I like to read a good murder mystery. I like to watch a good “whodunit” on TV. I like to try to figure out the culprit before the detective does. Trying to follow the clues is fascinating.

Columbo has always been a favorite of mine, too. The formula with this TV show (as well as a few books based on the show) is to show the murder committed and then watch the Police Lieutenant unravel the wheres and why-fors of the case before your eyes.

Even so, I don’t like murder—the blatant, wholesale removal of life for the sake of removing that life. I guess the reason that I like shows like Columbo and books about murder mystery isn’t that they highlight the murder itself, but the bringing to justice of the bad guy. It is in our nature to hope for the murderer to be caught and dealt with properly by the authorities. Why? Because murder is wrong. There are no circumstances when murder would be right. That is why we are not to commit murder, but instead we must bring the murderer to justice in light of the law—the law of the land and the Law of the Book. It is not ours to become vigilantes, for that would turn us into murderers, but we ought to pray for our law enforcers as they deal with the heinousness of murder on an almost daily basis, we ought to cooperate with them when we are called on to do so. In this manner we help in bringing the murderer to justice.