Tony Samoni was making his regular rounds through Sin Junction. Everything was unusually quiet Tony thought to himself. With all of the theft and fighting and all kinds of sin that take place here, Officer Tony was actually starting to think he may need to carry a gun as well as his Bible. He shook off the thought and kept walking.
Officer Samoni was just a few steps from the front door of the jailhouse when his new friend Buford came running towards him with a note. Buford still loves candy(and only gets it if he can afford it now) and is a wee bit out of shape as a result. Buford bent down for a few seconds, short of breath, before handing the note to Tony.
As Officer Tony read the note, Buford finally caught his breath and said exactly what the note did, "please get to the Mayor's office right away!" "C'mon Buford. Take a walk with me", Tony said.
Now Marcus McGee was the Mayor of Sin Junction. He and Tony both believed in God but the Mayor didn't put God first in his life. He let the distractions of his job and the sinful town he lived in(and was sadly in charge of) get in the way. He was a good guy but being good wasn't good enough for God, as Tony Samoni always told him.
As Tony and Buford entered Mayor McGee's office, they both noticed a very nice, decorative box on the mayor's desk. Buford sat as the officer walked around to where Marcus was sitting, head in hands.
"What's going on Mayor?", Tony asked. The mayor looked up and told Tony what had happened. That last night a man dressed in all black came to the mayor's house and said, "offer this solid gold gun to your beloved sheriff and tell him to carry it and to stop carrying his bible. Do this and Sin Junction will prosper beyond your wildest dreams and you will be in control of it for the rest of your life." "The man said his name was Lou", the mayor told Tony.
"Mayor, all the gold guns in the world will not make me stop carrying my bible. I will not trade the Word of God for this idol. If we put anything before God, we will be guilty of breaking His Commandments. In the words of Jesus in Matthew 4:10 "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'
"How can I have been so dumb as to even think about what this guy has to say!", cried the mayor. "Well Mayor McGee, you have put many things before God. The town, it's pleasures, it's people. You have developed your own god in your head that says that all of this is ok. What you have done is you have made a god to suit yourself and that is as much an idol as that golden gun on your desk. God, the God of the bible, has very little room in your life. That's the one true God, creator of Heaven and Earth. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins, a free gift to all of us sinners. The gift of grace to everyone who has ever lied or stolen or has been guilty of idolatry so that they don't have to spend an eternity in Hell."
The Mayor continued to hold his head in his hands, staring at the golden idol he allowed into his town. "What can I do Tony?", asked the trembling Mayor. "Repent sir. Turn from these things completely and put your faith in Jesus. He will forgive you of all of this and you can go to Heaven when you die." "Thank you Tony. Thank you for always being true to God. I will get rid of this gun immediately. You keep up the good work and keep carrying that bible."
It had gotten late as Tony and Buford left the Mayor's office. It was almost time for the bible study at Tony's house. As they walked, they ran into a group of Buford's friends. These are some of the kids who were usually getting into trouble with Buford before he came to know Jesus. They asked him if he wanted to go do something else besides what they called a "boring bible study." Tony just looked at Buford and said, "you know what to tell them."
Thanks to Tony's faithfulness to God's Word, Buford did know what to tell those kids and hopefully you do too. The boys, like the Mayor, put things first in front of God. They are guilty of breaking the 1st commandment just like he was. Now, they may not have liked what Buford had to say but they now had something to think about.
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