I have a great friend in North Africa who wrote this past week to ask, “When you read Kings in the Bible do you find yourself cheering for them to do all the right stuff? Does it make you ache each time one does lots of good stuff but then doesn’t tear down the ‘high places’?

He continued, “I’ve pondered what the ‘high places’ are in our day and age… perhaps things accepted by cultures as being okay (but not by God). Do pirated DVDs fit that category? To my knowledge it’s impossible to buy an original movie in the country where I live. But does that mean the local ones are illegal? Did all countries really agree to uphold international copyrights? Or is that term really broader than its authority? I’d like to know because I don’t want to leave up any high places.” What do you think? Please jot your opinion by clicking “Comment” immediately after this item on the web at