They were both young and had bright hopes for the future. These hopes included plans for stardom on YouTube, with the kind of fame that goes viral. Along with stardom and fame would hopefully come cash, hopefully lots of it! But it would all end in irreversible tragedy for him and a prison sentence for her.
Pedro Ruiz III was 22, and his girlfriend Monalisa Perez was 19 years old at the time. They had started a new YouTube channel and had prepared their first stunt. It was going to be a daring one, but it would supposedly be a safe one. After all, Pedro had tried it before, but with a different book.
Holding up a thick encyclopedia to his chest with a black bull’s-eye drawn on the front, he told his girlfriend, “OK, let’s do this!” But she hesitated, instinctively knowing that if things went wrong, it would change her life forever. Her plea was caught on video. “I can’t do it, Babe ... I’m so scared ... Babe, if I kill you, what’s gonna happen to my life? Like, no, this isn’t okay.”
Just as Monalisa instinctively knew that this stunt could end badly, mankind instinctively knows that there is a God and that they are going to meet Him one day. This is the God-conscious part of us. “The spirit of man is the candle [lamp] of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly” (Proverbs 20:2727The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. (Proverbs 20:27)). This is why we are told to “prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:1212Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. (Amos 4:12)).
But Pedro was quick to reassure her. Looking straight into the camera, he told everyone that there was no one he trusted more than his girlfriend. All she had to do was hit the book and he would be just fine, even though she was just a few feet away from him. His force of persuasion and the lure of fame and hopefully riches were too much, and they overcame her doubts. With nearly 30 people watching, including their 3-year-old daughter, she pulled the trigger of the .50 caliber handgun. Even though she had never fired a handgun before, she made a good shot, nearly hitting the center of the bull’s-eye. But the bullet travelled through the encyclopedia, killing Pedro on June 26, 2017.
Consequences
Obviously, this was not the intended outcome! Monalisa had no intentions of killing her boyfriend. But taking a life is serious in God’s sight, even if it is unintentional. It’s also serious in the eyes of the law. She pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. The sentence is to be carried out in 30-day increments each year for six years. It will be a painful reminder of that tragic day for some time to come.
How many people don’t intend to end up in hell but do. They know that there is a God. Conscience tells them that they are not fit for His presence. But they will listen to any feel-good message instead of God’s Word. They will allow friends to persuade them that “oh, don’t worry about it; you’re as good as anybody else!” (or, at least, “no worse than anybody else!”). And so they rush through the business of life, giving God and eternity no more than a casual, passing thought. The Bible says of these kinds of people that “the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:33A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 22:3)).
This is what Pedro did! He explained his casual, ho-hum beliefs of God and eternity to his viewers. “I may fail, but if I fail, I want to die trying. We’re all going to die anyways — it’s just a matter of how and when.” Though this statement is true, it does not tell the whole story. Yes, we’re all going to die sooner or later, BUT ... what then? The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)).
Who Are We Trusting?
Just moments before his untimely death, Pedro further stated his views on the afterlife. “So if I’m going to die, I’m pretty much ready to go to heaven right now. If I die, I’ll be ready for Jesus. He probably won’t accept me into the pearly gates because of how stupid this is, but I have confidence that my girlfriend will hit the book and not me.”
Misplaced confidence and wrong ideas on how to get to heaven will end in your eternal destruction! A stupid action or our good deeds have nothing to do with whether we get into heaven or not. The Bible clearly tells us, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9)). What are we to believe? “That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), and, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)).
What we do need to do is realize that we are sinners before a holy God. It’s called repentance and involves our hearts. God is right and we are wrong. True repentance involves pain because we realize how deeply we have sinned against God and what it cost His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross to redeem us to Himself. God’s message of love is this: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). Believing the facts of salvation in your head is not enough; there must be repentance, a deep work in your heart — “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:1313And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)).
If you prepare to meet Him now, you will not be one of those who simply “pass on and are punished.” The lady in our next story wanted to live, but her life was suddenly ended in an unusual way. Be wise and prepare for eternity now!