Taking the Bait

In the trial of Roger Stone, the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors recommended Stone be given a nine-year sentence in federal prison. However, their boss, Attorney General Barr, recommended a sentence more in line with the crime and the judge in the case ruled for a 40-month sentence. A couple of the prosecutors stomped off in a huff and resigned from the case. The spin from most TV anchors and commentators is that the prosecutors showed justified indignation. Let me offer another perspective. Just as a petulant child tries to force their parents’ hand, the prosecutor’s maximum sentence was meant to force President Trump’s hand. In the political arena, as well as the spiritual arena, we must be aware of when we are baited. Paul said, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Cor 11:3-4 NIV).