There was no king

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

I found at least 15 times just in the book of Judges when the people of God, the Israelites, did not choose to obey and worship God and in every case had to be brought back through hardship of some kind.  Several times I noticed that the scripture said the people had no king, as did this verse.  The implication for me is that without good influence at “the top” the people went their own way.  This verse even says they all did what was right in their own eyes.  With our sinful nature, we have to have someone leading us along the right way.  For me, I had my parents help me in those early years, then through the years there have been other mentors who have helped me know and understand the right way until my spiritual maturity was such that I could see what is right with my own eyes, and now I am able to be that spiritual guide to others, thus repeating the process for the next generation.  At the same time, I continue to be mentored by others such as my pastor and Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, etc.  We help mentor one another so that we can be obedient to God’s Word as we grow in our understanding of it.  We don’t have to be caught up in sin by doing what is right in our own eyes unless we choose to do so.