“People usually aren’t that dumb,” said Applebee’s server Brianna Priddy about one of her customers. “I was so mad. I was like, ‘You have caused me so much trouble. I just wanna ... ’ ” We all have nights when we run into people like that, don’t we? Well, actually, no, most of us don’t. Brianna had a pretty amazing story to tell.
On February 13, 2013, Brianna was out with some friends when her wallet was stolen. As frustrating as that was, the real trouble was just beginning. The cash was gone for good, the credit cards could be cancelled, but the driver’s license with the little crease in it caused the real problem. Or, rather, the thief created problems when using the license. The thief began to go from store to store writing hundreds of dollars in bad checks and using Brianna’s driver’s license as their ID.
Then on February 25, four young guests walked into Brianna’s restaurant and were seated in her section. At first they looked like any other customers, but then the dark-haired one ordered a margarita and offered Brianna a license as ID. Feeling the familiar crease in the license, Brianna stared in awe at her own picture — blonde hair and all.
Struggling for control of herself, Brianna says, “I put on my server smile and tried to take care of them, but I was shaking like crazy.” She returned the license, told them she’d be right back with the margarita and hustled back to the kitchen where she immediately called the police and then sat thinking with shock, “My ID, you give me my ID.”
How could the dark-haired woman who’d stolen the license just four miles away be so brazen as to use it with the blonde waitress whose picture was on it? Head-scratching as it may be, some of us have been guilty of even more monumental stupidity. We think we can impersonate God by pretending we have His right to control our own lives and get away with it. We think we have the right to use His name, “Jesus Christ,” to express our anger or blurt out “Oh my God” to express amazement. So called “little white lies” are excused as social courtesy. Selfishness gets passed off as “having a right to live our own lives.” As long as we decide no one is getting hurt, we figure we have every right to do whatever we feel like, disregarding God’s instructions on the subject. Then we assume we can present ourselves at His home in heaven and explain why we have the right to do as we choose. Stunning, brazen, jaw-dropping, willful ignorance to think we can pretend to have His credentials of sovereignty and holiness and expect Him to welcome us into His home.
The police arrived and quickly arrested the 26-year-old customer. They consider it one of the most bizarre cases they’ve ever seen. Or to put it in the words of police spokesman Steve Davis, “Dumb criminal! That’s the first word that comes to mind.” Why in the world would someone old enough to order a drink use a fake license? Maybe it had something to do with the drugs found in her possession. I guess she’ll have quite some time to reflect while she prepares to defend herself against the charges of felony theft, identity theft, criminal impersonation and selling drugs.
We have some pretty serious charges to face as well. God says, “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:88But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)). Which one of us could claim we have never lied? Thankfully God doesn’t sit shaking His head at our stupidity. Far from it.
Brianna was understandably mad and called the police immediately. But the news for us sinners isn’t all bad. In fact, there’s a tremendous ending possible for our life story. The Bible tells us that God “hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)). It’s as if the Lord Jesus Christ were offering us His very own ID as a gift. He took the place that I deserved to have in the presence of a holy God. Jesus suffered the horrific punishment that I deserved for sin. When He’d fully paid for it, He gave me the right to have His place of acceptance and nearness to God. His instructions to you now are the same as the ones I’ve already responded to: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). It doesn’t take great intelligence to respond to that invitation, but it does require obedience. You wouldn’t be so foolish as to reject His loving gift, would you?
Considering the way the thief who stole Brianna’s wallet was caught, the police have called it one of the most bizarre coincidences they’ve ever seen, “a shot in a million.” Brianna herself said, “I am the .0001% that that happens to.” She’s probably right. But before you agree that nothing like that will ever happen to you, you might want to consider how much of what we think and do is actually fully recorded. It’s not nearly as unlikely to be revealed as you might think. Consider reading Surveillance to get a better feel for how much we are actually known.