On this date in history, 1865, Union cavalry troopers cornered and shot John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln, on a farm in Virginia.
Booth had shot Lincoln 12 days earlier, at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., while the president was watching the play Our American Cousin. Lincoln died the next morning at the Petersen House across the street from the theater.
Booth fled on horseback. He actually thought he’d get away with the crime of the century, expecting to find refuge with Confederate sympathizers. But after an excruciating 12 days of hiding in darkness, living off the land, and nursing a broken leg, John Wilkes Booth died a horrific death.
The Bible says, “Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 5:7).
Lincoln’s assassin was just one in a long string of examples of actions that have consequences. All actions. That includes every illicit fantasy, inappropriate glance, and illegitimate form of acting out.
Recovery Step: Before you act on your sinful nature, ask yourself, “Is the price I will pay really worth it?”
