Gentle Reader,
You know I’m a pacifist, but I wonder how we got from Captain America punching Hitler to, “well, Nazis aren’t that big a deal” and, “it’s probably all a conspiracy because Soros and Antifa.”
How did we come to idolize Robert E. Lee, a slave owner who fought against his own country?
Why do we still doubt that the Civil War was about slavery?
Why are people who call themselves Christians saying, “we will not be silenced?” Chanting, “blood and soil?” (That’s a Nazi slogan, if you don’t know).
A woman died and dozens more are injured. All for a statue that shouldn’t have been erected in the first place.
And, yeah, I know. Free speech is a thing we have here. People can assemble and say stupid, ugly things. I support that. Doesn’t mean that I will shy away from labeling that speech “stupid” and “ugly.”
After sitting with and mourning this for 2 days, I wonder: Could we Christians lead the way here by no longer screaming about our rights? By refusing to see the government – local, state or federal – as an entity meant to protect us? What if we truly rested in the promises of Christ, knowing in our bones that He will see us through whatever happens? What if we decided to esteem others and consider their needs before our own, as Paul admonishes in Philippians 2? What if we recognised that this world is not our home and that the spread of the Gospel is more important than politics? What if we looked to our brothers and sisters in hostile countries and emulated their example? Those of us who are white, what if we took the time to really listen to and empathize with people of color – not to take on false guilt, but so we can understand what they deal with?
I wonder what would happen. I wonder if we’d become agents of healing and shine brightly in dark places.
Meditate on these passages:
2 Corinthans 5:20; 6:4a, 6b
2 Corinthains 5:9
Philippians 2:3-4
Philippians 2:14-15
Philippians 4:5
Colossians 3:8
1 Thessalonians 5:5
James 2:8-9a
Matthew 28:18-20
Romans 12:17-18
Galatians 5:24
1 John 4:9
Revelation 7:9-10
Racism has no place in Christianity. May we be courageous enough to examine our own hearts and repent if needed. May we be brave enough to vocally condemn this evil. May we be loving enough to reach out to those who are different.
Skin is skin.
It doesn’t matter.
Lord, teach us to love as You love. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Expose what needs exposing. Help us to prioritize preaching the Gospel over and above all else. Kill the selfish ambitions and vain conceits that strangle our hearts.
Break us and remake us.
Forgive us, Jesus.
Red, brown, yellow, black and white – all are precious in Your sight.