This is the story of a Jewish inmate and a Muslim inmate. The Jewish man's first offense garnered him a year in prison, his second resulted in four years. He was a man struggling to find his place in this world. He was struggling with his sexual orientation and even with what it meant to be a Jew. Was he also suffering from a mental health issue? Perhaps. When he decided to check out a prison group made up of people who practiced Judaism but believed that Jesus was the Messiah, things began to fall into place for him.
The Muslim inmate had struggled with his sexuality as well, but for a very different reason. The legacy of his father's numerous affairs had left him feeling confused about how a man relates to a woman. When he converted to Islam after his first prison stint, he found all the answers about male-female relations that he was looking for. He began to imagine finishing his sentence and leaving prison and starting a whole new life. A life that would be better than the one his mother and father had created for him. Things were beginning to fall into place for him too.
Each inmate began to flourish in their new faith-based prison group. They began to be exposed to new ways of life which challenged some of their bad habits. They each learned about their sin nature and started to understand the consequences of those sins and how they had hurt themselves and others. It was almost too much to take as they counted the cost of following every wrong path which led them to prison. The fellowship in the Muslim group and Messianic Jewish group helped each man be accountable, and do the necessary work to move forward in a positive way. Soon, both of these men began to find new meaning in life. They began to get a vision for the life they could have.
The Jewish inmate flourished and soon it was time for him to be released. Things did not go so well for him as he attempted to transition back into life on the outside. He joined a traditional Jewish synagogue, but he did not find the kind of love that he had felt in his Messianic Jewish group. Being in prison marks you and he felt this. He especially felt like nobody could understand what he had been through. He felt alone and angry a lot of the time, and he did not know how to process those feelings. He was angry at a lot of things : what had happened to him, the way Jewish people were being treated by Muslims and he began to ruminate on these thoughts.
Meanwhile the Muslim man, still in prison, had his own setbacks. His appeal had failed, and his mother had passed away without him even being able to say goodbye. He was overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings that he had, and would not even listen to the voice of his Mullah. His frustration, grief and anger tripped him up and he began to behave just the way he did before he entered prison. He flew into a rage over the slightest thing, real or imagined. He refused to listen to advise. He began to think the whole world was against him, especially the Jews.
The Jewish man tried to burn down a mosque. He purposely chose to do this when he knew that no one would be hurt, instead causing costly property damage. He chose to lash out rather than work out his thoughts and feelings. In Ephesians 4:26 it says "be angry, and do not sin." 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we need to make "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." The first bible quote acknowledges that we all have the powerful emotion of anger but that we should not allow that emotion to cause us to sin. The second bible quote shows us the work that we must do to manage our feelings. We need to think before we act. Most importantly we need to decide if our actions will line up with the teachings of Jesus Christ. That takes some time and thought. Thinking things through, as the above bible quotes describe, can stop us from acting impulsively. This is a good thing and is the start of a whole new life and outcome. That is exactly why God gave us an instruction booklet called the Bible. We don't have to wonder or guess at what is right or wrong. It is all there to guide you and protect you and give you a feeling of peace even though your life and this world we live in is not perfect.
When the Muslim man heard that the Jewish man was arrested, he seethed with hatred for all Jews. He began to target members of the Messianic Jewish group in his prison taunting them, and trying to provoke fights. He used his position in the kitchen to threaten those inmates. Maybe something would happen to their food? His attitude against the Jews began to influence other Muslim guys in the kitchen to join in and pretty soon there was hostility and hatred at every meal. Suddenly all the frustration, grief and anger and weakness that he had felt lately, started to disappear and he felt strong and in control. But was this really strong and in control or was he just really going nowhere really fast? Where was the behavior going to lead him? Maybe to solitary confinement, to another crime and then an increased sentence. The Muslim man just like the Jewish man, had let his negative emotions take control of his life. Those feelings would just as surely destroy all his dreams for a new beginning as they had for the Jewish man.
This is the kind of story that repeats itself everyday in some way or another in every prison everywhere. This is not a unique story. In this case, I highlighted the story of a Muslim and a Jew, but it could be a tale of any two prisoners who face the daily choice of fighting the wrong battle. The battle is not against women, the other race, or even other religions. The battle is for our lives and what we will make of them. The battle is to have hope instead of despair. The battle is to face some things in our family or in our lives that needs to be changed and putting all our energy towards correcting that. Do I pick the wrong women, if so why and how can I change that? What will I do to earn a living if I don't deal drugs? How do I have a better relationship with my family? How do I,(add your own question)? " do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."-Romans 12:2.
Is it too late for the Jewish man and the Muslim man to change? Is it too late for you? No, Philippians 4:13 says, " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If you are in prison for 5, 10, 20 years or life, turn your life around and develop a new meaning and a new direction for your life. Try to learn new things and be a blessing to those around you. Try to live for something larger than yourself. Jesus willingly suffered and died because he loved you. He wanted you to know that he has lived, died and had a resurrection so that you can have hope of a resurrection in your own life. It all begins by knowing that you need his forgiveness and asking him to forgive you. If you accept this gift of salvation, that Jesus has for you, it will be a miracle in your life. It will give you a new way of looking at things that have happened in your life and direct you toward new ways of living in the future. Choosing Jesus is choosing to bring a little miracle into your cell or dorm. It will grow and be an oasis or a little bit of heaven in the midst of your storms. It will bring healing with your family and possibly reconciliation. It can also create a new family of believers in prison, a body of Christ. The body of Christ can do God's work in prison. God has a good plan for you, for He says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Pass this post along to those you think need it.
When the Muslim man heard that the Jewish man was arrested, he seethed with hatred for all Jews. He began to target members of the Messianic Jewish group in his prison taunting them, and trying to provoke fights. He used his position in the kitchen to threaten those inmates. Maybe something would happen to their food? His attitude against the Jews began to influence other Muslim guys in the kitchen to join in and pretty soon there was hostility and hatred at every meal. Suddenly all the frustration, grief and anger and weakness that he had felt lately, started to disappear and he felt strong and in control. But was this really strong and in control or was he just really going nowhere really fast? Where was the behavior going to lead him? Maybe to solitary confinement, to another crime and then an increased sentence. The Muslim man just like the Jewish man, had let his negative emotions take control of his life. Those feelings would just as surely destroy all his dreams for a new beginning as they had for the Jewish man.
This is the kind of story that repeats itself everyday in some way or another in every prison everywhere. This is not a unique story. In this case, I highlighted the story of a Muslim and a Jew, but it could be a tale of any two prisoners who face the daily choice of fighting the wrong battle. The battle is not against women, the other race, or even other religions. The battle is for our lives and what we will make of them. The battle is to have hope instead of despair. The battle is to face some things in our family or in our lives that needs to be changed and putting all our energy towards correcting that. Do I pick the wrong women, if so why and how can I change that? What will I do to earn a living if I don't deal drugs? How do I have a better relationship with my family? How do I,(add your own question)? " do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."-Romans 12:2.
Is it too late for the Jewish man and the Muslim man to change? Is it too late for you? No, Philippians 4:13 says, " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If you are in prison for 5, 10, 20 years or life, turn your life around and develop a new meaning and a new direction for your life. Try to learn new things and be a blessing to those around you. Try to live for something larger than yourself. Jesus willingly suffered and died because he loved you. He wanted you to know that he has lived, died and had a resurrection so that you can have hope of a resurrection in your own life. It all begins by knowing that you need his forgiveness and asking him to forgive you. If you accept this gift of salvation, that Jesus has for you, it will be a miracle in your life. It will give you a new way of looking at things that have happened in your life and direct you toward new ways of living in the future. Choosing Jesus is choosing to bring a little miracle into your cell or dorm. It will grow and be an oasis or a little bit of heaven in the midst of your storms. It will bring healing with your family and possibly reconciliation. It can also create a new family of believers in prison, a body of Christ. The body of Christ can do God's work in prison. God has a good plan for you, for He says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Pass this post along to those you think need it.
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