Indiana's number 2 ranked girls high school diver was disqualified in the state sectionals for violating Section 3, article 4 of the National Federation of High School Sports Association rulebook. Anesa Beard, a sophomore at Franklin (Indiana) Community High School, took a blue elastic band out of her hair and slipped it onto her wrist shortly before her first dive. The band which is 1/16th of an inch wide was, in the eyes of judge Robert Kelsik, a piece of jewelry, a clear violation of the rule which states: A competitor shall not wear jewelry (except religious/ medical medals which must be taped to the body) or objectionable attire.

"That wasn't the first time this year that I'd taken out my pony tail and put it on my wrist," Anesa said later. "And when he came over to me, at first, I was in shock. I was thinking, 'What is this guy talking about?'" The school's appeals to the Indiana High School Athletic Association were denied. The IHSAA upheld the judge's decision disqualifying Anesa from sectionals and denying her an opportunity to compete in the state finals where she was expected to contend for a medal.

—The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, February 06, 2001, pg. 1 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Mark Tabb

James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."

A British motorist was upset when he received a parking ticket after workmen Painted double yellow lines on either side of parked car. The workman painted the no-parking lines after the road was resurfaced. When the motorist parked in the spot there was no warning that the space was not for parking.

A city official in Stoke-on-Trent in Central England says, “ It is normal policy to paint either side of parked vehicles and to come back later and fill in any gaps. He added, “But it is not normal practice for the traffic wardens to issue a ticket. It was a bit of a silly thing to do.”

Last month a traffic warden in Manchester England surprised passengers when he issued a parking ticket to a bus when it stopped at a marked bus stop.

—Reuters Limited, Car gets Parking Ticket After Yellow Lines, April 23, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Galatians 5:13.NIV “You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather than serve one another love.”

Whenever I’ve traveled, I’ve gladly submitted to the extra precautions the government has mandated since the terrorists attacks on 9-11. Yes, they’re inconvenient, but necessary. With that said, I’ve also chuckled a few times as I’ve pondered the irony of some of the policies. Recently I read a report from someone who saw a rotation of the National Guard Shift at an airport as he waited in line to go through his security check.

The soldier that was about to relive the guard on duty had to go through the medal detector, just like everyone else. He handed his M-16 rifle, his handcuffs and other highly metallic items like his flashlight to the security personnel before he walked through the medal detector. The alarm still went off, so they patted him down and discovered a Swiss army knife in his pocket. “Sorry, sir,” the security officer said to the soldier, “but this item is prohibited.”

After confiscating the pocketknife, the security guard gave him back his other items, including his M-16 and let him in the secured area of the airport so he could do his job.

Matthew 23:23 NLT “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.”

A German artist decided to bury gold bars on a beach in England as part of unique public art project. The bars were hidden and then a local museum announced that as soon as the tide on the beach went out, anyone who found a bar could keep it. The curator of the museum, Lewis Biggs said the art piece is about what the people who find the gold will do with it. Biggs said some would sell it, while others might keep it and display the gold hoping it would be worth more over time. The director of the group that commissioned the piece said the beauty of the project is it will endure after all the gold is found, sold, or displayed. They added, “A lot of people won’t admit to having found one even if they have would you?”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Artist Hid $16,000 Worth of Gold on a Beach, and You Have to Find It, http://news.msn.com/offbeat/artist-hid-dollar16000-worth-of-gold-on-a-beach-and-you-have-to-find-it, Accessed August 28, 2014.

Psalm 19:10 (HCSB) They are more desirable than gold— than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb.

When Ira Karmiol paid his $278.00 electric bill online, he mistakenly entered an extra digit and paid The Public Service Company of New Mexico $2,787.00. He didn’t notice the error for a few days. When he discovered the error, he contacted the company who said they would act on his refund request in 3-4 weeks.—Jim L. Wilson

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-Mexico-man-s-typo-costs-him-thousands-on-bill-5837040.php (accessed 10-27-14)

Details can be important. The promise of scripture is that every detail of the law will be accomplished through Jesus Christ. He won’t miss a single thing.

Matthew 5:17-18 (HCSB) “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (18) For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.

On June 26th 2015, the U.S. Supreme court revealed their ruling that same-sex marriage is constitutional. In the decision the majority stated that the fourteenth amendment provides the legal right for same sex marriage. Justice Kennedy cited that it was a fundamental right guaranteed by the first clause in the amendment. Specifically, it was the issue of due process. This is the right for all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. to a fair treatment through the normal judicial system.

The amendment indicates that laws cannot be made or enforced that infringe on a person’s privilege or immunities as a citizen of the US. Therefore the Supreme Court found that the definition of marriage as one man and one woman to be unfounded and unenforceable. The main proponent for the change is the GLBT community. Historically they are not the first, in the 1850’s the practice of polygamy was widely practiced amongst the LDS. In this case, the Mormon community along with other smaller factions, such as the American Indian and segment of the Muslim community participated in extramarital unions. This ultimately was abandoned by the Mormons in large part by 1890.

The difference in these two cases was the merits of its reasoning. The success of the latter was due to the fact that it wanted the rights that are assumed by the institution of marriage. This would include survivorship, parenting, financial, and legal protection. What has been done by the GLBT community is under the letter of the law by so called freedoms. The success of the GLBT community has to do with finding allowances or loopholes that afford their view of truth to prevail. --Jim L. Wilson and Darius Holland

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/promos/supreme-court-marriage-decision

The purpose of God’s law is not as a justification for human desires, but to bring people to discover freedom in Christ.

Galatians 3:24 (NIV) (24) So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

Two visitors to Yellowstone National Park observed a newborn bison struggling and attempted to rescue it from the cold weather. Furious that the ranger allowed the bison to suffer in this way, they packed the calf into their car and took it to the Park office.

Soon after their “rescue,” the park ranger had to euthanize the baby bison because after picking up their human scent, the herd the newborn belonged to would not allow it into the fold. —Jim L. Wilson & Ryan Blackwell

Judges 17:6 (HCSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.”

Nine-year-old Dane Best took on the authorities in the town of Severance, Colorado and convinced them to rescind a century-old ban on snowball fights. The Colorado town gets a lot of snow and Best thought it was keep thinking about snowballs fights from the time he learned that the town had outlawed them. He felt the law was outdated and he wanted to throw a snowball without getting into trouble. Best took up the cause and enlisted his classmates to write letters in support of overturning the ban. The rule was part of larger ordinance that prohibited throwing or shooting stones or missiles at people and snowballs were defined as “missiles.” Best’s efforts convinced the town board to change the law and allow snowballs. Best said his first target would be his little brother. He also plans to take on another ordinance which defines pets as only dogs or cats. Best has a guinea pig, which would also be illegal in Severance. Best said, “What ends up happening is (town leaders) always encourage the kids with, ‘You have the power you can change the law.’ But no one ever has.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Romans 13:1 (CSB)“Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.”

For safety, authorities in New South Wales passed a law to ban texting and driving. Australian police found an obvious violation. A 30-year-old man was using his mobile phone without a hands-free device. The man pleaded guilty to violating the law. The guilty man was traveling about 6 mph while he made a phone call from the saddle of the horse he was riding.

Paul says that the purpose of government is to make rules that make life safer. Laws are to do what is good. I am fairly sure this interpretation of the law does not do that. A person riding a horse is not driving, they are riding. The horse is mostly responsible for avoiding collisions, pedestrians, and other problems texting drivers cause. The judge showed some horse sense though. He let the defendant off without penalty. — Jim Wilson and Rodger Russell

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.