Law and Disorder

 "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way." (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

When I was a kid my cousin Rod and I used to attend Sunday school at the Methodist Church in town, then we'd ditch church, go down to the gas station to use our twenty-five cent offering money that we were supposed to give to the Lord to buy some Chuckles as we headed down to our grandparents home a few blocks away. Ironic because we used to love sitting in the living room with grandpa watching those old westerns like the Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger. They were the heroes of old, men of law and order. Men who had a moral compass who sought to make the west safe for the average citizen. Men who knew right from wrong and did what was right. Men who were our idols. Men who would have locked us good-for-nothing tithe stealers up and throw'd away the key. 

There have always been criminals. Men and women who make their own rules, who live by their own code, who don't seem to care much for what or how society is to function in an orderly fashion - no moral compass or at least one that works. The first murder was Cain killing his brother, Abel - a jealousy issue (God likes him better than me). People have been acting out in an unrestricted way ever since. Good guys. Bad guys.  

Sin and Satan are the culprits. The sin of humankind coupled with the temptations and evil of Satan is a deadly combination, especially since Satan masquerades as an angel of light deceiving people into thinking that what they are doing is good when it is actually bad. 

Perhaps you have noticed there are nightly riots cloaked in "peaceful protests." Some actually are against a system that is utterly broken and abusive but I would venture that the vast majority of people breaking windows, looting, stealing, injuring police officers, journalist, home owners, etc...because they are "owed" it are nothing more than lawless thugs. No wonder there was vigilante justice in "them there" days. When criminals flout the law, the Law, which is supposed to bear the sword, does nothing, and the average law abiding citizen has to live in fear...the majority rise up and say, "Enough is enough. If you won't do something, we will." I'm not advocating for this but I would be tempted if I still lived near Portland or in Seattle or San Francisco or Baltimore or any other place where there seems to be this good is bad and bad is good mentality. 

We shouldn't be surprised. In the last days, lawlessness is going to increase but the spirit of lawlessness has been around for years - it is already at work. Just ask a couple of kids who still remember getting Chuckles contraband from a gas station vending machine. 

May God have mercy. Enough is enough! Okay...I'm dropping in an extra quarter in the plate Sunday and a chuckle : - )  

Remembering also the words of a 92 year old woman whose funeral I officiated this week:  "Those bad people need Jesus."