Even a Tycoon of News Cannot Prevent News of His Death

The real FAIR & BALANCED:

Roger Ailes has been one of the most powerful forces in media for the past several decades. The motto of the news empire that he oversaw is "Fair and Balanced." Ailes died this morning. Clearly there is room for argument, especially with revelations that surfaced at the end of Ailes's life, as to whether his career modeled that motto. I'll leave that discussion to others more "pundit-y" than I. I am confident, though, that Ailes entered a realm where fairness is beyond dispute, and balance is Divine. Hebrews 9:27 declares, "[I]t is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." The early chapters of Romans give us a great deal of information about the standard of the judgment God administers:  God's judgment is rightly directed. It is against "all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." We should not take false comfort in that, however, since Romans goes on to say that all have "sinned and fall short" (3:23). Impartiality is often held up as the standard of human justice. With Godit is clearly achieved. In Romans 3:9-20, words like "all," "none," and "no one;" and pronouns like "they" predominate. Chapter 2 and the first part of chapter 3 make clear that no group gets a pass. Jew and Gentile, religious and secular, educated and unlearned, all stand on level ground before God's tribunal. Ignorance of the law is not an acceptable defense in a human court. God, though, bases His judgment on what we know (Romans 2:12-16). It is as if the Lord will play the surveillance recording in our heart. As verse 19 says, "every mouth will be stopped." We'll know that there is nothing we can say. Most important to us, while God's judgment is sure, His grace and mercy are without limit. After establishing that all are guilty, the Apostle Paul goes on to show that just as all are guilty before the Lord, salvation is made available to all through faith in Christ (here).  I have conducted many funerals over a lifetime of ministry. I always did so knowing that I was not privy to the eternal destiny of the one being memorialized. When commenting on the afterlife of someone I have never met, like Ailes, that is even more-so. I do know that the God of the Universe will do what is right. Roger Ailes sought to inform, teach, and persuade us for decades. His death, like the end of every life, is a lesson we should heed. It's . . . STTA (Something To Think About).  Here is a different presentation of the Good News in Christ. You can find several ways to explore the Message of Grace here.

Over the years I've seen a lot of stairs.  I notice them a lot more now than I used to.  Me knees tend to tell me about them. I recently built some stairs.  For an amateur wood-butcher building a way from one level to another can be a challenge.  As this video and article show a stair doesn't have to be off very much to make it a tripping point.  A well designed and built set of stairs is such that a person can go up or down without thinking about what their feet are doing.  A poorly made set requires "watching where you step."
I've only been up and down my new staircase a couple of times, but I think it is going to be OK.   There is a descent, however, that I don't want to be smooth.  Jesus told a story about a man who lived in the lap of luxury.  As happens to us all, he died.  He found himself in hell.  No one told him to "watch that last step!"  An old proverb uses a slightly different metaphor.  As is usually the case, C. S. Lewis says it well.  

"Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."  

I suppose we could say that good preaching--indeed the task of the church in general is to put some tripping points along the way. 
"Huh, what was that?"
"That, my friend, is one of the consequences of sin, or of life in this sin cursed world.  By the way, do you know where this road is headed?  

  

It's STTA