Once again I found myself turning on the news to see an alert “Protests turn violent in Charlotte…” The last two to three years I became much more in tune with the news headlines, but over the weekend I busied myself with other things and once I plugged back in to current events it felt like I had been away for months. Two maybe three possible terroristic incidents, a police involved shooting, and rioting had taken place since I last checked the news. My heart sank as I watched live footage that looked like the Ferguson riots a couple years ago.

I’ve expressed my opinion and I’ve felt frustrated with other’s assessments in these situations. I’ve grown tired of the assumptions that so many incidents are racially motivated when we don’t have all the facts, I’m sad for people who feel like the justice system is stacked against them, I’m sad that people are assumed to be racist when they are not, and I’m sad for all the good cops who are lumped in a generalized category as bigots when they risk their lives to protect people they don’t know.

So as I watched the live coverage of the Charlotte streets, I tried to look at the scene with a fresh set of eyes and asked some questions. My goal is to pursue wise answers from the Bible and factual evidence. Here are my seven questions about the rioting in Charlotte and other cities around the country.

1. Why is the worst rioting taking place at night?
2. Why are there so many people able to demonstrate in the middle of the night?
3. Why do so many believe that a man was unarmed when reports say that he was armed, or that cops shot a civilian during the riot Wednesday night when the reports say that another civilian shot the civilian, or that Michael Brown had his hands up when witnesses testified that he attacked, or that he was nonviolent when surveillance captures him being violent minutes before the incident, or that the Charleston shooting was racially motivated when both the cop and the victim were of the same race, or why do protesters vandalize and steal from businesses to make a point about racism, etc?
4. What is the difference between the peaceful demonstrators and the violent ones?
5. How can we bring peace into a dark night of our nation’s history?
6. How do we prove that our justice system can work for everyone?
7. How do we show love to the ones with whom we disagree?

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:19-21

But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. Proverbs 4:19

Often when people discuss the protesting that is taking place in our country right now you’ll hear arguments that “Some of the protestors are peaceful...” ; “this is their right to free speech…” ; “protesting and expressing your concerns is okay but rioting is not…” I took a step back and pictured the Ferguson riots, the protest in Dallas that saw the loss of five police lives, and the recent riots in Charlotte; all took place at night. Many have taken place really late at night. I was watching live coverage at 10:30pm the other night. I’ve seen daytime news coverage of protestors with signs and rallies during the day that were less eventful. I even saw a live feed on Facebook of protestors who prayed together before having a peaceful protest in the afternoon. People say that this is raw emotion getting out of hand, but the rioters are criminals looking to do their activity under the cover of darkness. Perhaps parking a lot of literal and figurative LIGHT in those places where the nighttime protesting is anticipated will help bring order?

Who are these people who are able to spend hours into the night rioting and protesting? I realize this may be a worthy cause in some eyes, but realistically who can do this? Mothers of young children wouldn’t be out there unless they have someone to watch their kids or they are negligent parents. Most working people wouldn’t be out there because they are either working late or need to get up early in the morning for the job. Are the people protesting from 10pm to 2am unemployed? On government assistance? Teenagers? How are there so many available for late night demonstrations?

I read in the Washington times that liberal Billionaire George Soros has paid millions to activists groups who incite and instigate violence. There was evidence that he did so during the Ferguson rioting.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7

In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Todd Walther, the spokesman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, explained:

"I'm not saying all the people, but we've got the instigators that are coming in from the outside. They were coming in on buses from out of state.

If you go back and look at some of the arrests that were made last night, I can about say probably 70% of those had out-of-state IDs. They're not coming from Charlotte.

The evidence is there. Some of the rioters are protestors. They may even be getting paid to do what they’re doing. Some may be from the local community and they may be acting out their feelings about the recent incident, but either way figuring out who they are might give clearer insight into how to address the problem.

Exodus 23:1 [ Laws of Justice and Mercy ] “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

Exodus 23:2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,

Proverbs 15:21Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

Several things are happening here. For one, false reports are undoubtedly spread through social media, the news, and person to person. Another thing that is happening is the news headlines are capitalizing on the races of the people involved in officer involved shootings, but on the national level they are only doing this when a person of color is involved. If I’m wrong, point out to me when a white person shot by an officer makes national news. In local news, I hardly ever hear them mention the person’s color when it is a white person so the media is contributing to the fueling of the fire. I believe that many people see the videos of angry crowds and are persuaded that some of these false claims are true. The groups Soros probably funds are helping spread the hate.

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. Proverbs 21:15

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Proverbs 14:29

Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course. Proverbs 15:21

I’ve seen some coverage of peaceful protests at night but many of them take place during the day. I nearly always see the violent ones taking place at night. Motives come across very clearly in people’s actions. When the five officers were killed in Dallas, protesters who were on the scene talked about how grateful they were for the very cops they protested that protected them without hesitation. Other protestors have shouted things like “What do we want? Dead Cops! When do we want them? Right now!” There is a clear line between the people who are seeking justice for everyone, and the people who indiscriminately hate all law enforcement. Their actions therefore are lawless and they need to be brought to justice to keep everyone safer.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:18

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7

We must sow peaceful actions in order to reap peaceful results. We must recognize the places that are vulnerable to darkness so that we can bring light. We must accept others regardless of background and opinion. One of the things I find frustrating about these situations is that people fail to realize that part of the identity of this nation is tolerance. This is a generally benevolent, tolerant, and good society that has its problems but also has so many people who want to solve the problems. In the pursuit of peace during a hostile time, I believe that our reaction should be not only reactive but proactive. It’s time to not only call on government but the other community leaders (churches, schools, programs, police departments, nonprofits, etc) to spend time with the people who are vulnerable to following the crowd being affected by this anger and fellowship with them. Show them what’s good in this nation and be what’s good.

“‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” Leviticus 19:15

I’m optimistic enough to believe that most of the time the justice system is fair because of all the caution and accountability measures. Others feel the opposite. It will be hard to prove to skeptics that the justice system is just, and we will probably never convince everyone, but there are things we can do to reassure many. Some things can’t be released to the general public right away because of investigation rules, but there are things that can be shared sooner or later for transparency. We also need to do a better job of educating others about the justice system. Most of the kids I taught in inner city schools knew buzz language like “Don’t you need a warrant to look in my book bag or locker?” or “I have rights!” But then I would hear them say things like, “I’m not going to register to vote so that I don’t have to do jury duty!” That is the problem right there! So many people are unwilling to be involved in the actual process. We have lawyers, police, and judges who are the professional workers in the justice system, but private citizens have a right to be involved in trial decisions. We have a right to speak at town halls and vote in all elections. We have to show people that there are multiple, valid ways to get involved in the solutions especially if it seems like there are injustices taking place. I like how the Dallas Police Chief said, “Get out of the protest line, we are hiring.”

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, James 1:19

The advice given by James is pretty straight forward. We don’t all see these circumstances through the same lens, but we can listen and try not to get angry at our differences in opinion. If more of us took time to listen before giving our perspectives, others will be more likely to hear us as well. Being listened to is a good way to make someone feel more loved and respected.