BACK OUTLAW 5'?m?f Justice, law, evil in the world (scene: a podium. An indeterminate number of Questioners (Q) are seated randomly among audience members. Each stands to deliver his lines) ANGEL -- (enters, pounds gavel, reads prepared statement) This meeting will come to order. I am an angel of the Lord and I am here to bring you news from the Lord and to relay your response back to the Lord. The reason we called this meeting and meetings like this one in every Christian church in the world is because the Lord heard your prayer. Your cries for justice have been heard in Heaven. The Lord will give you justice on earth. But before the hammer of justice falls, the Lord wants to know if you humans want any exemptions. (pause) Any exemptions? Q -- I think I speak for all of us who have been praying for justice. The reason we have been praying is because there's evil in the world and we don't like it. We don't think God should allow it. Q -- That's right. People on earth have literally been getting away with murder. Q -- Sometimes they even do it LEGALLY! Q -- That's right. We see in the headlines all the time how rich people and people with connections have gotten off scott free. Q -- We don't want ANY exemptions. We want PERFECT justice! Q -- We don't want exemptions! Q -- No exemptions! ALL -- No exemptions! ANGEL -- Your sure about this? ALL -- No exemptions! ANGEL -- Alright, just so were clear about this, let me make it clear that the wages of sin is DEATH. ALL -- No exemptions! ANGEL -- I understand your passion on this topic of justice. But just to make things perfectly clear, so that there are no surprises when the Lord gives you what you want. You realize that when anyone takes the life of an innocent person, his penalty is death. ALL -- No exemptions! ANGEL -- When anyone takes something that doesn't belong to him, his penalty is death. ALL -- No exemptions! Q -- Wait a minute. What does that include? ANGEL -- That includes using the company phone for making personal calls, using company time for personal business, failing to give back the excess when the cashier gives you too much change... Q -- ...Wait a minute. You mean the penalty for taking those little things like that is DEATH?! ANGEL -- Yes. But I haven't finished yet. Perfect justice requires the death penalty for exaggerating your tax deductions... Q -- Come on! Everybody does that! Our taxes are too high! ANGEL -- So, you DO want an exemption. (writes) No death penalty for theft. (pause) Do I have this right now? Q -- I think I speak for all of us when I say that none of us wants to die for taking a plastic pen or a paper clip from work. Q -- Or for using the company phone for personal calls. ANGEL -- (writes) Very well, your exemption is noted. Next on the list is coveting, that is WANTING something that doesn't belong to you. The penalty for coveting is DEATH. Q -- Wait a minute. You can just put someone to death for WANTING something that belongs to someone else? ANGEL -- The wages of sin is death. That would include envy and jealousy. Q -- The Lord wouldn't really kill people for jealousy, would he? ANGEL -- If perfect justice prevails. Q -- I think I speak for all of us when I say that none of us wants to die for not being satisfied with one's own possessions. ANGEL -- So, you want more exemptions. (writes) No death penalty for envy and jealousy and coveting. (pause) Do I have that right? (pause) Very well, your exemptions are noted. Let's go on to the death penalty for disrespect of others, especially one's mother and father. Q -- Surely THAT can't be punishable by DEATH! Q -- If THAT was punishable by death, we'd all be dead! ANGEL -- The Bible makes it very clear that any who knows the good he ought to do but doesn't do it sins. And the wages of sin is DEATH. Q -- That means that none of us will make it! ANGEL -- If perfect justice prevails. I suppose... Q -- Can't you just give us perfect justice for those other people? ANGEL -- That wouldn't be perfect justice. That would pretty much be what you have now. Q -- We like things the way they are now! Q -- Let's keep things the way they are now! ANGEL -- But what about all your prayers for justice? Q -- We want justice for them, not for us. Q -- Yes. As a matter of fact, we should pray for protection from justice. Q -- I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're going to all stop praying for justice and start praying that justice will be delayed until we're dead. ANGEL -- Very well. I'll let the Lord know your decision. Q -- Just to make things perfectly clear. The Lord is going to DELAY perfect justice... ANGEL -- ...Until the Lord himself comes again, if that's what you want. Q -- That's what we want. Q -- Thank God for that. ANGEL -- Yes. Why don't you? This meeting is adjourned. (pounds gavel, exits) ©2007 Bob Snook. 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