Parenting is not easy, and living in these tech-heavy times bring unique challenges unlike any other generation before it.
Yet core, biblical principles do not change with the times, and ensuring a child is held accountable for their wrongdoing is paramount to learning life lessons of right and wrong.
A mother in the St. Louis area had to deal with a situation no parent hopes to confront: learning that her son had committed a heinous crime.
The 13-year-old, whose identity has not been released by the police, is one of two suspects accused of carjacking Rev. Mike Coleman using a gun.
As reported by KSDK, “It was his mother becoming aware of the event and questioning her son and turning him over to the juvenile courts for prosecution,” said Capt. Donnell Moore of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. “Investigators are still working to find the second suspect.”
Rev. Coleman said he was approached by the two boys in front of Carondelet Baptist Church located in South St. Louis.
The boy wielding a firearm allegedly demanded that Rev. Coleman give him the vehicle and valuables.
Surveillance footage captured much of the carjacking, including the pastor helping the boys start the car.
“The pitch of the voice was high,” Coleman said. “I am thinking this isn’t real. But the gun in my face was very, very real.
“I didn’t want to get closer to these guys, but I was very cooperative. There is no way these guys had driven a car before.”
Rev. Coleman then watched as the youth sped off, crashing into two other cars a short distance away, then fleeing the scene on foot.
Only a few days later, Rev. Coleman received an email containing a link to attend a court hearing. That is when he saw the young man who is now being charged with first-degree robbery.
“It was surreal,” Coleman claimed.
The boy’s mother, who works as a nurse and lives in Florissant near St. Louis, found out about what her son had done and subsequently turned him in to the police.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rev. Coleman praised the mother for her actions.
“I commend her for turning him in because that’s probably the hardest thing, but the best thing, she could do for him because these people he’s dealing with, you don’t know how desperate they are,” Coleman said.
The Word of God is quite clear when it comes to the discipline of children, and while it may be difficult for parents to do at times, it is in the child’s best interest to receive that punishment.
As Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him early.”
Turning your child over to authorities to pay for a crime they committed cannot be easy for this mother, but it is necessary and may potentially teach this young man a lifesaving lesson.
There are consequences for one’s actions, just as there are repercussions for sin against our Father in heaven. Thankfully, Jesus paid the ultimate price for mankind on the cross and paved the way for the Lord’s grace, love and mercy to be available to everyone.
Rev. Coleman is setting a Christ-like example by showing this young boy grace, while not shying away from having to bear responsibility for one’s actions.
“It’s important to prosecute not out of meanness or ugliness, but turning a life around,” Coleman said. “I told them I am praying for these kids.”
Shining light on the seriousness of the situation, instead of letting it slide and not correcting the poor behavior, is paramount for this young man to turn his life around and not get caught in a cycle of sinful living.
“I’m blessed. It’s actually made me a little more positive because I’ve been spared and able to serve. This goes so much further than one night in a parking lot. We have an opportunity for the ripples of this and change the tide to really help our community,” Coleman concluded.
Thankfully, God is a restorative God who is longsuffering in waiting for humanity to correct themselves and live a life that is pleasing unto Him. He takes what the devil would use for evil, and turns it into something wonderful that can serve as an example of His redemptive love for His children. {eoa}
James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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Abby Trivett