A Yellow Ribbon

Nobody is perfect in this world. Also.. nobody is blameless in this world.

I am not talking about your criminal record, whether it is:
- shoplifting
- causing the death of someone, directly or indirectly
- molest or rape
- embezzling the organization fund
- drug traficking/user
- or something politically wrong against the government

but most of us did some of these:
- look at a woman at lust
- envy someone for what he/she had
- surf some questionable websites
- lie of some fact that doesnt exist
- download or some prefer the word 'sharing' music from the net

The end result of the crimes or not-so-good thing that we did, may put us in jail or some sort of punishment. If you are young, you end up in some kind of homes. If you are of age, then you will end up in jail terms.

What if there is no second chance given to those who had a criminal record? As it is the case, in the society, most people look upon the ex-offenders in a very biased manner. It is the general perception that those people are not to be trusted. And in order to protect us and our family/wealth, we keep away from them.

But is it right to do so?
Let's reflect on ourselves. Do you ever think that the 'hidden' sins that we committed are not known to anyone? God knows everything. And by right, all of us should be punished. The wage of sin is Death with a capital D. It is eternal punishment.

But God is merciful to us. He loved us. Not only did He sent us His Son to died for us and wash away our sins. He is always waiting for us to return to Him whenever we strayed away. He is like the Father of the wayward prodigal son, He is always ready to give us a second chance.

The sinners always have the tendency to sin again, as do the ex-convicts, but it doesn't mean that they don't deserve a second chance to earn back their trust. The process is slow and may not be that straight forward, but let's give them a chance and welcome them back to the society.

If you think that you deserve a second chance from God, as God's representative on earth, we should give the ex-offenders second chance also.

I am wearing a Yellow Ribbon now. And I can imagine God is also wearing a Yellow Ribbon - for me, for us. Let's support the Yellow Ribbon Project.