Just when
many of us thought we were beginning to emerge from the separation of the
pandemic and gaining a sense of “normal” again, we heard the tragic
report from Minneapolis on Monday, May 25. George Floyd, also known as “Big Floyd,” was mercilessly
asphyxiated under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin,
while other officers stood idly by and bystanders begged Chauvin to stop. Floyd, who was described as “always cheerful”
and “the gentle giant,” had been laid
off from his job as a bouncer at Conga Latin Bistro when Minnesota was placed
under the pandemic lock down.
The report of George Floyd’s murder spread faster than Chauvin was charged for his alleged crime. Within hours demonstrations began in Minneapolis, eventually spreading to other major cities. Now, over a week after this senseless murder, America is embroiled in yet another national tragedy, piled on top of our continuing anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Law and Order Is Needed for Reconciliation
We should note that lawful demonstrations to express grief and grievances is a legitimate and historic part of our First Amendment rights. Unfortunately, this precious freedom of expression comes with a responsibility to respect both law and order and those who seek to enforce it. When this responsibility is dismissed for the selfish pursuit of material gain, then the looting and destruction of property begins and the original cause for the demonstration is lost in violence and destruction. In addition, far left, anarchist groups have crept in to incite legitimate protesters to join in destructive behavior for the purpose of destroying the foundation of American government and society.
It is clear from a biblical understanding of the nature of man that there can
be no meaningful expressions of grief, compassion, repentance, or forgiveness unless
human communities are maintained with law and order. Yet, while destructive behavior can be forcibly
quelled, police strong-arming can only provide the structure within which the
emotional and spiritual roots of violence can be addressed. The widespread violence and destruction of
property suggest that many Americans simply do not know what to do with their
anger over what they perceive as yet another grave injustice toward a Black
American at the hands of a law enforcement official.
Biblical Meaning of Justice
According to Scripture, all of us have a God-given sense of right and wrong, and a desire to see justice done for wrong committed. Even when we were children, we sensed when we were unjustly (and justly) accused. And, while it was unpleasant at the time, when discipline was applied and we recovered emotionally, we were relieved at having paid for our wrong and experienced restoration.
The Bible reveals what God says about law, law-breaking, our conscience, and just judgment. The Apostle Paul reminded the Jews that, although they were favored by God by being given the Law in the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on tablets of stone (Exodus 31: 18), God wants to write His law on the hearts of all mankind, both Jew and Gentile (“non-Jew”). In Romans 2: 14-16, Paul writes (emphasis mine):
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
When Derek Chauvin saw what he had done to the life of George Floyd, assuming his
conscience was not totally seared, he knew something terrible (which God’s Word
calls sin), had caused his horrible action. The same sense of guilt and shame was there in
the heart of Cain when murdered his own brother, Abel (Genesis 4: 8-13). Cain’s sin was so grievous that the Scripture
says God heard “the voice of [Abel’s] blood crying to Me from the ground (v.
10).” From that time on, every time Cain
looked at the ground from which he earned his livelihood, he would think of his
brother’s blood spilled there. His
response to God, “My punishment is too great to bear (v. 13)!”
God’s Answer to Hate and Violence
For every murderer since Cain right down to Derek Chauvin, and for those who have become murderers during the recent riots in protest of George Floyd’s murder, the same is true—“the punishment is too great to bear.” It is also too great for all of us who have not murdered outright but who have responded in anger—perhaps toward Derek Chauvin or another person who has aroused our sense of right and wrong. Jesus said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty [of murder] before the court… (Matthew 5: 21-22a).”
By God’s standard, we have already committed murder in our hearts when we are angry at our neighbor. My anger against Derek Chauvin or against the masses who have risen up to plunder and destroy lives and property puts me right there among those who actually commit murder. Indeed, I was also there among the jeering crowd at the Cross of Christ, angrily accusing Him of being just another sinful criminal. My heart was full of anger, hate, and murder when I once thought that Jesus Christ was no different. The Prophet Isaiah wrote the following description of Christ on the Cross 500 years before the coming of Christ (Isaiah 53: 4-6, emphasis mine):
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles
were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
Jesus Christ’s death was the most unjust murder of all because He was totally sinless and blameless. Who knew? We thought He was getting what was coming to Him! Yet, He yielded up His life as an atoning sacrifice, bearing the penalty of our sin that He might bring to God all of those of us who will repent of our sin and ask in faith that His blood cleanse us of our sin and cover us in His righteousness (1 John 1: 9).
Love and Forgiveness: Unique to Christ-Followers
Our conscience is too unrelenting of an accuser to allow us peace as long as
our sin is unconfessed and unatoned. And
the punishment is too great for us to bear.
Only Jesus, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, can take away or sin and
cleanse even our “conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews
9: 14).” Only by the love of God can the
sinner be forgiven (John 3: 16). And,
once forgiven, we ought to have a new compulsion to love God and love our
neighbor. Just hours before His brutal
death on the Cross, Jesus spoke the following intimate words to His disciples
(and to us):
A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another:
just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
– Jesus (John 13: 34-35)
In these few words, according to Ellicott (Ellicott’s Commentary), Jesus gives His disciples “a bond of union, by which they should always be linked to Him and to each other in the principle of love. The followers of great Teachers and Rabbis had their distinctive marks. Here was the distinctive Christian mark, which all men should be able to read…, not in any formulary or signs, but in the love which asserts the brotherhood of man. The Pulpit Commentary adds that this love “…is new to the human race: and it is the power which has revolutionized thought, society, and life.”
But how do we express the love of Christ in us?
One distinctively Christian way is through forgiveness. When we are wronged by someone else, we ought
to remember the love of Christ expressed on His Cross when He said, “Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23: 24).” Before His death, Jesus taught His disciples
to pray like this, "Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive
everyone who fails in his duty to us (Luke 11: 4, Weymouth)." There is no greater power on Earth than the love
of God expressed through forgiveness on the part of dedicated
Christ-followers.
F. B. Meyer wrote, in Our Daily Walk (May 7),
Forgiveness is the exclusive prerogative of Christianity. The schools of ancient morality had four cardinal virtues—justice in human relations; prudence in the direction of affairs; fortitude in bearing trouble or sorrow; temperance or self-restraint. But they knew nothing of mercy or forgiveness, which is not natural to the human heart. Forgiveness is an exotic, which Christ brought with Him from Heaven. As long as He abode on earth, He forgave, and He left it as an injunction and example that His people were to forgive even as they had been forgiven.
Neither the grieving Floyd family, nor the protesters, nor those trying to maintain law and order can ultimately bring peace of mind and conscience to us as individuals or to our divided America.
However, maintaining
law and order is essential to healthy communities where people can express grief,
compassion, repentance, and forgiveness as appropriate. We need restored human communities and
especially Bible-based churches because our struggle is ultimately in our
hearts (James 4: 1-10). Jack Brewer has rightly
pinpointed the source of our current struggle in America as a spiritual battle because
of the evil in our hearts (video
clip). Only if we yield to the
love and forgiveness of Christ and then express His love and forgiveness to one
another will we gain the victory and bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2: 10).
How About You?
While we all observe the unfolding of demonstrations and associated violence, each of us face the same challenges as the any of the participants we observe. How do you and I deal with perceived injustice, our need to control anger, offer forgiveness, seek forgiveness, or just plain understand people that are difficult to get along with? As for myself, today is the birthday of a family member very dear to me, a person with whom I have sought reconciliation for several years. I mention this person only to emphasize that we all need God’s love and forgiveness and to be channels of this love and forgiveness to others. How about you? Your “Comments” are always welcome.
Helpful Resource:
“The Risk of Forgiveness: What It Means to Forgive” by Gary Inrig. Discovery Series, Our Daily Bread Ministries. Available at the above link or in booklet form.
The report of George Floyd’s murder spread faster than Chauvin was charged for his alleged crime. Within hours demonstrations began in Minneapolis, eventually spreading to other major cities. Now, over a week after this senseless murder, America is embroiled in yet another national tragedy, piled on top of our continuing anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Law and Order Is Needed for Reconciliation
We should note that lawful demonstrations to express grief and grievances is a legitimate and historic part of our First Amendment rights. Unfortunately, this precious freedom of expression comes with a responsibility to respect both law and order and those who seek to enforce it. When this responsibility is dismissed for the selfish pursuit of material gain, then the looting and destruction of property begins and the original cause for the demonstration is lost in violence and destruction. In addition, far left, anarchist groups have crept in to incite legitimate protesters to join in destructive behavior for the purpose of destroying the foundation of American government and society.
Biblical Meaning of Justice
According to Scripture, all of us have a God-given sense of right and wrong, and a desire to see justice done for wrong committed. Even when we were children, we sensed when we were unjustly (and justly) accused. And, while it was unpleasant at the time, when discipline was applied and we recovered emotionally, we were relieved at having paid for our wrong and experienced restoration.
The Bible reveals what God says about law, law-breaking, our conscience, and just judgment. The Apostle Paul reminded the Jews that, although they were favored by God by being given the Law in the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on tablets of stone (Exodus 31: 18), God wants to write His law on the hearts of all mankind, both Jew and Gentile (“non-Jew”). In Romans 2: 14-16, Paul writes (emphasis mine):
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
God’s Answer to Hate and Violence
For every murderer since Cain right down to Derek Chauvin, and for those who have become murderers during the recent riots in protest of George Floyd’s murder, the same is true—“the punishment is too great to bear.” It is also too great for all of us who have not murdered outright but who have responded in anger—perhaps toward Derek Chauvin or another person who has aroused our sense of right and wrong. Jesus said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty [of murder] before the court… (Matthew 5: 21-22a).”
By God’s standard, we have already committed murder in our hearts when we are angry at our neighbor. My anger against Derek Chauvin or against the masses who have risen up to plunder and destroy lives and property puts me right there among those who actually commit murder. Indeed, I was also there among the jeering crowd at the Cross of Christ, angrily accusing Him of being just another sinful criminal. My heart was full of anger, hate, and murder when I once thought that Jesus Christ was no different. The Prophet Isaiah wrote the following description of Christ on the Cross 500 years before the coming of Christ (Isaiah 53: 4-6, emphasis mine):
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles
were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
Jesus Christ’s death was the most unjust murder of all because He was totally sinless and blameless. Who knew? We thought He was getting what was coming to Him! Yet, He yielded up His life as an atoning sacrifice, bearing the penalty of our sin that He might bring to God all of those of us who will repent of our sin and ask in faith that His blood cleanse us of our sin and cover us in His righteousness (1 John 1: 9).
Love and Forgiveness: Unique to Christ-Followers
A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another:
just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
– Jesus (John 13: 34-35)
In these few words, according to Ellicott (Ellicott’s Commentary), Jesus gives His disciples “a bond of union, by which they should always be linked to Him and to each other in the principle of love. The followers of great Teachers and Rabbis had their distinctive marks. Here was the distinctive Christian mark, which all men should be able to read…, not in any formulary or signs, but in the love which asserts the brotherhood of man. The Pulpit Commentary adds that this love “…is new to the human race: and it is the power which has revolutionized thought, society, and life.”
F. B. Meyer wrote, in Our Daily Walk (May 7),
Forgiveness is the exclusive prerogative of Christianity. The schools of ancient morality had four cardinal virtues—justice in human relations; prudence in the direction of affairs; fortitude in bearing trouble or sorrow; temperance or self-restraint. But they knew nothing of mercy or forgiveness, which is not natural to the human heart. Forgiveness is an exotic, which Christ brought with Him from Heaven. As long as He abode on earth, He forgave, and He left it as an injunction and example that His people were to forgive even as they had been forgiven.
Neither the grieving Floyd family, nor the protesters, nor those trying to maintain law and order can ultimately bring peace of mind and conscience to us as individuals or to our divided America.
How About You?
While we all observe the unfolding of demonstrations and associated violence, each of us face the same challenges as the any of the participants we observe. How do you and I deal with perceived injustice, our need to control anger, offer forgiveness, seek forgiveness, or just plain understand people that are difficult to get along with? As for myself, today is the birthday of a family member very dear to me, a person with whom I have sought reconciliation for several years. I mention this person only to emphasize that we all need God’s love and forgiveness and to be channels of this love and forgiveness to others. How about you? Your “Comments” are always welcome.
Helpful Resource:
“The Risk of Forgiveness: What It Means to Forgive” by Gary Inrig. Discovery Series, Our Daily Bread Ministries. Available at the above link or in booklet form.
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