where are you, Church?

I’ve laid in bed at night with different versions of this writing running through my head. I knew that to find answers I would need to dive deep into God’s Word, looking for what He has to say about these current issues. Over the course of my study I continued to come back to the question, “Where are you, Church?” “Where are God’s people?” “Why aren’t they speaking up?” I have been deeply disappointed in the lack of response and the inaction from the church in this season of extreme division in our world. Understand that this is not disappointment in one church in particular but in the church as the body of believers. 

We are called to be lights in this world of darkness. Don’t we learn as children not to hide that light under a bushel?! It may seem simple but it is also so true. Let us not miss out an opportunity to share the love of Christ & the freedom that we can have in Him alone. Jesus died so that ALL who have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God can experience the grace and forgiveness of a loving Heavenly Father. Christ died for every race, every tribe, every tongue. 

Racism is a sin. 

That’s racism in all forms. It’s all sin. Every single person on this planet is a priceless child of God. Each of us come from Adam. We are each created to honor God with our lives. We should look to Christ as our example & walk in the way that He walked. God’s greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind & to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37) 

God created man in his own image. If every person is created in the image of God how then can we discriminate against someone because of the color of their skin? God commands us in James 2:1, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” He continues in verse 8 & 9 saying, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” It is a sin to exalt or degrade someone because of appearance, race, wealth, rank or social status. Is this not what the sinful world does? We are not to make distinctions among ourselves or judge others. No, His command is to love our neighbor.  

Who is your neighbor? This is actually a question that is taken straight from Scripture. When Jesus was asked this very question by a man who was trying to justify himself & make himself look better to those within earshot, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan: 

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii (2 days wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:29-37)

This story demonstrates deeply rooted hatred. At the time the prevailing opinion among the Jewish scribes & Pharisees was that one’s neighbors were only those they deemed as righteous. According to them, the wicked - including rank sinners such as tax collectors and prostitutes, Gentiles and especially Samaritans -were to be hated because they were enemies of God. This hatred went directly against God’s merciful sacrificial love. ...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Jesus himself was known for sitting & eating with tax collectors & sinners. His response to the man demolished the people’s weak excuses for hating one’s enemies. 

Sounds pretty similar to what we are seeing in the world today doesn’t it? The deep rooted hatred and prejudice against black people and non black people of color is exactly like the hatred of the Pharisees. Do we as believers have compassion on our neighbors who are in need? Do we look away because it’s “not our problem”? Do we care more about a dislike of protests than what is being protested against? Are we more concerned with property being destroyed than lives being taken? 

The real question here is: which one are you? Are you the priest & the Levite- claiming to be a believer yet turning away from someone who is clearly in need; ignoring the second Great Commandment of genuine love? Or are you like the Samaritan- who risked his own safety to care for a man in desperate need? Disregarding the fact that most of the people on this road would have hated him & instead having compassion & considering someone else’s need more significant than his own. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Biblically, we are to obey the governing authorities put in place. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2) Protests are a Constitutional right in the United States. Therefore those participating in them are not breaking any laws; secular or Biblical. Many of those who join in the protests do so to peacefully speak up for the marginalized & oppressed in society. However, there are those who attend the events who are solely there to stir up violence & destroy property. Obviously, stealing is both a sin & a direct violation of the laws put in place by the governing authorities. Looting & destroying businesses will not bring a message against hate. But we can speak up for those who are in need without causing more division. Some of the most powerful protests I have seen have instead created unity between police & protestors, been infused with prayer & lifted up praises to the Lord. 

God speaks about injustice & oppression in His Word so many times. It is obviously important to Him. How then can we ignore this issue? How then can we stay silent?

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

James 1:19 calls us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. In this time of turmoil we could all stand to listen more so that we can learn. We need to remember that it is impossible to know everything. So be teachable. Take some time to be quiet & listen to the voices of those who are hurting & oppressed. Turning a blind eye & pretending that it isn’t a problem is not going to help or make racism go away. The sin of racism is in the very fabric of our nation & has been since its founding. We need to show compassion & empathy towards others. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) This is empathy in its truest form. As believers we are not only to be glad in the blessings of others, no matter our own situation but we are to be compassionate to the hardships & sorrows of others. 

Our battle is not against flesh & blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) Don’t dismiss this warning. We can disagree with each other but we need to remain unified. DO NOT give satan the satisfaction of allowing senseless bickering to divide us. We must remain united. Someone who does not know God should look at believers & wonder how we can stay so unified even when we have different opinions. This allows our unity to glorify God. 

 

The government will never fix our problems. Elected officials & political parties will never fix our problems. I heard a quote from Pastor Albert Tate that said “Republicans & Democrats are not going to solve our problems. You’ve got elephants and donkeys, they just don’t fit together. We need a Lamb.” Hope & change will never come from any governing authorities, any country or any group. Our hope & our peace come from Jesus alone. Jesus Himself told his disciples, when he was preparing them for His departure from this world, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Only God can truly change the true problems that lay deep within our hearts. 

We serve a sovereign, awesome, faithful & powerful God. We need to humble ourselves before Him & pray. We need to pray for our world. We need to pray for our nation. We need to pray for wisdom for our governing authorities. We need to pray for justice for the oppressed. We need to pray that God will set righteous prisoners free. And we need to pray that God will thwart the ways of the wicked. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (Psalm 146: 5-9)

So, Body of Christ, what will you do? Will you take a stand? Will you speak up for the oppressed? Don’t agree with me? That’s okay. Search God’s Word for yourself. Let Him reveal what He has for you. Most importantly, fix your eyes on Jesus. He alone brings hope in the darkest hours.