Author Archives: Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Justice and Authority

When I was in high school, I worked evenings and weekends at a retail store.

I helped customers, herded shopping carts, mopped floors, and every once in a while, I assisted the “Loss Prevention” manager with shoplifters. I felt like a hero when we would catch someone stealing.

One time a man boldly stole a video game system, he simply walked out the door with it under his arm. A call came across the intercom and I took off toward the front door where I noticed the other employees gathered.

I was ahead of the Loss Prevention manager and a couple other employees who were in pursuit of the shoplifter.

At that time in my life I ran track, played tennis, played basketball and was generally in good shape.

I was a couple hundred yards ahead of my fellow employees when I caught up to the man.

But then something happened that changed everything.

The man stopped, dropped the gaming system, turned toward me and ripped his shirt off. In my mind he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Without a conscience thought, my body immediately slowed down. Quickly I realized that gaming system wasn’t worth as much as I thought.

It was an awkward few seconds as scrawny little me and the Terminator faced off.

Fortunately for me, the other employees showed up, followed quickly by the police.

I learned something in that moment, Justice is best left to those with real authority.

It’s not our place to chase down every sin and punish every sinner. We have enough trouble recognizing and removing our own sin.

Our calling is to love, encourage, and point to the one with real authority. We don’t enable or coddle, but at the same time we don’t condemn or accuse.

Let God make the judgements, let God make the corrections, let God make people into new creations.

Billy Graham said it this way. “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Transformation Over Information

I recently went to a Metallica concert with my brother.

Before the concert, a man in the seat next to me introduced himself. He told me what he did for a living and how he has never seen the band live. I told him I had seen them in 1992 but haven’t seen them since.

Then he asked me the question I knew was coming. “So, what do you do for a living?” I said, “I’m actually a pastor,” he sat his beer down and leaned over to tell his wife that the man beside him was a pastor.

We had a good conversation about life, music, and even church. The whole thing lasted less than ten minutes, but one thing we covered was knowing the right thing to do verses actually doing the right thing.

There is a big difference, for example this gentlemen drank alcohol, but he asked me if I would like for him to not drink during the concert. I respect that he would even consider that idea.

I’m going to make some assumptions from that conversation. The man I met would actually like to quit drinking, because it seems like it may cause lots of problems in his life. It was as if he knew the change he wanted to make but lacked the ability to make the change happen.

That is something common to all of us.

All of us know….
…we should save more and spend less.
…we should exercise more and eat less.
…we should pray more and complain less.
…we should forgive more and regret less.
…we should give more and take less.
…we should listen more and talk less.
…we should love more and fear less.

We don’t need more information, we need transformation.

God offers us a true transformation, a new spiritual heart, a renewed mind, and an eternal perspective.

I admit I’m making an assumption about the man I met at the concert. But it’s a universal issue we all share.

So, if you realize you need a transformation in your life, ask God for It, He is more than willing to answer.

You can do that at an altar, in a car, in your house, or possibly, even at a rock concert.

Tom Wise