G.K. Chesterton once noted that true soldiers fight not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. If there is one thing that characterizes the hearts of evil men is opportunism: man who fights for nothing noble and who seeks only selfish ambition. There are human beings of every tribe who share this distinct fallen feature. If we allow the vices of the world to form us, we quickly find ourselves seeking opportunities to set a snare for others (Prov. 26:27). Human beings look for a pretext in alleged contexts to act out their dangerous human fantasies. We assume ourselves too clever to be caught in our own schemes, but as Solomon says, we eventually find ourselves crushed under the weight of our self-deception.
The riots are not the result of an angry mob of diverse tribes seeking justice for a fallen friend who represents their woes. We can assert that destroying property, setting ablaze the few belongings of the homeless, beating defenseless women, attacking the very communities these individuals claim to cherish, is definitively not about race or injustice! What we are witnessing is a generation trained to have, prepared to take, and eager to steal: the objective violation of the 5th-10th commandments. The death of an innocent man is not the context, the barbarism of the human heart is.
We have quickly turned from the theme of “loving our neighbor” during COVID-19 to “destroying our neighbor” in a matter of seconds. Those rioting claimed to love their neighbors last week, but what they were doing was simply building up stamina to hate them as soon as the doors of opportunity were opened.
We are not experiencing the breakdown of human laws, we are witnessing the logic of disobeying the eternal law of God. We prefer a generic god who demands nothing, a private religion which changes nothing, and an education pre-shaped to satisfy our wants. We are now seeing the fruits of our indifference. The godless wish to take the kingdom by force, and the kingdom suffers violence. If we are looking for logical ways to explain this, we won’t find it, unless we are willing to understand that out of the heart the mouth and body speak.
The Context of Rioting
