Dance, if you can—alone or with someone, even if you are bad at it, especially if you never have danced before. You will thank yourself later, if not immediately. I had always wanted to learn how to dance. The first time I did, I was amazed by how exhilarating it was, combining physical exercise, rhythmic concentration and the challenge of following another person‘s movements across a dance floor. It really forced my mind to work.

Jesus famously warned that prior to His Second Coming, “nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:1–7).  Centuries earlier, God warned through Isaiah that at the end of the age, “As for My people, children are their oppressors…” (Isaiah 3:12).  These two prophecies are profoundly related.  Furthermore, there is a sobering connection between these two warnings and the “flash mob” violence that has raged from London to Philadelphia!

As we walked from the defense attorney’s office to the courthouse, where I was to testify in a dispute over an insurance contract, I mentioned to the attorney that when the witnesses were “sworn in,” that I would not swear. He shot a curious glance my way and asked, “Is that some religious thing?” I responded, “Jesus said, ‘Swear not at all,’” (Matthew 5:34, KJV) and I explained that I take Him at His word. We walked on in silence, and soon were sitting in the courtroom as the presiding judge began the proceedings.

As we walked from the defense attorney’s office to the courthouse, where I was to testify in a dispute over an insurance contract, I mentioned to the attorney that when the witnesses were “sworn in”, that I would not swear. He shot a curious glance my way and asked, “Is that some religious thing?” I responded, “Jesus said, ‘Swear not at all,’” (Matthew 5:34, KJV) and I explained that I take Him at His word. We walked on in silence, and soon were sitting in the courtroom as the presiding judge began the proceedings.

Four days of mindless violence and anarchy swept across England in early August, taking five lives and engulfing 121 locations. Why? These were not, as some insinuated, “race riots”—even though the initial spark came from the police shooting of a well-known London gang member. Nor were they due to social deprivation, police brutality, political discontent, or government cuts to balance the budget. Neither were they directly related to joblessness or economic despair or poverty. After all, many places did not riot!  So, what is the explanation?