August 15, 2003 -- The Bible continually tells us that we are to follow God's teachings and commandments. He has plans for each one of us and we are to look to him for the guidance that we need for our daily living.

Yet, for some reason, we keep rebelling against God and trying to do our own thing, in our own way, and when we want to do it. Suddenly, everything blows apart and we cannot understand what has happened; and in many cases we then flail out at God blaming him for our problems.

In so many cases, what we do is actually ridiculous and we should recognize that our efforts are futile from the very beginnng. The Bible clearly tells us that each person will die once and then there will be a judgment for us. The Bible says there is a day to be born and a day to die.

Considering that, I thought it somewhat ridiculous, even though the person probably realized it at the time, on September 20, 2000, Mayor Gil Bernardi of the small French Riviera resort town of Le Lavandou banned death -- to anyone who doesn't have a burial plot in the local cemetery, anyway. In reaction to the village’s one cemetery running out of space, the mayor decreed that: “It is forbidden for any person not in possession of a family vault to die on the village's territory.”

Now we each probably chuckled under our breath at his edict. However, is it actually any more ridiculous than so much of our rebellion against God? God's Holy Word has clearly laid out instructions for our living and, yet, we continually defy them in one way or another. But, we need to remember that reaction to our behavior will come as sure and as definite as death will come to each person in the French village of Le Lavandou regardless of the Mayor's law.

Max R Tyner, Pastor
Good Shepherd Evangelical Church
Geronimo, Texas