This past week presented itself with a dichotomy of events for me. On the one hand, I celebrated life and birth – that of my new niece who made me an aunt for the ninth time and also that which happened five years ago to usher one of my charges as a nanny into the world (though we have no biological connection, she may as well be considered another niece). On the other hand, I was sickened as I saw the footage of a precious life being senselessly, mercilessly, and unjustly snuffed out by a man whose very job was to serve and protect. The murder of George Floyd has shaken our country and put on display for all to see the deep-seated racism and ungodly hatred that has reared its ugly head ever since the first murder of Abel by Cain. This evil is not new, but that does not make it any less abominable.
The Root
Racism is an insidious wickedness
that is grown from more culturally palatable sins to which we are all much more
apt to admit guilt: selfishness and pride.
God very clearly instructs us not to think more highly of ourselves than
we ought to (Romans 12:3) and in Christ-like humility to consider others as
more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5). These instructions are to guide our attitude
and heart toward all people regardless of how they may be different from us,
but this way of thinking and acting is not innate. We need the instruction because our natural
tendency is to care only for self and to live as if our importance and needs
exceed that of all others. Observe any
toddler (or any adult who never learned the lesson that the world does not
revolve around him or her), and you will know this to be true.
The
crucial teaching that one individual is no better or more valuable than anyone
else must be ingrained from an early age.
All human beings are made from the same dust, bear the same image of
God, and will one day answer to the same God for their actions. We were all made by the Creator in His
likeness; therefore, our lives all have value regardless of what we have done,
what has been done to us, or what our background is. On judgment day, we will all stand before God
as sinners equally deserving of Hell (though we are equally valuable, we are
also equally guilty of sin). The man or
woman who looked down with haughty condescension on someone else will stand
next to the murderer and the rapist, and we will all fall short of God’s
standard of perfection. Only those of us
who have trusted in Christ’s death and resurrection for salvation will know
that even though we have given Satan more than enough legitimate ammunition to
accuse us and secure our condemnation in Hell, we will be allowed to dwell in
God’s presence forever because we accepted that Jesus already paid the steep
price of sin for us. Jesus is the only
difference between the person who will spend eternity in Hell and the person
who will not, and He is the only one who is worthy to be considered better than
anyone else for any reason.
However, our culture preaches the
exact opposite of this message. It
screams that our value is based on what we do, how we perform, what we look
like, how much money we have, or how much power and influence we have. It encourages us to chase our own dreams no
matter the cost to anyone else, to live for the approval of the elite instead
of fearing God, and to accumulate as many experiences and as many possessions
as we can for ourselves instead of sacrificing for the hard work of real, deep,
and lasting relationships. It elevates
self-esteem, personal goals and desires, and achievement over the Word and will
of God. God’s very existence is denied,
which in itself leads to injustice (Psalm 53:1). Embryos are disposable, but animals and
recyclables are not. Each person
determines his or her own truth and what is best for him or her. Everyone does what is right in his or her own
eyes. All morality is relative until it
is not. “Mistakes” and immorality are
entertaining and comical until they are not. We are groomed by the culture to live in
constant comparison and judgment and to be the best or be nothing. How is it any wonder that racism thrives in
such an environment?
In saying all this, it is absolutely
critical to remember what is going on beneath the surface. Our war is not against flesh and blood. It is not against all authority figures
because of the inexcusable actions of some.
It is not against government officials who turn a blind eye, against the
rioters in the streets, or against any other human being. This war began in the Garden of Eden when two
people chose to listen to their own wisdom and will over that of their
Creator. Sin and selfishness entered
this world because of disobedience, and disobedience breeds more sin and
selfishness. Satan and his legions are
deceptive, divisive, and cunning. They
know where we are weak and where we can be manipulated. They take advantage of our blind spots toward
the wickedness and prejudice in our own hearts, and they exploit every
opportunity to turn us against each other and against our Creator. When we disobey God and walk in our own
wisdom and will, carrying out our own vengeance and sense of justice, we are
playing into their hands and fighting on the side of the very thing we despise.
Our Response
So,
what do we do with all this? How do we
respond so that we are not just contributing to the problem?
1. Grieve Injustice and Abhor Evil
This isn’t the way things are supposed to be, and it’s okay to not be okay with it all (check out my previous post for more on this). It’s okay to be angry at sin, so long as we do not allow that anger to drive us into sin. It’s okay to be disturbed by the heinous deaths of George Floyd and of many before him. It’s also okay to be appalled at the fact that those in authority can be so corrupt and abusive. God is grieving alongside us, and He is pointing us to a better way and promising us that in the end, His perfect justice will be executed.
2. Stop Biting and Devouring
In our righteous outrage, we cannot turn on each other or to our own devices. Violence and destruction only serve to fuel more hatred and division. Wickedness reaps injustice, and trusting our own deceptive hearts and instincts leads to further upheaval (Hosea 10:13). “Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted” (Habakkuk 1:3b, 4). Bringing about lasting change in ungodly behavior cannot be accomplished through force – the heart must be changed.
3. Examine Your Own Heart
Regardless of what happens to Derek Chauvin through our justice system, he will one day have to stand before God and give an account for his actions. Justice will be served. Even so, the present consequences of his actions are reaching much further than just himself. Innocent people are dying and losing homes and businesses to looting and riots. Sin rarely ever affects only the sinner. It affects everyone around us. This is why it is so important for us to regularly examine our own hearts and to ask God to reveal anything in our hearts to which we are blind. We desperately need to keep short accounts with Him (recognize our sin and agree with what He says about it right away) and to abide in Him (dwell in His presence and live each moment under His direction). No one is immune to the attitudes that develop into the atrocities of racism. As one of my friends recently pointed out on a Facebook post, “Racism occurs here locally every day. It may not take the form of lynchings or murder in the streets or yelling at people of color, but it is engrained. You can hear it in the way you talk about non-white people. You can hear it in the silence by the local church….” We have to evaluate and guard our hearts against pride, lies, prejudice, and selfishness and cling to the truth on a regular basis.
4. Love and Honor People
We absolutely have to stop de-humanizing, demeaning, and hating people. Instead, we must learn to love and honor all people (Romans 12:10). “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:10, 11). God is love, and if we need an example to follow to learn how to love well, we need only to look at Jesus.
Most of us don’t struggle with understanding love as much as we do honor. In fact, we often fail to honor those we love most, much less those we don’t like, don’t agree with, or don’t connect with. In a culture that applauds irreverence and defiance, honor is a foreign concept to most of us. To put it in childlike terms, we are called to treat other people as special and important. We are to treat them with respect and dignity (even those whose actions don’t necessarily warrant such treatment) because of Whose image they bear and because of Whose blood was shed for them. A quote from C.S. Lewis delves a little further into this idea of honor: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption” (The Weight of Glory).
5. Humbly Accept & Extend God’s Grace & Mercy
As we learn to see ourselves rightly (as sinners who are all valuable, but not better than anyone else), we will see our need for God’s grace and mercy in our feeble attempts to learn to love and honor all people well. We will have to war against sin from within and without until the day we die (or until Jesus returns for His Church). All of us fall from time to time (sometimes daily or hourly), and we need His grace and mercy to get back up again. We need to remain humble in our recognition of that need and be willing to extend that same grace and mercy to others when they fall short.
6. Trust and Obey God
God is the only one who is perfect in love, in truth, in goodness, and in justice. He is worthy of our complete trust and devotion, and we must trust and obey Him as He leads us if we want to help reflect His light to the world instead of contributing to the darkness. Following our own hearts and our own ways will only lead to more death and destruction in the end. Use your voice and the platforms God has given you to help affect change as He leads.
7. Pray
Raise your voice to the only one who can transform hearts. Plead for our nation as a whole to turn toward Him and to view and treat all people as He views and treats them. Ask Him to teach you how to recognize and celebrate the beautiful diversity and unity of His creation. Pray with fervency and urgency for change – for His kingdom to come. Ask Him to hold authorities accountable for their abuse of power. Beseech Him to draw near to the brokenhearted and to be a safe refuge to those who need protection. Ask Him to search your own heart and to reveal any wickedness within you.
Final Thoughts
Peace
on earth will not be realized until Jesus comes back to establish His righteous
reign. For now, sin and Satan have been
given time to run their course – not because God is slow to bring about His
promises, but because He is allowing time for more people to be saved (2 Peter3:9). During this present time, the
glimpses of that future peace will only come through living the way God tells
us to live – by loving God, and loving others as we do ourselves.
Additional
Verses to Consider
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