In the letter of the law there is right and wrong, black and white, and guilty or innocent.

I was raised in a home where these values were taught and prevailed. It has been proven over time that the order of law is necessary for a society to prosper. There are always those few, however, who take whatever they want without paying the price necessary to have it. They break in and steal the possessions of the law-abiding citizens.

Because of that nature in a few, the good people then must pay to have officers to arrest those breaking the law, courts to hand down a verdict to them, and facilities to incarcerate those convicted of a crime. This has always been the case and it will continue until the end of time. There are those who are determined to have what they do not work for, and will even scam the generosity of those good people who are trying to help them. They are lying, cheating, and in the end, stealing from the programs that have been set up to help them. Since I was a boy it has, and continues to become worse as time goes by; so who is to blame for this behavior that has become a lifestyle?

At any time in history there have been those people that must be taken care of. They can be mentally or physically handicapped and unable to do the things necessary to make a living. However, those who are not in this condition truly have the ability to live a productive and happy life. Is it possible that they don’t understand this reality? Has the line between right and wrong been so blurred that they really do not know? Have the good people, who make the law, created this inadequacy in those who do not see a way to a productive and happy lifestyle? Are there values beyond the law of the land that must be understood by all? Do you think that defining and practicing “morality” would be a place to start? Will it happen from the bottom up or from the top down?

These and other life questions will be addressed Sunday morning as “The Gathering Place Family” meets in the Washington High School Library for Bible Study at 9 a.m. and in the gymnasium at 10 a.m. for our Pre-Service Connection where we enjoy coffee, juice and donuts. Our Worship Service and Children’s Church then begins at 10:30. Come at 7 p.m. and be part of our Wednesday night Bible Study and Children’s Ministry on the third floor above Trends at 120 W. Court St. in Washington Court House.