"You look in his room, he's got cable TV, DVR, DVD, PlayStation . . . everything." So why did the 16-year-old son of this hard-working inner city mother go around robbing Marquette students by gunpoint with his friends? Eugene Kane didn’t answer the question in his article today, so I will.

There are four reasons why the 16-year-old “with everything” turned into a thug: 1.) He didn’t work for his stuff, 2.) He has no respect for his mom, 3.) He doesn’t fear his dad and 4.) He doesn’t know or fear God.

"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

Romans 1:28-32 (The Bible)

You can’t fear what you don’t know. Many people think fear is always a bad thing, but fear actually keeps us out of trouble. Fear can be equated to awe, reverence and respect. Because this young man did not fear God, he did not shun evil. (Job 1:8.) No more societal excuses, please. Once we were a people who knew Scripture and tried to live by it. Play Stations and DVD players is not the answer.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.