Vicki Sue and You
She was middle aged, not especially attractive, but not homely. She was well-liked and respected by her co-workers and supervisors. She lived in a comfortable home in a community with many family members nearby. She was within days of retirement and had mentioned plans to move to Florida after retirement. Then the strangest thing happened. Something that reveals that she was lost.
This week I have been reading Psalm 119. Few people would describe Psalm 119 as their favorite Psalm. It is perhaps best known for being the longest chapter in the Bible. We treat this lengthy psalm as if it were a middle school bully, best to be avoided because it is so large and intimidating. It is in reality a gentle and gracious series of prayers about how to live the good life and how to be a good person. In its conclusion you feel that the author is, in spite of some hardships, living a life of peace or wholeness with and before God.
Since Luther nailed his document to the church door there has been a concerted effort to teach that we are not saved by our works, but rather by God’s grace. We have, at times, emphasized that so much that sometimes we act and even teach that our behavior doesn’t matter. “Doing the right thing is important, but since it won’t save you don’t worry about it too much” is the implication if not the actual statement. We are so emphatic that works don’t save us that we act as if our behavior is unimportant. Psalm 119 corrects that, it draws beautiful links between trust in God and practical living. Reading this Psalm of meditations and prayers that focus on God’s Word you are struck by the beauty and peace that a relationship with God brings.
Now, back to the story of the middle aged lady. Her name was Vicki Sue White, you may have followed the story in the news. She was the corrections officer who threw everything away. Beautiful and peaceful are words that would never describe the final chapter of her life. After helping her boyfriend escape from jail, Vicki's life moved toward the hopeless conclusion of a police chase, a car wreck and a self-inflicted, gunshot wound. We will never know why she did what she did. We are incredulous as we consider the monstrous stupidity of her final choices. Had she died in the line of duty the family would have been stung by the loss, but comforted in the respect and admiration of friends, family, the neighbors and the law enforcement community at large. As it is, she will be remembered with great sorrow, unanswered questions, and shame that will always surround her memory.
In Deuteronomy 30:15, we are told that we have a choice, “life and prosperity” or “death and adversity”. We see that contrast dramatically demonstrated in the lives of the Psalmist and Vicki Sue. But we need not be a peace officer turned outlaw on the run with a convicted criminal who is accused of murder to be a person choosing death and adversity. In our world most people are not violent, spectacular criminals. They are simple, happy sinners living life on their own terms and hoping to avoid great personal disaster while trying to also avoid God. I think of Hector (not his real name). Hector is married with two kids, both parents work and live in a 3/2 home in a small neighborhood. As far as I know, they are not hidden criminals, but they also are for the most part indifferent toward God and His word and in some cases overtly hostile. From conversations I have had I know that they are miserable, treat each other poorly, and live with a high level of conflict. But it is hidden behind the facade of social and cultural respectability.
There is no spiritual Switzerland, there is no spiritual neutrality. If a person is not for Christ, they are still at war with Him. They may not be as dramatic as Vicki Sue in their behavior but they are all the same on the wrong side of eternity. Everyone you know who is not a disciple of Christ is bound and doomed to a future worse than suicide in a car wrecked in a ditch.
There is much more to say and many rabbit trails we can go down, but for the moment let us not be seduced by the ideal that all the nice people we know are somehow okay. They are not. Perhaps we need to restore the old phraseology. Instead of talking about the “unchurched” maybe we should once again refer to them as “Lost”. You know many Vicki Sues.
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