Payment

On Saturday our team did an outreach near where we live. We each got to do our own project and had the choice between asking people some questions and photographing them while they answered, or collecting items from people that they were going to throw out and create art out of it. The point of both projects was to demonstrate how beauty can be made from brokenness. Because the idea of taking photos of strangers felt more awkward than asking strangers for their garbage, I opted for option number two. I ended up getting a straw from two women who just wanted me to leave them alone, a baseball gambling sheet (the guy lost!), business cards for Cole Custom Coach Autobody Repair from a Vietnam war vet, and twelve cents from a woman who told me a good chunk of her life story.

Because I am terrible at art with even the best materials, I opted to write a short story that include the four objects people gave me. Spending forty-five minutes creating a story by using strangers unwanted items was actually more enjoyable than I expected and perhaps I will do it again in the future. My teammates encouraged me to post it so here it is, hope you enjoy!

It is easier to give power to sin than it is to take away that power, or even stop it from getting power in the first place. Cole learned that lesson the hard way. Cole wanted more than he was getting from a loving wife and the stresses of owning and running a custom truck and trailer repair service. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do well, until it takes over everything.

Like with most people, Cole’s sins started out small. Sometimes Cole would over charge his customers, but only the jerks, and only when he was worried about paying the bills on time. But sin was not content with such a small foothold. Cole began to cheat everyone, all the time. He would grow angry when people questioned his final prices, and then angrier when they were unable to pay. Once, a man was twelve cents short on his payment. Cole shouted at the man until his voice grew hoarse.

After that his business collapsed and eventually closed. But the bars were always open late. So late in fact, that Cole’s wife grew tired of waiting up for him night after night, and only finding a crueler, drunken version of the man she said “I do” to and decided to leave. Cole barely noticed her absence; he was more focused on the absence of money in his bank account.

Bookies in the bar noticed Cole’s desire for money too. So Cole began betting on baseball games. But it turns out Cole could never pick a winner. His debt grew. And so did the threats from the bookies if he didn’t pay them soon. So one night Cole made a bet, that if he won would be enough money to pay back the books. That night, Cole sat in the bar, using a straw to mix his sixth drink, while his eyes were glued to the tv. It was the bottom of the ninth and a tie game – that is until a batter hit a home run. But the batter was not on the team Cole picked.

The shattering of glass caught people’s attention and it was impossible to tell what glass came from the TV and what glass came from the remains of Cole’s drink. It was easier to see what parts of the bartender Cole hit because of all the bruising and swelling.

When Cole arrived in court he was facing up to twelve years in prison and two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars in fines. Cole’s heart sand when the judge entered the room. Cole remembered every one of his customers from his repair days, and the man who was twelves cents short was no exception.

The judge agreed to the full sentencing of the fine. But before dismissing everyone, he wrote a check and gave it to Cole. It was a check for two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Cole handed in the check wordlessly and the judge declared Cole’s monetary debt cancelled.

A few days into his prison sentence, the judge came to visit Cole, who had several questions. The judge shared the gospel, explaining how Jesus took on the price for sin despite being sinless himself. He gifted Cole with a Bible and would visit him once a month until he was released from prison twelve years later.

Most of these stories end with highly uplifting results of the person surrendering to Christ, reading the whole Bible, leading studies, speaking in churches after getting out of their rough situation, and bringing others to Christ by the hundreds. This is not that kind of story.  Cole did accept Christ, though he never read the whole Bible. He never led a Bible study, but he went to want and always participated. He never spoke at in front of a church, but he went to one every Sunday and even volunteered occasionally. He did not lead hundreds to Christ in his lifetime, but he did lead three. It took Cole years, even after prison to fully surrender his sin. The day Cole received the offering box and decided to give was a joyful day indeed.

Most of the changes in Cole did not occur overnight, but they did occur, though with setbacks, and that is all normal. Even after being saved, sin is tempting and even indulged in. But with God it also triumphed over. The debt is canceled, even when more infractions are made. But a relationship with God is far more fulfilling than any indulgence of sin. We may not change all of our ways overnight and we may even have some sins that will last the rest of our lives. But God used Jesus to keep us from being enslaved to them. Sin trapped Cole, but God freed Him, just as he has freed all of us. This short story is fictional in the details, but in a broader sense, it is a true story.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post at some point in the future. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back the next time I post. Stay Amazing!