Two Contrasting Personalities

I have been reading two biographical accounts of two very contrasting people. One of the people is George Whitefield, the great evangelist of the 18th Century. The other is the account of Clyde Smaldone, a gangster and mob boss in Denver in the 1930’s.
Whitefield went around the English and the American colonial landscape preaching the justification of believers by God caused by his grace alone through faith alone and requiring the new birth spoken of by Jesus in John chapter 3. Whitefield’s sermons were most often greeted by the mass response of repentance and faith on the part of his hearers, who seemed to be receiving this information for the very first time. They were astounded when they heard of how magnificent was the grace of God, and this understanding changed their lives. We call this period and this activity the Great Awakening.
Today and in Evangelical churches throughout the world, this concept promulgated by Whitefield is common knowledge. It is interesting that these basic principles of Bible teaching are not resulting in the huge crowds and the aroused public that were noted in the 18th Century. It makes one wonder if this message has become stale or if God has just not ordained another awakening of spiritual fervor that He obviously poured forth in previous times.
Whatever the cause of the apparent lack of public enthusiasm, those who have heard and believed should always be thankful that this mark of mature Christianity has been granted to them. God is good and freely grants the pearls of His message to those whom He designates.
The other personality about whom I have been reading is Clyde Smaldone, the titular head of the Denver mob from the 1930’s until he retired in the 1960’s. The Smaldones and their associates ran bootlegging operations during prohibition, and subsequently drug dealing and extortion of “protection” money from legitimate Denver and Pueblo businesses. Their work involved many gangland murders—between 1919 and 1933, there were more than 33 gang-related murders in these two cities. These killings took the lives of 4 law-enforcement officers.
What we need in this life is more George Whitefields and no Clyde Smaldones.