Good morning!

No matter how righteous we can make them appear, the ends do not justify the means. I end the week with a reflection on the lesson of a cave along the Jordan River.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Friday, October 27, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Cartel Members Detonate Explosives on the Southern Border

• As cartel violence continues, a video of cartel operatives detonating explosives during a skirmish on the southern border was captured by a Texas Department of Public Safety drone. Soli Rice has the details.

        

• A DPS spokesman explained that Fronton Island is “one of the most dangerous and cartel-influenced areas along the Texas-Mexico border.”
       

• The 170-acre island is situated in the Rio Grande between Starr County and Mexico and is a hotspot for cartel trafficking.

House Lawmakers Pass Border Security Measures

• Three measures passed the Texas House early Thursday morning dealing with border security issues, reports Sydnie Henry.

        
• Senate Bill 4 by State Sen. Pete Flores (R–Pleasanton) will increase penalties for human smuggling and operating a stash house. 
      
• House Bill 6 by State Rep. Jacey Jetton (R-Richmond) appropriates $1.5 billion in funding for constructing, operating, and maintaining border barrier infrastructure. During the floor debate, the measure was amended to ban the funds from being used for eminent domain of private land or to build a barrier along Texas’ borders with other U.S. states.
      
•  House Bill 4 by State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) creates a criminal penalty for improper entry from a foreign nation. Even though the Senate passed a version of this several weeks ago, the House chose instead to move Spiller's measure.

Democrat Lawmaker: I’ve Been a ‘Good F***ing Soldier’ for Dade Phelan

• While the House debated border security legislation, a Democrat lawmaker launched into a profanity-laced tirade on the House floor that was captured on the chamber's microphones. Brandon Waltens has the story.

       
• Democrat State Rep. Armando Walle (Houston) aimed his comments at State Rep. Cody Harris (R–Palestine).
        
• At one point, Walle pointed toward House Speaker Dade Phelan while saying, “I’ve been a good f***ng soldier to him. To my own f***ng detriment.”
        

• Because of Phelan, Walle currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee, where he chairs a subcommittee on the state’s biennial budget overseeing billions of dollars.
       

• I bet there are some conservatives in the House who would like to have that sort of detrimental treatment…

Cleveland ISD Bond Would Cost Taxpayers $282 Million

• Cleveland Independent School District residents will be voting on a $125 million bond on the November ballot that would be spent on five major projects in the district. But as Emily Medeiros reports, the real cost is much higher.

        

• With interest, the bond would cost local property taxpayers $282 million—more than double the amount shown on the ballot.
      

• CISD sits near Colony Ridge, a controversial development north of Houston that has strained district resources. Stephen McCanless, Cleveland ISD’s superintendent, said the bond is needed to keep up with the massive increases in enrollment.

Retired Coach Charged with Possessing Child Porn

• A retired teacher and girls’ soccer coach who worked in Richardson Independent School District for three decades has been accused of possessing child porn. Erin Anderson has the story.
    
• Frisco police arrested 65-year-old Charles Ray “Chuck” Brandon on Tuesday after investigating an online tip to the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit. According to school district officials, Brandon worked there from 1991 to 2021, coaching girls’ soccer and teaching speech and debate.
      
• Richardson ISD officials say they are working with police to identify potential victims.

Early Voting Continues Through Next Week

• Voting continues today and through Nov. 3 on the state's constitutional propositions election. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Friday Reflection:
Winning Right, Now

There is a constant pressure to win at all costs. We are told by the world that the ends justify the means if you make them sound righteous enough. But in the redemptive work of God, we’re called to win the right way.

Few biblical vignettes puzzled me more over the years than that found in 1 Samuel 24. Let me try to set the stage. King Saul and his men had been chasing David, knowing he was ordained by God to be Israel’s ruler. David and his men fled into the wilderness region known as En Gedi and were hiding in a cave.

It was into that very cave that King Saul entered to “relieve himself.” This is why my then-18-year-old son called it the “pee cave” when he and I were there a couple of years ago.

As my son and I stood at the mouth of what had been a cave, looking down at the Jordan River below and marveling at the beauty of the place, it was hard not to think of the pressure to “win at all costs.” We feel it every day, just as David did.

Hiding in that cave three thousand years ago, David and his men conspired about the opportunity to attack Saul. How easy it would have been! As it happened, David snipped a piece of Saul’s robe without the king’s knowledge but immediately regretted it as a cowardly act. He forbade his men from taking any other action.

It always puzzled me... How were David and his men not seen or heard? How could David have moved close enough to cut Saul’s robe without the king knowing it?

Well, it turns out very easily. The location features a massive waterfall and raging stream that had carved the cave from fragile rock. Back then, the cave would have been pitch black, the floor littered with man-sized chunks of rock. A dozen men could have been standing there yelling and never be heard, let alone seen.

Meanwhile, given the clothing of the day, one would have had to carefully disrobe before, um, going about the king’s task at that moment.

When you stand there, it all makes perfect sense.

While Saul was a dishonorable king, David did not want to begin his own kingship in a dishonorable way. While Saul would have thought nothing of killing David with his proverbial pants down, David wanted Saul to keep his dignity.

Most importantly, David wanted to honor God, even in the darkness of a cave, against a man who wanted him dead.

The lesson of En Gedi is that the ends cannot be justification for the means. If we want to be honorable men, we must behave honorably – even when it is inconvenient, even in the darkness, even when there aren’t any opposing witnesses.

As a self-governing people, we must first be able to govern ourselves.

Quote-Unquote

"When a people shall have become incapable of governing themselves and fit for a master, it is of little consequence from what quarter he comes."

– George Washington​