A vigilante is defined by Webster as a person who is not an officer of the law, who pursues and punishes a wrongdoer or criminal.  In other words, someone who takes the law into his own hands.

Society today has turned into something like this in the past few decades.  Peaceful protests have turned violent and often deadly.  What may start out as good intentions turns into a mob mentality and destroys those good intentions in an instant.

My state is currently in this condition.  I do not claim to know all the elements that led up to the shooting incident that occurred last week.  What the media is showing the world is a video clip from a cell phone.  We don’t have the entire scenario, yet action has been taken, words have been spoken, judgments have been made and tried by a court of angry citizens rather than a court of law.

Unfortunately there are so many situations just like this today.  Our country is killing itself from within.  We are being misinformed – lied to – fed by a media hungry for ratings – enraged – stirred to action (whatever side you’re on) and divided in our thinking.

We have reverted to the old days, when towns had no governing system- where people took things into their own hands and made judgments without evidence.  What it boils down to is vengeance.  Is this the way God wants us to live?

In truth, God is our only judge, yet he established government to bring peace and stability to our land.  Jesus also talks about the peacemakers in the Beatitudes.

Dear, God, May we as a nation return to our roots.  May we start once more to revere authority.  May we be patient and wait for all the information to be gathered before jumping to conclusions.  As citizens, it’s our duty to trust those in authority.  I  pray for legitimacy, integrity and honesty to return to our land – not only in our government, but also in the media that feeds this kind of vigilante frenzy.  Save our nation from itself.  Amen!