded guilty, were sentenced to death by hanging, and then two hours later were granted a full pardon by Governor Crittenden. After receiving only a fraction of the reward, the Fords fled Missouri. Suffering from tuberculosis (then incurable) and having a morphine addiction, Charley Ford committed suicide on May 6, 1884, in Richmond, Missouri. Robert Ford operated a tent saloon in Creede, Colorado. On June 8, 1892, a man named Edward O’Kelley went to Creede on a personal vendetta with avenging James. He loaded a double barrel shotgun, entered Ford's saloon and said "Hello Bob" before shooting Ford in the head, killing him instantly. O'Kelley was sentenced to life in prison. O'Kelley's sentence was subsequently commuted because of a 7,000 signature petition in favor of his release. The governor pardoned him on October 3, 1902.
It is often said of “bounty hunters,” individuals who go after outlaws/criminals with one intent, the reward money; “what appears to be a reward in the mind—winds up becoming a remorse for the soul.” The Ford’s thought they had easy-money, only in the end to being just a couple of names attached to the legend that was Jesse James!
The lesson here—take a long, hard look at that which seems to be easy-gain or quick satisfaction. What looks good on the surface may have some very negative and harmful consequences underneath. Don’t side-step your spiritual life either. Do everything that it takes to be the strongest Christian possible!
Pastor J. T. Carnell