Ferguson Burning

I am saddened today by what I see happening in my beloved hometown of St. Louis. Though I am not surprised, it breaks my heart to see the rioting and the bloodshed there.

As I write this I am 350 miles away in Little Rock, and things are relatively quiet here at the present. I had hoped to stay out of this thing. I heard of the verdict of the Grand Jury last night before going to bed. Nothing had happened at that time. This morning however, I had tuned in to see what had transpired overnight. As I said, I was saddened, sickened and brokenhearted, but certainly not surprised at what I saw.

Just before I saw the reports and while I was still hopeful for peace and calm to prevail, I had read for my scheduled morning Bible reading the famously appropriate passage of Romans 13 in which the Apostle Paul, who had himself been a recipient of governmental injustice, teaches of the necessity of obeying the “powers that be”. I remain reluctant to write this, but I guess “the lion has roared” (Amos 3:8).

The passage in the book of Romans to which I refer is chapter 13:1-7. Paul makes it clear in this passage that, his difficulties with governmental authorities notwithstanding (see Acts 16 for example), a Christian believer is expected to obey the civil authorities. This passage in particular spoke to me (and remember, this was before I heard about the rioting):

                “therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” (Romans 13:5, ESV)

It is abundantly clear to me at this point that the reaction to the Grand Jury’s action is not, at least not any longer, a reaction to the specific event that the Grand Jury was ruling upon, and I am going to avoid trying to comment on the event itself .The fact of nationwide protests over a localized event of which few of the protesters have a clear factual knowledge, and which were reported on sensationally rather than factually by the mainstream media, due in part to the fact that the testimony and the proceedings were, of necessity kept secret, indicates to me, and should to any other careful observer that the resulting unrest was symptomatic of deeper issues. Two such issues come readily to Mind: first, that people of different races mistrust each other. Second, that most people in our nation generally mistrust their government.

 Another time in the history of St. Louis comes to mind as I think about these things. The time just before the civil war was also a time of upheaval and unrest at which time two members of my family also lost their lives as a part of the unrest of that time. One of these; I call it the “whorehouse riot”, was an event in which several men set fire to a “red light district”  on the riverfront, and my great grandfather’s sister’s husband, a St. Louis policeman died of a heart attack suffered from overexertion as he and other policemen tried to restore order to this situation. Another event, called the Camp Jackson riot, occurred just within a week of the battle of Ft. Sumpter, the first battle of the civil war. My same great grandfather’s brother, apparently a bystander at this event, was stabbed with a bayonet by a soldier, apparently due to his failure to move on when requested to do so. He died of infection about twenty-four hours later. According to letters we have that were written between family members, neither of these events were related to the civil war, so much as they were a by-product of the high unemployment and general unrest prevalent in those times.

The point I am trying to make with this is that we too live in times of great unrest. Events such as the original event in Ferguson, regardless of whether right or wrong, or even a mixture of both, serve as flashpoints that ignite the riots such as we have seen today.

In spite the efforts of the mainstream media to portray the burners and looters and the lawless of St. Louis County as just ordinary people who have lost faith in “the system”, I am persuaded that the LEADERS of the rioting are lawless thugs, pure and simple. SOME of their followers, are merely those that these thugs have duped into joining them in order to work off their frustrations. I also think that some of the rioters are those who are truly frustrated over these events and are acting out. This is understandable, but it is unacceptable. Lashing out against people who were totally uninvolved in what happened, and destroying cars, and the businesses through which those ordinary, uninvolved people make their livelihood is inappropriate, and is itself an injustice.

To paraphrase a line from a movie, the title of which I have long since forgotten; the American legal system does not guarantee us justice, but only the opportunity for justice. Rioting in the streets does nothing to bring justice for anyone.

The final verse of Romans 13 says:

“Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”  (V.14, NLT)

Rioting, revenge, hatred and name-calling are ways in which we indulge our evil desires.  As Christians, our Lord calls us to a higher level of operating.

 I pray for all my brothers and sisters in Greater St. Louis, as they deal with the difficult days ahead. I pray that they will clothe themselves with the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am praying that they will take control of this situation in His name, and they will work peaceably, lawfully and within His will and at His leadership for peace, truth and justice.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.