My call to serve in the prison system of South Carolina began 40 years ago as a Correctional Officer at the state's oldest and largest prison for adult males, the Central Correctional Institution (CCI). I have spent most of my adult life in prison, at least as a career path. When I worked “down the tunnel” at CCI ("tunnel" was a term used inside to refer to the long hallway connecting the cafeteria, hospital, school, wards and buildings with cells), many of the men made a clear distinction between being an inmate or a convict. The term "inmate" was a new term at the time (coming out of the prison reform of the 1960s) and was seen as something being imposed by administration and security. As such, the prevalent attitude and/or sentiment of incarcerated individuals was that if you identified yourself as an inmate then you were perceived as someone who had more allegiance to the people in charge than you did to those with whom you lived. A "con" (short for convict), on the other hand, was someone who would not snitch to the authorities. That meant that there was a “code of conduct” that a man followed to be considered one or the other. Generally, an inmate may be more concerned with South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) rules, but a convict could be trusted by other cons.
How do you see yourself, and how do you define who and/or what you are? We all have certain ways of looking at ourselves and at others. We usually make decisions about others based on how they act, what they do, what they say and so on, but we judge ourselves based on our intentions rather than our actions.
What about the Christian Code of Conduct?
When the Apostle Paul wrote to Titus, a Gentile follower of Christ who was leading the church in Crete, some of the members of the church were struggling with proper Christian behavior. As we read Titus 2:11-15, we can see that Paul challenged the believers not to give in to ungodly behavior and worldly standards. Ungodliness can describe any behavior that is disobedient to God's ways and Jesus' teachings. Lust means giving in to any kind of sinful desire -- not just sexual sins. Paul instructs Titus and all Christians not to give in but to pursue sober living, righteousness and godliness in everything! In this passage in Titus, "sober" was used to mean self-control, seriousness, and sound moral judgment. These are qualities that God desires in those who follow Him and are to be part of our Christian Code of Conduct. The difficult and tricky part is that we have to do all this in the broken and sin-filled world in which we live.
Who or what are you? Would you consider yourself to be an inmate, convict, or Christian?
Pray that we all strive to have a right relationship with our Heavenly Father each and every day, acting accordingly so that others see Jesus in us.
Where are your loyalties? For those followers of Jesus at Perry, they can be loyal to other residents, to the powers-that-be, or to Jesus. If they are loyal first and foremost to Jesus, much of the other stuff will work itself out. For you and I, we make a decision every day to pledge allegiance to a kingdom -- maybe the kingdom of self, of being happy, of pleasing others, of gaining more stuff, of being religious, or hopefully we pledge our allegiance to Jesus. Whichever kingdom we serve comes with expectations. Every other "king" is ultimately a horrible ruler; Jesus alone is a gracious, self-sacrificing King. He always has our best interests at heart. So when we commit our lives to him, abide in his Kingdom, pledge allegiance to him, and trust his "code of conduct," we can know we are in a safe place.
"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:5-6
"For freedom Christ has set us free;
stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1
