A Prayer for a Crook

Last week someone stole a check from our church that was mailed to one of our vendors. They altered the check and increased the amount $600 above the amount of the original check. They made it out to another name and even provided an out of state driver's license as they cashed it at one of our bank's local branches. Yes, this is fraud and if they stole it through the mail it's also a federal offense. Thankfully our bank has restored the amount to our account and is investigating the crime. Remember, banks have video cameras!

This crime couldn't have come at a more challenging time in the life of our small faith community. It was money we simply did not have to lose. The folks responsible for our accounts payable and receipts ministries pride themselves on transparency and accountability in the area of finances, so do our elders. Every church should. So they take this very seriously and you can imagine how disappointed they felt upon the news. It happened on their "watch" so to speak. However, there was nothing they could have done to prevent the crime. In fact it was their financial diligence that discovered the crime!

I was really frustrated and angered by this crime. I felt like we had been violated and we had. In my anger, I was ready to pray the imprecatory prayers of the psalmist that were prayed over enemies in the Old Testament. I was more than ready to ask God to judge this person and bring them to my idea of justice. It would've been a punitive prayer. I'm glad I did not pray it.

It occurred to me that while I may not forge/alter checks, or steal mail, I am still guilty of cheating/robbing God. We all are! Think about it. We regularly rob God of our time, gifts and talents. We have no trouble giving 6 to 8 hours a week supporting our football team, or going to the gym, but we can hardly justify giving Him a little more than an hour in weekly worship. We cheat God by professing His will and direction for our lives then live in ways that are totally disobedient to His Word. We cheat God by claiming all of the benefits of salvation and a relationship with Christ, but fail to pattern our lives after His example and teaching. We cheat God whenever we engage in judgment of another human. We cheat God whenever we gossip. We cheat God when we have a critical spirit. We cheat God when we laugh and forward a sexist or prejudice joke. We cheat God when we spend 14-20 hours a week watching television, but can't spend one hour reading His Word. We cheat God every time we walk past a friend, family member, co-worker or neighbor who does not know Christ as Lord and we fail to talk to them about it. There are so many more examples, but you get the idea.

So before I could pray for the person who stole from our church I had to spend a lot of time in personal confession. Now I'm ready to pray for the person who stole from our church.

"Lord, I am a sinner, have mercy on me. I come before you in the name of Jesus and ask for your mercy, grace and compassion to be poured out on the person who did this. I cannot imagine how broken, hurt and desperate they must be to have acted in this way. Give them the courage to come forward and confess what they've done to You. As they confess, I trust You to prick and guide their conscience as to what they should do about it. Protect their spouse and children from their crime. Reveal Your love for them in ways they have never seen, or experienced. They are obviously in desperate need so I ask for your provision. If we know the person who did this, sensitize our hearts to their obvious needs and use us to meet those needs whether we discover they did this or not. Forgive me for wishing anything but your direction for their lives. Lavish your love on them. May they be overwhelmed with the love of Christ through Your church. Protect them from harm as they process and consider what they've done. If they have done this to others as well, I pray you will bring restoration and comfort upon those victims too. Lord, it is hard to love an enemy and 'turn the other check', but Jesus said we must. Give us a spirit of love and pity that sees the pain of the one who committed this crime. May You be glorified through this in whatever way You can. Amen."