I was watching my country cousins on Duck Dynasty and noticed that they seemed to always be having a good time. In fact, the family members laugh, pull pranks, and have hilarious hijinks more so than any family I know. It’s obvious they respect and love each other in the midst of harmless humor.

    Duck Dynasty is one of my favorite shows. Another is Blue Bloods. It’s about third-generation cops in New York City. Both shows depict family members that honor God and pray. On Blue Bloods, they are Catholics. They attend church and they bless their meals at dinnertime in the name of the Lord Jesus.

    On Duck Dynasty, they are Protestants. The family ends each episode around the dinner table while the patriarch, gray-bearded Phil, bows his head and reverently gives thanks to God for their many blessings.

    I know the Duck Dynasty boys are genuine. There is no make-believe in what they do. They are deeply committed, born-again believers active in a local church. In fact, one of the sons is the pastor! Friends of mine have spent time with them and came away blessed. They are forthright in their testimony as Christians.

    My point is that Christians can enjoy good, clean fun. They don’t need to act holier-than-thou or like they were baptized in lemon juice. The Christians I relate to on a daily basis are real people with winsome personalities and wholesome lifestyles. They laugh, work, play, and yes, they pray about the little things in life, as though God really cared about the small details.

    They don’t go around afraid that they may transgress some little religious rule and suddenly be slapped down.

    On the other hand, people who believe the Bible understand that there are some rules that haven’t changed. The Ten Commandments still apply. Only the ceremonial laws are suspended in the New Testament, not the moral code that came from God. Those eternal laws keep civilization from disintegrating. In fact, a sign of the end of the age is increasing lawlessness. That means people cast off all restraint, believe that evil is good, and behave like the rules don’t apply to them.  

    People who break God’s laws are guilty of trespassing the boundaries our Creator established for peace and blessing. Sinners by definition habitually sin. A Christian may stumble, but confession cleanses their soul. Folks who love God don’t persist in sin; they forsake it. Unrepentant sinning will eventually make a person stupid.

    For example, I know a certain street in Meridian where a young man from another neighborhood broke into a house. The owner caught him and kicked him silly until the police arrived. Another man on the same street, older and wiser, decided two days later to show everyone that he could break in to the same house and not get caught. He didn’t know that he was being watched on camera by the owner. The police picked him up as he walked home from his mayhem. He’s still in prison.

    Fast-forward three months. On the same street a young man broke into a neighbor’s house and stole a TV to supposedly sell for a drug deal. He tried to fence it to a man, even telling him where he stole it. As it turns out, the potential buyer was a friend of the man he had just robbed. He called the police. The young thief who had acted the fool spent time in jail away from his precious wife and little kids.  

    Sin will make you stupid. Holiness will make you happy. You decide. What you do depends on how seriously you take God’s word. “The soul that sins, it shall die.”

    Ron Wood is senior pastor of Trinity Assembly of God in Meridian. 601-483-8189. trinitymeridian.com.  Hear “The Father’s Power” radio show on 103.3 FM Sundays at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. This Sunday’s program discusses healing and miracles.