We live in a day where children think that life revolves around them – their wants, their desires, their self esteem, their entitlements, their rights – everything is about them, for them, because of them, and revolves around them. They are not disciplined or taught to respect authority.
They come into the world giving orders and making demands. No one tries to mold their little minds and shape their little wills to conform to an acceptable standard of behavior set by God in His Word. Instead, their demands are met, and these children grow up to do whatever they want, act however they want, go where ever they want, and have whatever they want. And unfortunately, they feel that no one has the right to stand in their way – not their family, not their boss or coworkers, not the government, not law enforcement, not even God. Because they have rights! Strange as it is, the people who scream about their rights are most often the ones who deliberately violate the rights of others.
Take the situation in Ferguson, Missouri. While rioters were chanting “Black lives matter,” they were destroying property, heaving rocks and bottles at those who disagreed with their behavior, setting fires. They didn’t care who they hurt – children, the elderly, or even one of those black lives that mattered. They didn’t care that their rioting hurt the African-American community, destroyed their businesses and livelihood. Their actions revealed that they didn’t even mean what they chanted. They were too ate up by their rebellion to care about the people they were destroying.
Rebellious adults raise rebellious children, and rebellious children grow into rebellious adults. The children weren’t rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, although they may have been participating. Their parents were the ones setting fires and destroying businesses and throwing rocks. And it all started when one rebellious young man defied authority, threatened a police officer, and died as a result. He just happened to be black. Now do those riots make any sense? Not to me, but the Bible forewarns us of these people. In II Timothy 3:1-5, Paul describes the rioters.
- This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (It sure was perilous to live anywhere near those rioters.)
- For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
- Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
- Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
- Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
The riots were not prompted by a concern for justice, but by rebellion. If there had been a genuine desire for justice, there would have been no riot. Those people would have had concern for all life. I saw no one rioting when a black officer shot and killed a white man. In fact, it hardly made the news. Why not? Because it wouldn’t have stirred up a rebellious mob screaming for justice. One day, each of those rioters will stand before God in judgment, and their tunes will change. They will be begging for His mercy – the mercy they refused to show others.