As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our nation, my heart is heavy with concern for our nation’s future. The last few weeks and months have been a struggle for all of us. Our lives and country have been turned upside down by a pandemic and its accompanying isolation. Our sense of justice has been challenged by the killings of black individuals and police officers. Our cities have been overrun by lawless individuals that have taken advantage of the turmoil to riot, loot, and destroy.
As a white woman that fully understands I have lived a privileged life, my biggest question is what now? I am standing in the middle of a battlefield that challenges my political views and my faith. I feel that I will be misinterpreted no matter what I say and do. Even though I spend time in God’s Word daily, I am driven to study more thoroughly what it says about favoritism, injustice, and race.
Although I am a graduate of a Christian university, I do not claim to be a theologian or an expert on Scripture. I can only share the thoughts quickened in me by the Lord as I study my Bible. I have struggled with the decision to speak out or stay quiet. After all, I am one small voice with a very small audience.
Favoritism is Wrong
I do not know any one that is capable of being complete impartial, but I know many for whom it is a lifelong pursuit. Romans 2:11 says “For God shows no partiality [no arbitrary favoritism; with Him one person is not more important than another]” (AMP). Since my calling as a Christ-follower is to be like Him, I draw from this verse that I am not to show favoritism or make assumptions about people based on external characteristics.
It is the heart that matters. Unfortunately, we can’t always see an individual’s heart so we make incorrect and biased assumptions based on our own thoughts and experiences. We judge on what we think we see externally while God judges on what He knows of our internal character, our heart. “For the LORD sees not as a man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b AMP).
Jesus demonstrated this principle when he engaged in conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Culture said he should avoid her because Samaritans were shunned and ignored by the Jewish community. Yet, He not only acknowledged her, He offered her living water that will never run dry (John 4).
Our World is Full of Injustice
All around us there are injustices because the world is full of sin. That is not an excuse to accept it and not try to change ourselves and the world. If we are going to be about God’s work and sharing His hope with our world and our communities than we have to commit to being more like Him. “His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness without iniquity (injustice), Just and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4 AMP). I’ll be honest and admit that I am wrestling with finding a place that I can really make a difference in turning our world toward true justice.
Part of my struggle is determining what will bring about true justice. I know that justice recognizes that in God’s eyes we are all created equal and that our value is not based on our skin color, our religion, or our income status. I know and believe that we are all endowed with “certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (The Declaration of Independence). But, how do we return these rights to so many from whom they have been taken?
None of Us is Innocent
My Bible tells me that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And though our sins may be different, we all have failed. It further states in James 2:10 (AMP) “For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has been guilty of [breaking] all of it.” As a society and a country, we have too often turned our back on the parts of the law that we don’t agree with or don’t want to affirm. We have devalued life to the point that babies, the elderly, and those of many races are no longer treated with the sacred dignity that is bestowed on them by God through creation.
I pray that our nation will truly return to the faith that it was founded on. I pray that we will once again become a people called by God’s name. God always honors his promises, and He says if “My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 AMP). It’s time to start praying like we have never prayed before.
Pointing fingers and jumping to judgment based on incomplete research and facts is easy. But in John 8, Jesus points out that only “those without sin” are allowed to “cast stones,” point fingers, and jump to judgment.
To the Wounded
My heart goes out to mothers of black children that have to teach them a wariness of the world that I didn’t have to teach my sons. I have not been where you are and will not insult you by saying I know how you feel. I can only say that I pray that one day soon our children will be treated as true equals and recognized for their contributions to our world rather than suspected of destroying it.
My heart goes out to young black men. As I have read accounts shared by young black men that I have known or have met on my university campus, I have been angered at how they have been treated. That treatment has had no basis in fact but has come from a heart of bias and unfounded fear.
My heart goes out to the police officers of all skin colors that go to work everyday because they feel called to make the world a better place and invest in the lives of all the youth and children living in their precincts. I appreciate their service and am blessed to know law officers who put their lives on the line every day. And my heart goes out to their spouses and loved ones who live knowing that each day’s kiss goodbye could be the last.
United, But Not
I am burdened for my country that is called the United States of America but is increasingly divided by selfishness, pride, and hatred. I am sickened by politicians that are more focused on slinging mud and accusations at their rivals than on finding solutions to our health, economic, and social crises. I am greatly saddened by a generation that has grown up believing that their pursuit to be what they want to be gives them permission to trample on and demean anyone that gets in their way or disagrees with them, and I am disgraced by my generation that allowed them to become so self-focused and self-serving.
The founding documents of this country recognize that we are endowed with the right to pursue happiness. But not to steal it from others or to kill the dreams of others’ happiness in pursuit of our own. It is time to rise up in respect for all law-abiding people regardless of their heritage, skin color, or faith and regardless of whether they are part of the black community, the law enforcement community, or the community of faith.
It’s time to humbly confess that we have all been guilty of not placing a high enough value on life. Growing up in Sunday School, we used to sing a song with lyrics, “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world…” I know the lyrics that come after that would be considered politically incorrect today but they don’t invalidate the original premise of the song. Jesus loves us, all of us. Why have we let fear of differences lead us to believe that everyone that is different is of less value than we are?
Moving Forward
How do we move forward from here? It’s time to bridge the great divide. It’s time to stop drawing lines between “us” and “them.” The Bible tells us in Romans 12:9 (AMP) “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Yes, it is much easier said than done when you have been treated wrongly on a consistent basis over long periods of time. I cannot even begin to imagine the anger and emotions that has been building over the years.
I don’t know what it is like to be a black woman raising black children in a world that seems to have gone berserk. But I do know that in the past weeks in my city, their voices are being drowned out by some of privilege that are taking advantage of the chaos to get their own way. The violent protests have become about revenge and selfishness rather than recognition of the value of life. Individuals that have enjoyed the luxuries of privilege but claim to understand the plight of the down trodden and discriminated against are inciting individuals to disregard and destroy the law.
Killing police officers will not bring back the life of even one person of color that has been unjustly slain. Judging all police officers by the actions of a few is just as wrong as judging all black people by the actions of a few. Oh, how I wish we could truly be color blind and acknowledge each other’s value.
Finding A Solution
I don’t know the solution to discrimination and racial justice. I am angered by those that perpetrate violence in the name of social justice. But I am also sympathetic to the loss of life that is occurring daily because we have turned our backs on Jesus’s call to “love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have love you” (John 15:12 AMP).
It’s time that we put into practice Galatians 5:13 (AMP), “For you, brothers [and sisters] were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another.”
As we celebrate the United States of America this weekend, I pray we all commit ourselves to finding a way towards unity. Unity that values each life, recognizes the contributions of all races, and brings us to a knowledge of the one true God.
Sharing my heart,
