In the few minutes between when I roll out of bed and roll off to work, I usually plop in my chair, caffeinated beverage in hand, and watch the beginning of my preferred morning talk show.
If you do this for a week or so, you'll notice that the same national news headlines usually lead the broadcast for several days. Since the beginning of May, the Casey Anthony trial has repeatedly been the biggest headline.
While I didn't take an obsessive interest in the case like many, I did become familiar with it one groggy half-hour at a time.
The story of a young mother, the mysterious death of her daughter, Caylee, and the cloudy allegations that Casey murdered her daughter.
And then one morning, as I watched, my phone beeped with a notification. It was a Bible verse.
You see, while I am not a "Bible thumper," I do have a quiet faith and hold it with solemn pride. Each morning, I get a new verse delivered to my phone via an app. Call it incremental Bible study for the digital youth.
"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." - Timothy 2:22
Were I to get this verse some other day, I may have not made a connection. But as I absorbed this trial about a young mother allegedly not ready - or willing - to be a mom, and I read the verse, a correlation was clear.
A picture of Casey Anthony dancing on a bar, just days after her daughter was last seen alive by her grandparents, popped up on my TV.
"The prosecution holds that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter so that she may live the life of a 25-year-old, single woman," said the news.
"So flee youthful passions," said my phone, as if in response.
I wondered what this verse would've done for Casey Anthony and little Caylee had the young mother taken it to heart.
Whether she murdered her daughter or simply neglected her to the point of allowing little Caylee to drown in a backyard pool, as she insisted in her defense, it's clear Casey never left the "youthful passion" that is irresponsibility. When we're young, we have few responsibilities and those we do have hold little consequence for us if we don't come through. But as we get older, the fog of youth descends. Or at least it should. For many, the transition is natural. A career is started, a wedding is held, a child is born. And those passions we once held so high fade away into our memories, usually to be laughed at at a later date.
But for some, the transition is a difficult one - for the parent neglecting a child because they were out partying, for a married man eyeing a young body, or for the alcoholic mother dying of addiction, her children facing their future alone.
"So flee youthful passions," if not for the creation of good, at least for the prevention of bad. Because with those mistakes, so comes the bad: a child services worker, a divorce, a death.
All adults, mature or otherwise, face the same temptations. It is the mind and heart, though, that control how strong and how lasting those temptations are. To the unfaithful husband, a young woman giving him a look across the bar offers a fleetingly flirtatious chance at a youthful, sexy encounter. To the faithful husband, that same woman giving him a quick glance is just that: a quick glance. He does not pursue because he tried that at a younger age and has found a love worth more than a few short drinks and a long walk of shame.
In between the two exists a whole spectrum of others, whereby the impact a temptation has and the heart's ability to turn the other way, varies wildly. Over time, though, a strong and mature heart lessens temptation and increases the ease with which it can move beyond it. And all it takes is to see the big picture: that our lives are worth so much more than a few moments of spontaneity, recklessness, or irresponsibility.
Judging by Casey Anthony's behavior in the weeks between when Caylee was last seen alive and when she reported her missing (a month's time), Casey's mind and heart might not have been mature enough to accept the truth that we all age, our lives change, and we must change with them, in order to grow.
If you speak to a happy parent, they'll tell you that having a child started a whole new chapter of events - challenges, elation and heartbreak they couldn't have predicted. In a sense, parents trade part of their youth in order to share their child's.
The verdict of the Casey Anthony trial has been handed down: not guilty. And while I offer no opinion here on the verdict, as many have, I think it's a real chance to reflect on our own life decisions, how they impact ourselves and others in an imperfect world.
- Jeremy Pink is News Clerk at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com.
If you do this for a week or so, you'll notice that the same national news headlines usually lead the broadcast for several days. Since the beginning of May, the Casey Anthony trial has repeatedly been the biggest headline.
While I didn't take an obsessive interest in the case like many, I did become familiar with it one groggy half-hour at a time.
The story of a young mother, the mysterious death of her daughter, Caylee, and the cloudy allegations that Casey murdered her daughter.
And then one morning, as I watched, my phone beeped with a notification. It was a Bible verse.
You see, while I am not a "Bible thumper," I do have a quiet faith and hold it with solemn pride. Each morning, I get a new verse delivered to my phone via an app. Call it incremental Bible study for the digital youth.
"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." - Timothy 2:22
Were I to get this verse some other day, I may have not made a connection. But as I absorbed this trial about a young mother allegedly not ready - or willing - to be a mom, and I read the verse, a correlation was clear.
A picture of Casey Anthony dancing on a bar, just days after her daughter was last seen alive by her grandparents, popped up on my TV.
"The prosecution holds that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter so that she may live the life of a 25-year-old, single woman," said the news.
"So flee youthful passions," said my phone, as if in response.
I wondered what this verse would've done for Casey Anthony and little Caylee had the young mother taken it to heart.
Whether she murdered her daughter or simply neglected her to the point of allowing little Caylee to drown in a backyard pool, as she insisted in her defense, it's clear Casey never left the "youthful passion" that is irresponsibility. When we're young, we have few responsibilities and those we do have hold little consequence for us if we don't come through. But as we get older, the fog of youth descends. Or at least it should. For many, the transition is natural. A career is started, a wedding is held, a child is born. And those passions we once held so high fade away into our memories, usually to be laughed at at a later date.
But for some, the transition is a difficult one - for the parent neglecting a child because they were out partying, for a married man eyeing a young body, or for the alcoholic mother dying of addiction, her children facing their future alone.
"So flee youthful passions," if not for the creation of good, at least for the prevention of bad. Because with those mistakes, so comes the bad: a child services worker, a divorce, a death.
All adults, mature or otherwise, face the same temptations. It is the mind and heart, though, that control how strong and how lasting those temptations are. To the unfaithful husband, a young woman giving him a look across the bar offers a fleetingly flirtatious chance at a youthful, sexy encounter. To the faithful husband, that same woman giving him a quick glance is just that: a quick glance. He does not pursue because he tried that at a younger age and has found a love worth more than a few short drinks and a long walk of shame.
In between the two exists a whole spectrum of others, whereby the impact a temptation has and the heart's ability to turn the other way, varies wildly. Over time, though, a strong and mature heart lessens temptation and increases the ease with which it can move beyond it. And all it takes is to see the big picture: that our lives are worth so much more than a few moments of spontaneity, recklessness, or irresponsibility.
Judging by Casey Anthony's behavior in the weeks between when Caylee was last seen alive and when she reported her missing (a month's time), Casey's mind and heart might not have been mature enough to accept the truth that we all age, our lives change, and we must change with them, in order to grow.
If you speak to a happy parent, they'll tell you that having a child started a whole new chapter of events - challenges, elation and heartbreak they couldn't have predicted. In a sense, parents trade part of their youth in order to share their child's.
The verdict of the Casey Anthony trial has been handed down: not guilty. And while I offer no opinion here on the verdict, as many have, I think it's a real chance to reflect on our own life decisions, how they impact ourselves and others in an imperfect world.
- Jeremy Pink is News Clerk at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com.
