Bertrand Russell said that he decided between good and bad by his feelings. But in some cultures, people love their neighbors, and in others they eat them, both on the basis of feelings. Does that matter to you? It sure would if you were travelling to such an area. Feelings are unreliable.

As to personal salvation, there is no grade curve. God has already told us in John 3:3 that there are no exceptions for “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” That includes everyone, even religious leaders!

“If anyone is going to heaven, it will be Nick since he is a leader of the people with great responsibilities. He’s also very dedicated. He goes to church many times each week, tithes on all his income, prays many times daily, fasts often, always obeys the law–man’s and God’s, and is willing to get up from sleep and go help the concerned, confused, condemned soul. Yep, Nick will be sure to be in Heaven.” No, Nick went down the street to speak with Christ about salvation and Christ told him, “Ye must be born again.”

But God doesn’t grade on a curve and Nicodemus had to have an experience with Christ that changed his life and his destiny.

Additionally, comparing oneself with another is foolish, fruitless, and fatal.

After personal salvation, one is capable of doing good; but even then, it is a lifetime battle to obey God in our daily walk through a difficult, dark, and dangerous world. The Apostle Paul confessed in Romans 7:21: “…when I would do good, evil is present with me.” He was saying that even as a Christian, we struggle between good and evil all our lives.

We are told in Matthew 12:35 “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” He is telling us that good people do good things and evil people do evil things. No surprise there. Admittedly, good people at times do evil things and evil people do good things, but both are an anomaly; neither is a permanent lifestyle.

God sets His standard as to how each person is expected to live and everyone is held to the same standard; there is no curve. The Apostle Paul reveals that standard in Phil. 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If most of us lived that way, it would change the world!

It is far better to pursue the above standard and stand alone for veracity, value, and virtue than to stand for error, enmity, and evil in a crowd; however, few are willing to accept the jeers for righteous living. Everyone prefers cheers.

Most people don’t want any kind of personal accountability and in spades when it is spiritual and eternal. They wrongly think since they don’t believe in God, there is no accountability. They are wrong. Consequently, knowing there is a right and wrong, they align with wrong because it feels good; or it is profitable; or it delights friends; or it is the “normal” thing to do. They live in darkness seeking to hide their evil life.

Sigmund Freud was an atheist who agreed with my last statement. He said that people who appear to be decent often have a dark side when looked at in depth. Most people don’t look into the depth of their souls because men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. They seem to think if they don’t see and admit their evil, it doesn’t exist.

Unregenerated people take a firm stand with their feet planted in mid-air! Anything goes. After all, who is to judge? Well, God judges and He doesn’t grade on a curve. To plead that there are worse people won’t cut it. Or “I didn’t really know any better way” won’t work either. Mankind just doesn’t get it: a day of accounting is ahead of everyone.

Many people are like the man who said, “I’m not the best guy in the world but I’m not as bad as Peter. I’m so respectable, I’ve been chosen as an officer of the group. Peter is always spouting off about something and spends much of his time extricating his foot out of his mouth. He has a foul mouth and has been known to curse when confronted with his sins. He’s cocky–even arrogant and he’s spent time in the slammer. In fact, he carries a sword all the time and is willing to use it if pushed too far. Yea, I’m as good as Peter or my name isn’t Judas.”

If Judas ever had those thoughts, he was counting on Christ grading on the curve. He doesn’t. His Word is the standard for goodness.

However, men want to compare themselves with others since they experienced that during their school days. They always wanted the teacher or professor to grade on a curve. The curve mentality is still with us in the spiritual or religious world.

The curve is often used in academia but not in the real world. In the real world, the curve is a disaster.

What if student pilots were graded on a curve? The top ten percent of the class are chosen by ABC Airlines but none of the group is qualified to fly! The airline hired the “best” but who wants to fly with them?

Man has a responsibility to God (to worship, attend church, work hard, help the poor, study the Bible, obey the laws of God and man, love people, follow instructions, etc.), so an honorable person will fulfill his responsibility to God whom he loves. He is overwhelmed with gratitude toward a loving God for providing an eternal salvation after a lifetime of peace, purpose, and a perfect plan for his life, even through rough times. Wow, that’s winning here and hereafter!

Whatever one’s lot in life, whether great or small, he will be held to an account one day. Few people understand that and order their lives in that way. Few are committed to duty, a four-letter word not heard any more–or practiced. C. S. Lewis said it well, “When the Lord returns, it matters not whether we are in a great crusade to free the slaves or whether we are tending the pigs. The important thing is that we would be found at our posts.”

It doesn’t matter if you are preaching or slopping hogs (for liberal preachers, not much difference); writing books or tilling fields; doing brain surgery or clerking in a store–are you at your post?

How much better this world would be if we spent as much time being good as we do looking good. Of course, being good as defined by God.

But mankind meanders merrily through life with Frank Sinatra’s mindless boast on their lips, “I did it my way.” but your way is the wrong way and always ends up in the wrong place.

Don’t count on God grading on a curve. If you do, your final grade will be F and F is for failure, folly, futility, and finality.

And you’ll never get to “take the test” again.

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

A ruggedly handsome, elegantly dressed man sits at his table in an expensive San Francisco hotel restaurant casually opening his morning mail. Slitting open a plain envelope, his own business card falls onto the table. Picking it up he reads, “Have Gun—Will Travel! Wire Paladin, San Francisco.”

Such was the regular opening of a 1957 popular television show set in the late 1800s that ran for six years, always in the top five. Accompanying his card was always a letter from someone in the Wild West who needed help from Paladin, a hired gun or medieval champion. The letter always convinced him to leave his comfortable hotel suite, dressed in black—wearing his famous gun, board a train, and travel to the troubled area to right some wrong.

President Bush thinks of himself as a modern Paladin: “Have Gun—Will Travel! Contact Bush, Washington, D.C.” The President has announced his desire to bring democracy and freedom to all parts of the world. Sensible people desire that every person on earth live in freedom; however, Bush has no constitutional authority to pursue that lofty goal. Furthermore, how practical is it to force our form of government on people with no concept of freedom and its obligations?

As to Muslim nations, the concept of democracy is totally unacceptable since it conflicts with the Koran and the Hadith. Those two “holy” books are the basis of all Islamic governments thereby not permitting freedom of religion, freedom of press, equal rights for women, etc. Hasn’t someone explained to the President that it is impossible for a Koranic nation to be a democracy?

Mr. Bush must understand that he is President not Paladin. He is limited by the chains of the Constitution and would we want it otherwise? Even if Congress authorized his altruistic adventures, they would still be illegal! After all, who made the U.S. the policeman of the world? Are we required to right every wrong? Do we have enough manpower to accomplish that task? Do we have unlimited funds to finance such activities? Was Jefferson wrong when he warned of getting involved in entangling alliances?

Does our position as world leader permit or require us to invade any nation at will to right all the wrongs? If so, will that principle be advocated when China is the world leader? If not, what is the difference? Is it because capitalism is good while communism is bad? Who defines “good” and “bad”? And while we are righting the wrongs, why have we not righted the wrongs in Cuba only ninety miles from our coast? Don’t the Cubans have a right to freedom? At least they have experience with freedom and democracy.

If Bush is so concerned with spreading freedom and taking on tyranny then he could stop giving two billion dollars annually to Egypt that has been under “Emergency Rule” for 25 years! The Land of the Pharaohs is also a place where prisoners are routinely tortured and vocal pro-freedom leaders are often jailed. In fact, Coptic Christians are being persecuted as I write. Where is Paladin? Bush is not concerned about Egyptian freedom.

How about freedom in Saudi Arabia? Has Bush demanded that his oil buddies in the House of Saud travel the road to democracy? Has he demanded the right for me to start the Trinity Baptist Church in Mecca? Maybe I could rent the Kaaba since it is not used on Sundays! Or maybe Bush could at least demand the right of U.S. diplomats to have a worship service in our own embassy each Sunday! All right, how about demanding the right for Americans who keep the oil flowing to have a worship service with their own family members without being arrested by the Saudi religious police! No, you have not heard Bush push freedom that far. Wonder why not?

Our international Paladin has declared war on “evil” and “terror” when it is not only unconstitutional but ridiculous. How will we know when the war is won? When evil and terror no longer exist? That will not happen, at least not until God does it.

The television Paladin did not declare war on every bad guy in the West but only by request on specific ones, so he always knew whether he was successful. (He was always successful!) However, in the real world, Bush can enumerate the bad guys his troops have captured or blasted into “Paradise,” but there is an ever expanding horde of religious fanatics who are willing to face him at high noon on the “dusty streets of Laredo.” Unlike the TV Paladin, Bush has no assurance he will win the shoot-out.

The President is fighting an enemy he does not understand nor is willing to understand. He glibly speaks of resisting “terror over there so we won’t have to fight them over here!” He does not realize that the battle could last a hundred years because the enemy is going to fight us no matter what we do until, as a nation, we capitulate to Muslim law. We will have to fight the enemy whatever our successes or failures in other nations. All Muslims know that they can never co-exist with non-Muslims except during a time of their weakness. When they reach the necessary strength, any temporary co-existence will cease. Would someone please tell President Bush that simple, shocking, and salient fact?

The President is not willing to say, “Our battle is with Koranic Muslims” who pursue martyrdom with gusto. Bush is like a wayward, warped Paladin who rides off helter-skelter to western towns looking for bad guys to shoot down. Paladin never ran out of bad guys to plug with his trusty .45 until the series ended. Someone should tell the President that this isn’t make-believe and the Muslim fanatics will continue to come and his pandering to Islam only enables them.

We had better plan for a very, very long bloody conflict with Koranic Muslims even if we declare victory and slip out of Iraq some night—before the 2008 elections. This global battle against evil and terror is one fight our hapless Paladin cannot win.