Be More Like Jesus
Be More Like Jesus
Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing in 1921. At the time it was one of the harshest prisons in the United States. When Lawes retired twenty years later, Sing Sing had become a vastly different institution. Though many credited Lawes for the positive changes that occurred during his time as warden, he refused to take the credit, instead saying, “I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Kathryn…”
Kathryn and her husband were young when they arrived at Sing Sing. Friends warned the mother of three children to avoid the prison and its inmates. She rejected their advice and attended the first prison basketball game played after their arrival. The mother and daughters even sat with the inmates. She said, “My husband and I are going to take care of these men, and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!”
Kathryn took an interest in the prisoners and regularly visited them. She taught a blind murderer Braille and learned sign language to communicate with a deaf prisoner. She took food, clothes, and money to a desperate inmate’s family and was known to give her own money to prisoners upon their release. While she was at Sing Sing, every prisoner received a Christmas gift each year. In addition, she made sure there were special meals for Thanksgiving and other holidays. Some said Kathryn was the body of Jesus living in Sing Sing. Eventually, the prisoners began calling her “Mother.”
In 1937 she fell from a bridge and died. When news of her death reached the inmates, they were inconsolable. Warden Lawes allowed around 200 of those he called, “old-timers” to show their respect for his wife by walking from the prison to their home where Kathryn’s body lay in state. Every one of those prisoners walked through the prison gates that evening.
Throughout her life Kathryn treated those who made terrible mistakes with incredible respect. She was not the first person to do that. Jesus’ enemies accused him of being “a friend of tax-collectors and other sinners.” (Luke 7:34, NLT). While they meant it as an insult, they were correct, he genuinely cared for those who sinned.
I am not foolish enough to think that when we are a friend to those who fail, they will always make better choices in the future. However, as we treat others the same way Jesus treats us when we fail, we can positively impact their lives by following his example. For those of us who say we are Jesus’ followers, this is also the perfect way to be more like Jesus.