"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
An
experienced New York fire fighter was charged this week with grave neglect of
duty. Prosecutors maintained that he abandoned his responsibility and betrayed
the people of New York when he failed to release rescue equipment. This
resulted in the needless and tragic deaths of a family of five.
Eye-witnesses
were sickened when they discovered that the reason the fire fighter remained in
the locked emergency vehicle was simply to test a new high tech CD player,
which he maintained that he had purchased as a gift for the Fire Chief.
The
Fire Chief immediately distanced himself from the defendant, and dishonourably
discharged him from the Department. In a prepared statement he said that there
were no words to describe such a betrayal of those he was sworn to protect.
The
lead prosecuting attorney argued that for more than three minutes after
arriving at the scene, the fire fighter wore earphones and listened to a CD
while a family of five screamed to be rescued from the sixth floor of a
building. Horrified bystanders related that, as flames licked her clothing, a
mother cried out in terror and fell to her death while still clutching an
infant child in her arms. The distraught onlookers also said that the father
held onto two terrified children as he was engulfed by the massive flames. This
terrifying drama took place in full view of the fire fighter as he remained
seated in the vehicle listening to the CD.
The defence
pleaded No Contest, but added that the defendant had gone to great personal
sacrifice to purchase the expensive gift for the Chief, and that he hoped that
the judge would take that into account when passing sentence.
What a tragic and disgusting story! Can anyone be worse than a fireman who sits idly by while a family perishes in a home fire?
There is one I can think of. How about a Christian who never shares his faith and sits passively while people head for a firey hell.
If
you do not share you faith with others there are three possibilities:
1)
YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE A TRUE FAITH
2)
YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SHARE YOUR FAITH (I just spent the last four days helping you)
3)
YOU’RE THE FIREMAN – YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO, YOU KNOW HOW, YOU JUST DON’T
WANT TO DO IT. You are living a selfish and disobedient life.
Is that who you want to be? Is that how you want to live?