Josh
02-06-2001, 04:33 PM
The other day, a woman brought her brother to Moral Court because he was not fulfilling a promise that he had made to his dying father. His father died when he was twelve years old, and, on the father's death bed, he promised to complete high school and make something of himself.
Now he is in his twenties, hanging out with people who are behind bars, smoking dope, jobless, without a high school diploma, and mooching off his disabled mother. Judge Elder ruled in favor of the sister but pointed out that the brother is salvageable. After all, he hasn't gotten anyone pregnant (yet!), he isn't using hard drugs, he's street smart, and he otherwise has a good head on his shoulders.
I've met too many young people on the streets who have thrown their lives away. All too often, I can't help despairing over the wasted potential of many of these people, who could have become productive members of society. I just hope and pray that this young man taped the episode of Moral Court in which he appears and watches it over and over again until Judge Elder's words sink in. Put another way, I just hope and pray that Judge Elder intervened in time.
Now he is in his twenties, hanging out with people who are behind bars, smoking dope, jobless, without a high school diploma, and mooching off his disabled mother. Judge Elder ruled in favor of the sister but pointed out that the brother is salvageable. After all, he hasn't gotten anyone pregnant (yet!), he isn't using hard drugs, he's street smart, and he otherwise has a good head on his shoulders.
I've met too many young people on the streets who have thrown their lives away. All too often, I can't help despairing over the wasted potential of many of these people, who could have become productive members of society. I just hope and pray that this young man taped the episode of Moral Court in which he appears and watches it over and over again until Judge Elder's words sink in. Put another way, I just hope and pray that Judge Elder intervened in time.