A Civil Society is a Mature Society

By:  Dale Weckbacher   

1 Corinthians 14:20

Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

NKJV

As Christians, we attain understanding by first entering into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We gain further understanding by studying the Bible, the Word of God.   However, as we are told in 1 Corinthians 14:20, we are to be babes when it comes to malice.  In other words, when the world tempts us to be disorderly or destructive, we are to be like babes not understanding what that means and thus choosing not to go along. 

The Grand Jury in Ferguson Missouri has reached their much anticipated decision.  As the prosecutor making the announcement stated, the Grand Jury saw all of the evidence and concluded that officer Wilson did nothing wrong and was only defending himself and doing his job in the situation.  (1)   Evidence showed that Michael Brown, the so-called gentle giant, was not so gentle and that Officer Wilson stopped him because he matched the description of someone that had stolen merchandise from a local liquor store and assaulted the storeowner. 

Michael Brown then attempted to take the officer’s gun with the gun even going off inside the officer’s car.  It was fortunate that Officer Wilson was not shot while in the car.  (2)  Had the incident ended there, most likely Michael Brown would still be alive but witnesses testified that he then aggressively charged the officer making it necessary for Officer Wilson to shoot Michael Brown in self-defense.  (3)

Those with understanding and maturity understand that the judicial system worked as designed.  (1)   Lady Justice, in the person of the Ferguson Grand Jury, looked at the evidence, ignoring the media and political hype, and arrived at their decision.  Granted the system is far from perfect for it is run by flawed people and sometimes arrives at decisions some may not agree with but the system is based in a presumption of guilt until evidence is presented showing guilt.  In this instance, the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence demonstrating Officer Wilson's guilt and the Grand Jury could not make an indictment.  

Would that the issue dropped there but we now must to deal with immature people full of malice.  In the days leading up to the Grand Jury decision, race baiters, and what I like to refer to as the rent-a-mob moved into Ferguson in anticipation of the Grand Jury not indicting Officer Wilson.  It did not take long for these immature individuals with malicious intentions to begin rioting, burning down, and looting businesses in the area, many owned by minorities like Michael Brown.  Sadly, the most malicious individual was Michael Brown’s own father who video shows saying “burn the bitch down.”  (4)

The issue in Ferguson is a lesson in the dangers of immaturity in society and demonstrates that a civil society is a mature society.  Those of us with children experience joy when our child takes their first steps.  We are joyful when they begin to speak, when they start school, when they graduate high school or college.  We are joyful because these events demonstrate that our children are maturing.  Shouldn’t we be equally joyful when our society matures and we can have debate on issues such as race without having to resort to rioting and destruction? 

Tomorrow, we in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving.  The holiday began when the Pilgrims wanted to express their thanks to God for providing for their needs.  (5)   I believe we, including the rioters in Ferguson, should take the occasion of Thanksgiving Day this year and pause to give God thanks for what He has done for us.  I understand it has been a rough year for many but even in the middle of struggles, we have much we can be thankful for,

1)      If you are able to read this, you are alive and literate.

2)      Even though you may not agree with the Grand Jury decision in Ferguson, we live in a country where we can still express our opinions.  In contrast to the violent riots in Ferguson, there were protests in other places last night that were peaceful.  (6)   These were protests by people of maturity and not people with malicious intentions. 

3)      If you are visiting with family tomorrow and have a table full of food, thank God for providing family and food for some are spending the day alone without food or family. 

4)      If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, pause to thank Him for dying on the cross for you so you could have complete forgiveness of your sins. 

5)      If you have not accepted Jesus as your savior, take a moment to pray with me.  Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned.  I ask you to forgive me of my sins.  I make you Lord of my life and accept your free gift of salvation.  Amen.  If you prayed this prayer, you now have salvation from your sins and eternal life (John 3:16). You can now give thanks to God for sending His Son to save you.

If you just prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, I urge you to now go to needanswers.com and refer to the tabs for connecting with others to find a church near you or to watch services online.  Refer to the tab of required reading to either purchase an affordable print version of the Bible or read the Bible online.  Then refer to the tab of recommended reading to find books to help you mature in your new life as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Finally, take time tomorrow to pray for the maturity of our society and the innocent people in Ferguson.  Only a small percentage of the people of Ferguson are rioting.  Most of the people of Ferguson are mature and only want to live peaceful lives running their businesses, doing their jobs, and spending time with their families.  The immature malicious rioters that have invaded their fine city have disrupted their lives but I believe our prayers will restore their lives back to normal. 

1. Calamur, Eyder Peralta and Krishnadev. Ferguson Documents: How The Grand Jury Reached A Decision. www.npr.org. [Online] NPR, November 25, 2014. [Cited: November 25, 2014.] http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/25/366507379/ferguson-docs-how-the-grand-jury-reached-a-decision.

2. Brown, Emily. Timeline: Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Mo. www.usatoday.com. [Online] USA Today, November 24, 2014. [Cited: November 25, 2014.] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/michael-brown-ferguson-missouri-timeline/14051827/.

3. Eckholm, Erik. Witnesses Told Grand Jury That Michael Brown Charged at Darren Wilson, Prosecutor Says. www.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, November 24, 2014. [Cited: November 25, 2014.] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/witnesses-told-grand-jury-that-michael-brown-charged-at-darren-wilson-prosecutor-says.html.

4. Holmes, Jack. Michael Brown’s Stepfather Tells Crowd, ‘Burn This Bitch Down’. www.thedailybeast.com. [Online] The Daily Beast, November 25, 2014. [Cited: November 25, 2014.] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/25/michael-brown-s-mother-speaks-after-verdict.html.

5. Limbaugh, Rush. The Real Story of Thanksgiving. www.rushlimbaugh.com. [Online] The EIB Network, November 23, 2011. [Cited: November 26, 2013.] http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/11/23/the_real_story_of_thanksgiving.

6. Associated Press. Ferguson grand jury decision: Thousands rally across US after Ferguson decision. www.abc15.com. [Online] ABC 15, November 24, 2014. [Cited: November 25, 2014.] http://www.abc15.com/news/national/thousands-rally-across-us-after-ferguson-decision.