Chapter 5 - Whale of a Time

Fact:  Within three years of their release, 67% of former prisoners are rearrested and 52% are re-incarcerated, a recidivism rate that calls into question the effectiveness of America’s corrections system, which cost taxpayers $60 billion a year.

Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.

- PROVERBS 22:24-25

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.  Amen.
- JUDE 1:24-25

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

It is hard to remember exactly where I was when I first heard this saying but it has always stuck with me.  “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”  It is a simple statement but speaks volumes to whom we each individually associate ourselves with on a daily basis.  One of the areas I try to focus on during jail ministry visits is to encourage inmates to surround themselves with people that are going to encourage them to grow closer to Christ.  If a so called friend is pulling you farther away from God then that friendship needs to be reconsidered.  At the end of the day it is your life and you’ll be the one held accountable for choices made and not your friends.

   So why are so many inmates returning to jail after being released?  Although there are many proposed answers to this question, I would like to focus on one solution to this problem.  It is hard to fathom a five letter word could hold so much power for transformation in an individual’s life; however, when you come to understand Christ died for that word it makes it easier to grasp and comprehend.  The five letter word I am referring to is church.

   The essence of a church is a body of believers coming together to worship and praise their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  During this time they also have fellowship with each other as they grow in their knowledge and understanding of Almighty God.  Along this faith journey they come to discover their purpose in life and do their best to fulfill God’s will.  Church can be held in a beautiful building or behind the cell walls of a jail.  Either way, it is always amazing to see how God speaks to you when you come to worship and praise Him with a clean and pure heart. 

   Let’s imagine for a moment that an inmate in jail receives Christ for the first time.  This inmate is encouraged to continue reading his or her Bible and when they are released to find a solid, Bible believing church.  Suppose this person has never been to church before or hasn’t gone since their childhood.  If they make God a priority in their life and consistently attend church once a week, they will invest 52 out of 8,760 hours during each calendar year to getting to grow in their relationship with Christ.  This accounts for a little over ½% of their time.  This calculation should really speak volumes to the importance of being committed to reading your Bible every day in addition to going to church.
   If the same individual also decides to attend Sunday school to surround themselves with brothers and sisters in Christ who are interested in being an encouragement, their time investment doubles to over 1% of their time.  We all control for the most part how we spend our time.  If we make it a priority in our life to grow in our relationship with Christ, our thoughts and actions should be aligned with His thoughts and actions.  If we choose to make something else a priority, that will most likely steer us into a different direction that goes against being obedient to God.
   In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus said “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  When you become intentional about growing in your relationship with Christ, you are building your life on a solid foundation.  Instead of lies, secrets, broken promises, regrets or disappointments representing unstable ground, you simply become a sinner saved by grace through the precious blood that Christ shed on the cross for your sins and mine.  You not only become a child of God but also a friend.  A person passionately involved in the vertical relationship with their Creator while intentionally seeking to love and encourage the horizontal relationships with their neighbors.
   It is not enough to read the words of Christ.  You have to actively live them out in your life.  That is what separates disciples from believers.  A believer is a hearer of the Word but a disciple is a doer of the Word.
   When thinking about writing this book, I think it is important for you to know what prompted me to take action.  The story I am about to share has to do with an inmate being released from jail.  At the age of 17 years old, a male teenager was facing a 108-year prison sentence for armed robbery and other offenses.  In 2000, a former Governor had the inmate’s sentence significantly reduced.  I do not know what type of rehabilitation was performed behind those cell walls; however, in 2009 this individual returned to jail on charges of raping a child.  The inmate was able to post bail and six days later on a Sunday in December walked into a coffee shop in Parkland, Washington and killed four police officers on duty before eventually being shot by another police officer during the ensuing man hunt.
   Every time I think about this tragedy, three things come to mind.  I think of the victims that committed their lives to keeping their city safe, the tremendous pain and grief their family members were caused and the confused individual that was in great need of a Savior.  I’ll never know what acts of violence are prevented from visiting inmates in the county jail; however, I am always encouraged by Isaiah 55:11.  “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  We are called to share God’s Word with others.  When we do that we can be confident He will take care of the rest.

                   INSIDE THE BELLY OF THE WHALE

Disobedience to God is sure to eventually be followed by disruption.  This is exactly what happened to Jonah when God called him to travel to Nineveh to preach repentance to the rebellious Ninevites.  Jonah knew the wicked lifestyle these people were living; however, at the same time he was mindful of God’s mercy and grace.  He didn’t like the idea of God forgiving them if they were repentant so he headed in the opposite direction. 

   As I shared this story with three inmates on a Saturday morning, it was amazing how many parallels were drawn to their current situation.  We are called by God to be obedient to His perfect Word.  He created the Ten Commandments as a set of rules for all races, ages, stages and faces on planet Earth to grow closer in our relationship with Him.  At the same time they were created to protect us from hurting ourselves.  I wonder how many reading this can recite the Ten Commandments?  It is a basic, fundamental element of the Bible taught to many at a young age; however, so many live as if these commandments don’t apply to them.

   How many people would be incarcerated in the United States if they were dialed into following the Ten Commandments?  Think about that for a second or two.  I would venture to say we have made rehabilitation in jail too complicated.  Imagine the impact if inmates were simply taught to follow God’s commands by making Him first in their lives and keeping the Sabbath holy while choosing not to worship false idols, take the Lord’s name in vain, dishonor their father or mother, steal, lie, commit adultery, murder or be jealous of their neighbor.

   When I asked the inmates how many would be in the situation they are in if they followed God’s commandments, they sadly shook their heads from side to side.  When Jonah was disobedient to God and boarded a ship for Tarshish, the sea they were traveling on grew violent.  When Jonah was confronted by the other men on the ship about the storm, he acknowledged his disobedience by saying “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you.  For I know that this great tempest is because of me” (Jonah 1:12).

   Jonah was disobedient but because he recognized his disobedience it says in Jonah 1:17 “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”  Even though spending time in jail is not pleasant, I was quick to remind the inmates God was still providing for them just as he had for Jonah.  They could be thankful for food, water, shelter, clothing and their health.  The very basic needs of life we tend to take for granted.

   What could it possibly have been like inside the belly of that great fish?  We get some insight in Jonah 2:5 when he says “Weeds were wrapped around my head” and in Jonah 2:6 when he describes it as “The earth with its bars closed behind me forever.”  I’m sure the foul smell of dead fish was intoxicating beyond belief and day and night must have ran together from the intense darkness as waves constantly toppled over him.  In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, Jonah chose to pray to the Lord.  What an incredible encouragement for inmates who feel like Jonah inside of that whale when they are faced with time behind bars!

   Jonah prayed to God because of his affliction.  He was in a place that was dark, grim and almost hopeless.  When at his lowest, he says “Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God” (Jonah 2:6).  He goes on to say “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You into Your holy temple” (Jonah 2:7).  I encouraged the inmates to use their time behind bars to pray like Jonah who was delivered from the pit.  Soon after he said his prayer with a voice of thanksgiving, the great fish spit Jonah onto dry land.

   Jonah was given a second chance by God and this time he was obedient to the calling.  After a three-day journey, Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh and the people believed and became obedient to God.  The city was literally turned upside down to the point that God recognized them turning from their evil ways and decided against the disaster He was going to bring against the city.  This should serve as an incredible reminder that God gives us more than one chance to be obedient to His calling and Word.
   Even though Jonah was obedient to preaching repentance to Nineveh and God showed them kindness, the Bible says “it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry” (Jonah 4:1).  The reason Jonah was upset was because he didn’t feel like the Ninevites deserved mercy and grace because of the way they had previously lived their lives.  Jonah was so upset he told God “please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3).

   Jonah left the city with a deep burning anger that was eating him up inside and God taught him a valuable lesson.  As Jonah prepared a shelter for the evening to watch what would become of the city, God provided a plant to come up over the top of him to provide shade against the hot sun which made Jonah grateful.  When the sun rose God prepared a worm to damage the plant and followed that up with an intense east wind that made the sun on Jonah’s head almost unbearable.  Jonah was once again upset and said “It is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:8).  Look at what God says in response to Jonah below:

“Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”  And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”  But the Lord said “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.  And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left – and much livestock?”

(Jonah 4:9-10)             

      

I wonder how often we tend to feel like Jonah?  Does so and so really deserve a second chance?  Here was a city of one hundred and twenty thousand people living apart from God and being rebellious.  God cared enough to give them a second chance to change their lives around and sent one person to ignite the flame.  His mercy and grace is limitless and it is amazing what one person is capable of doing for His kingdom.      

After talking about being in the belly of the whale, all three men rededicated their lives to Christ.  I believe all would have agreed we had a whale of a time that morning feasting on God’s Word.  I pray you’ll have compassion on those that have gotten off to a rough start in life.  One person can make an incredible difference in the life of an inmate when the Gospel is being shared.    

Discussion Questions

1)   Do you believe your friends can impact your future in a positive or negative manner?

2)   What do you think would happen if a person released from prison made it a priority in their life to grow in their faith in Christ and get involved with a solid, Bible believing church?  In your opinion, would they be more or less likely to return to jail if they surrounded themselves with brothers and sisters in Christ for encouragement and accountability?

3)   Can you recite the Ten Commandments?  Are you intentional about following them and being obedient to God?  Are you being a good steward with the way you spend your time?  Would it be pleasing to God?

4)   Have you ever felt like you were metaphorically inside the belly of a whale?  Did you utilize prayer like Jonah to get out of the pit?

5)   Do you believe inmates deserve a second chance?  Why or why not?  How do you think Jesus would answer this question?