Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this : to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. -James 1:27

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Mob Justice

There are certain things in life that are absolutely impossible for you to have predicted that you would experience. Don’t worry, the title “mob justice” was not applied towards me...

I really am appreciative for most of the unexpected situations that the Lord brings my way because it usually opens my eyes to reality, but there are other times that the world seems just so harsh. We were driving to church this morning and on the road we start seeing tree branches. This is the normal signaling on the road to let drivers know to slow down because there is a delay/block/accident in front. Looking ahead I see a group of people. This too is normal because there are ALWAYS tons of people on the streets because most people don’t have cars. So they are either on foot or riding a boda boda (bicycle taxi) or a pici pici (motorcycle taxi). But this time I saw the police also standing on the side of the road. Maybe and accident, maybe a thief… or maybe something else. Well, as we got closer it was obvious that it was something a little more dramatic, because I could see a body lying on the road. A dead body. At that point I decided I didn’t want to see the full details so I turned my head as we passed.

As I was thinking about it, I didn’t really know how to feel. It seemed a bit unreal. The story is that the dead man had stolen something from a house across the street and although mob justice is not technically legal here, it does happen. To be honest, at some point I think mob justice would do America good because then people would have a little more fear of committing crimes. But on the other hand I think mob justice is a bit harsh because the people have the say on the punishment and there is no standard to be held to. Death was a little irrational in this case.

So, overall I pray that the Lord keeps my heart tender and that the world would not be corrupted to not be unaffected by things like this. I truly rejoice that in this harsh world there is an everlasting hope in Jesus and that my true home is NOT here on earth, but that I am only a foreigner and traveler until I make it to the heavenly kingdom.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is sobering. I know you are in God's hands and he is watching over you and keeping you safe from harm. We love you, Janece