Choices for Troubled Times - 2. My Responsibility Matters

Like many Americans, I’m trying to distinguish between those who protest to call attention to injustices against Black Americans, and those who have crept in for the purpose of inciting division, resentment, hate, violence, and destruction of property.  I also want to distinguish legitimate accusations of racism and White supremacy from accusations based upon an individual or a group’s feeling that they have been offended or oppressed.  An individual’s perception that a person or group has acted in an offensive manner is not in itself evidence that an offense has actually occurred (Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel).

In the midst of the current divisiveness and turmoil, I must recognize the unity or "oneness" in Christ that God has offered to all persons by His selfless sacrifice on the Cross as the Apostle Paul outlines in Ephesians 4: 1-6 which in turn, is based on the Scripture in Ephesians 2 and 3.  There, we learn of the "mystery" that as Gentiles (every ethnicity outside of the Jews) we were once “dead in our sin” (Ephesians 2).  But now all of us who are in Christ share in Eternal Life with Him by a faith.  This Life is equally available to any individual who repents and accepts Christ’s sacrifice for their sin.  I already have written in some detail about the biblical basis for unity of all mankind in “Choices for Troubled Times - 1. A Perfect Union”).

As I pondered these points, it was helpful to receive an article from a former student with whom I have been privileged to dialog about these matters.  What follows is my response to him, slightly edited for brevity:

LETTER TO A FORMER STUDENT:
Thank you for referring me to the article, “My Letter to a Young White Friend,” by Alfred Turnipseed, who identifies as an African American Orthodox Christian.  I have been reading and thinking about his and other writings and have been reflecting at length on the assertions about ethnic injustice.  Mr. Turnipseed bases his letter upon the principle of equal dignity for all in a biblical framework.  Furthermore, he acknowledges the unity that all believers share as children of God, “joint-heirs” with Christ through faith in Him.  However, in the first paragraph of his article, Mr. Turnipseed expresses what he sees as a “fragmented unity” when he asserts that it is a “natural next step for us to broach the topic of the very particular predicament that only some of us must endure.”  I want to consider this “natural next step” carefully in view of biblical truth.

Blame versus Individual Responsibility

I want to understand the trouble and the burden of those who are unjustly treated.  Truly, they bear a real burden.   This burden often becomes more imposing when a Black life is affected by the long history of injustices of the past.  But we must realize that neither today’s victim nor today’s alleged perpetrator can change the past.  Each of us are responsible only for the present.  Each of us must decide between accepting individual responsibility to work toward better relationships with our neighbor through the love of God, or to adopt a tribalism that fuels hatred and blame between social groups.

God’s Word provides us with an objective and unequivocal justification for respecting both the sanctity and the equal dignity of all humankind.  For those of us who accept this truth through faith in God, the challenge is for us as individuals to understand how these truths can be implemented in our daily lives.  Major portions of the recorded teachings of Christ and the writings of the Apostles instruct each member of the body of Christ on how to practice the two Great Commandments—to love God, and to love our neighbor (Mark 12: 30-31).  Obedience to these commandments remains the responsibility of individuals, not groups or institutions.  The emphasis of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is upon individual responsibility before a holy and just God.  

Justice for “Each Bad Apple” Not “The Whole Barrel”
Having taken the “natural step” toward acknowledging that there is a subgroup within all of humanity that must endure racial injustice, Mr. Turnipseed assumes the role of defending them.  Unfortunately, he exercises his role by communicating to his White friend what I believe is a judgmental spirit ignited by his acquaintance with individuals and situations within his immediate sphere of experience.  Mr. Turnipseed then extrapolates his judgments to include the motives and values of others he knows from their writings, passions, and actions; and then, he expands to whole groups (e.g. people who “call themselves Christians,” those “resting in white privilege,” “the police force,” “unfairness of the criminal justice system,” “workers vs. capitalists (as if they are necessarily separable), etc.).  His generalizations lead to assertions like, “when the police murder, they do so “under the veil of the law.”

When individual unjust or unlawful incidents involving one or a few police officers are used to justify blanket statements that implicate whole groups of people, the accusations can become very inflammatory.  It is inaccurate, unfair, and unjust to use a murderous act by one or a couple of policemen either to incite whole crowds of people to chant slogans like “defund the police” or to rail against “White supremacy.”

Biblical Approaches to Challenging Authority
Certainly, there are “bad apples” on police forces, but rather than crying “White supremacy,” why not use the freedoms we have in the world’s greatest nation to address injustices with a spirit of good will even in the face of opposition from those individuals and groups that are filled with hate toward ethnic minorities?  Christians at the time of the early church did not rail or join mass protests against Roman injustices toward different “classes” or ethnic groups.  Instead, they advanced the cause of Christ under the banner of love which overcame such injustices.  Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2: 11-17 provide clear instruction in how Christ-followers are to respect those in authority.  The practice of using Christians as prey for lions for the purpose of entertainment in Roman culture was brought to an end by just such a nonviolent action.

The non-violent approach used in protests led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1950’s and 1960’s resulted in major advances in civil rights through passage of bi-partisan legislation.  In contrast, the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t appear to have a constructive goal or plan.  They also appear to lack an understanding of and thankfulness for just how much American society has progressed toward equal justice under the law for all ethnic groups.  Indeed, those who cry “White supremacy” need to be careful lest they be exposed as misguided, “White-privileged” advocates who are nothing more than “noisy gongs” because they do not have a true, unconditional love-driven compassion for struggling individuals who need to be lifted up by acts of the love of Christ.

In some cases of injustice, the Bible allows that it may be necessary for citizens to appeal respectfully to higher authority.  In Acts 25: 1-12, the Apostle Paul provides an example of how Christians can legitimately make a respectful appeal to higher authority, in Paul’s case, to Caesar himself.  In America, while peaceful protests have been legitimate means of drawing attention to serious concerns, we are blessed with a representative government and excellent channels of communication via internet and phone to register our opinions and grievances.

Reconciliation through Love and Forgiveness
Above all, it is the responsibility of Christ-followers to exercise the virtues of love and forgiveness.  Writing in a culture filled with injustice toward minorities, the Apostle Peter encourages us to …keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4: 8). 

A wonderful portrayal of the loving, compassionate, forgiving Spirit of Christ was shown in 2015 by members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC.  There, a man who came in as if to join their Bible study and prayer time, instead opened fire in a murderous rampage that led to the deaths of nine Christ-followers and injuries to three others.  While our nation watched, families of these victims freely offered their forgiveness to the murderer in the name of Jesus Christ.  Instead of allowing their grief from their horrendous losses of loved ones to spill over into hate, violence, and destruction, they threw themselves at the foot of Christ’s Cross.  Their act of forgiveness toward the murderer was a loving tribute to the crucified Christ because it embodied His true intent when he spoke from His Cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing (Luke 23: 34).” What would happen in our divided America if more of God’s people of faith would practice forgiveness, that unique virtue made possible through a personal relationship with a Forgiving God and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Related to the Charleston, SC incident, two notable political leaders from South Carolina, U.S. Senator Tim Scott and former U.S. Congressman, Trey Gowdy, recently appeared in a fascinating interview on the Mike Huckabee Show.  These two men are long-time friends and have written a very practical book, Unified: How Our Unlikely Friendship Gives Us Hope for a Divided Country.  During the interview with Gov. Huckabee, while referring to the tragic shooting and the forgiveness that America witnessed, Rep. Gowdy admitted that he could not have done that. 

I’m not sure if I could have forgiven a man who murdered members of my family either.  But it is this kind of unconditional love that God offers me—and, offers to all of us regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, church affiliation, political party, etc.  I want this love to motivate me to fulfill my individual responsibilities to love my wife, my family, friends, and all whom God considers “your neighbor.”  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4: 11).

How Would  You Respond?
I have written this article as a response to my friend and former student with the intention of sharing my current understanding of my personal responsibilities to my family, “my neighbor,” and to institutions—local community, church, and government.  I hope my friend and other readers will agree that I have done so in Christian love and with a humility that conveys that I am willing to learn from those who know more than I and who may disagree vehemently.  I welcome your “Comment” using the link below.