No Riots

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

NO RIOTS

Acts 21:30-32

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

NIV

Riots in the streets, people out of control because of a few who are using them for their own agenda. Sounds like what is going on in streets across our country today.  Murder was in their hearts and they were about to complete it until the police showed up. What is it that brings people to this kind of behavior? Why is it so easy to be aroused? Do we all have that capacity within? Certainly those people thought they were spiritual, or religious and their cause was just because they were told this Paul was preaching against the Law of Moses. But rather than behave like civilized individuals and speak to him, asking him to explain himself, they rioted, they behaved as if they did not have any sense of what is right and just. Do we have that kind of thinking about anyone? Perhaps we do not riot in the pews, but do we allow others to speak words that would arouse us against someone, or worse yet, to we speak words so as to arouse others against someone in order to justify our cause? Surely we do not riot physically as these men did, but do we riot spiritually? Do we have spiritual murder in our hearts? This certain is a life lesson in that we have to see we need to have love toward all men, all people, to love others as our self. How could we even consider a spiritual riot if we love those we would riot against? How could we even tolerate an uproar in the streets, in the pews? Instead of allowing such a behavior, we should be more like the commander in this sense, and put an end to any sort of riot. People who would riot should know and see that we will not join them, but will squelch should behavior. The lesson here is no rioting.