Why Do They Do This?

I recently made an expensive mistake. Again! I clicked on an email even though I should have known it was a fraud. But they made it look so important and after all who wouldn't want be drawn to answer an email from the IRS. Only afterward and my computer was shut down-- hijacked actually by a virus that promised to go away if I would subscribe to a computer fix-- did I remember that the IRS does not contact through email. I said "again" because I had a similar thing happen before. After telling myself how dumb I was and pledging never to fall for such a thing again, I had to fork out cash for a legitimate fix that has left my computer without all the programs I had on before causing me to take time to reinstall the necessities.

After I reacted to the "How dumb can I be?" question, I the began asking why people do such things as this. It's no question that the instigators of such a virus were trying to get something from me, either cash or my credit card info, or both. That they caused the problem in the first place, does not seem to affect their conscience. Is what they did illegal? Probably so, but to my knowledge, I have no way to catch them and prove what they did. Maybe they would have fixed my computer if I had paid them the cash, maybe they would have just taken my credit info and run with it for as far as they could. I don't know.

This experience reminded me about the world we live in. Sin is rampant. People are unconcerned with what they do to others as long as they come out ahead. However, do they come out ahead? There is a saying, "What goes around, comes around", meaning how I treat others will come back to affect me. While this is a secular saying, there is a biblical basis to it. Galatians 6:7 says,"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." While, I do take some comfort that the instigators of my recent computer woes won't really get away with it in the long run, there is a larger issue here. What happens here on earth only affects us temporarily. My computer is fixed,  I'll recover. But eternity is forever.

In 1964, a tragedy hit our family. My oldest brother was killed in an auto accident caused by a drunk driver. Talk about indignation, anger and a desire for revenge. My father certainly had from a human standpoint the right to all of these. He made a request of these authorities at the time, and I don't know if it was honored or not. Dad asked that he be allowed to visit in the hospital the men responsible for this terrible accident. But Dad did not seek to vent his anger on them, or seek revenge in any manner. He wanted to share with them the Good News about Jesus Christ. The actions of these men had cost my Dad his son, but Dad wanted to give them heaven.

So now when I commiserate on the problems I attribute to others, I need to get such an eternal point of view. Time here is too short to waste being bitter. God sent His Son to redeem a lost world. I may regret a monetary loss, but God will provide (He already did). I need to seek to concentrate on the message of the Cross. I no longer have to pay for the deeds I have done (we all have fallen short of God's perfect standard). Jesus paid it all. My debt has been paid. I just have to receive His forgiveness by receiving Him into my life.

As I write this I don't know who may read it, but whoever reads this, there is one thing I can guarantee. You have problems. People have disappointed you or will do so. Life is too short, but eternity is forever. I beg you to consider the claims of Christ. I beg you to read His Word (start with the book of John). Receive Him into your life: John 1:12 and all will be different.