Prisoner Envy

I know a man who is in prison. He has been there for many years. Although he readily acknowledges what got him there in the first place, he was charged with another crime while in prison that, for the years I have known him, he maintains he did not commit. As I have gotten to know this man, I believe this to be true.

Before I met him, he was baptized while in prison. Since I have come to know him, I have been impressed by his strong, remarkable, enduring faith. Even though parole has continued to be denied to him, I have never heard him say “if” he gets released. He always says “when.” He loves God above all, and believes that one day he will be freed.

What an example! He shows kindness to the men around him. He prays often. He holds fast to his Bible and the words within. In Proverbs 3 we are told to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” He lives by those words.

When I look around this world, at evil that is too much rampant, and when I observe so many who have made gods of money and material goods, I am humbled and awed by the example of a man who has no money, and few possessions to his name. To this “outsider,” he would appear as a man with a less-than-optimistic future, and yet he has more than many will ever have. He continues to give glory to God at every chance he gets. I only hope that one day my level of faith will come close to his!