#BlackHeartsMatter: Getting Our Hearts Right

This blog article originated partly from a social media exchange and partly from a phone conversation.  Both were related to our current national response to the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on May 25.  During the phone conversation, my friend noted that one or more of her friends had been called “racist” for not including #BlackLivesMatter in their social media posts.

Watching Our Words and Hashtags
My first thought was to remember my own current blend of emotions over Floyd’s death and the passion now on display across America—the mixture of grief, disgust, anger, hate, hopelessness, etc.  These emotions have also embroiled social media.  Even well-meaning posts can erupt into exchanges that express the dark side of our hearts. 

I hope not to add to the tensions that already exist among people online.  But I am trying to make sense of what is being reported in the media, and through conversations I have had recently.  Forgive me, but it helps to write out my thoughts—hopefully, I am not worthlessly “spewing.”

First off, we may agree that virtual conversations involving brief repeated exchanges can easily be misunderstood by our inaccurate wording.  Even well worded sentences do not convey the tone of voice or facial expressions we normally see in real-time, face-to-face conversations.  On top of this, add a “hashtag” and suddenly, a well-meaning statement can become a flaming arrow with a life of its own, ricocheting about and stabbing into hearts of readers.

Today, “#BlackLivesMatter” is a potentially incendiary hashtag that carries with it much of the hurt, grief, passion, anger, and disgust that is driving both peaceful demonstrations and accompanying looting and violence.  I am honestly trying to be sensitive to these emotions.  I also believe there is justification for prolonged expression of these emotions along with respectful, impassioned calls for justice and reform.  However, it is also evident from the instance I cited at the beginning of this article that the use of #BlackLivesMatter (or other similar expressions--e.g. #BLM, the phrase “Black Lives Matter”), because of the connotations it carries, can easily squelch constructive conversation as well as legitimate public demonstrations.

Evaluating #BlackLivesMatter
As I am trying to understand some of the incendiary nature of #BlackLifesMatter, it seems to me that some who use this slogan have given in to the temptation to appoint themselves as the standard for how all others ought to think and act toward “Blacks” (or other ethnic minorities).  With all due respect, they seem to be the self-appointed “high priests of ‘blackness’.”  Therefore, to them, because I am “White” (or “white”), nothing I am writing here carries value or authority.  Neither am I perceived as one who understands or empathizes with Blacks, Black cultural heritage, or the current struggles of Blacks.

Because of my ethic background and my personal experience, I will admit that I have trouble understanding and empathizing with Black Americans.  Nor do I currently experience the kinds of ongoing, subtle or outright emotional and physical causes of anxiety, suffering, and death that have been or are currently being experienced by Blacks.  But then, who is worthy to represent Black lives and to define its mission?  And who possesses the authority to decide when the #BlackLivesMatter mission is accomplished?  And what will the area now occupied by the United States of America look like when the mission is accomplished?  The answers to these questions are not obvious to me but they would appear to be at least somewhat elusive.  In fact, many people wonder whether the Black Lives Matter movement has any consensus as to its actual mission and desired outcome.  For example, here are several points I’ve been pondering.

Biology and Politics of “Black”
First, we would assume “the worthy” person or persons of #BlackLivesMatter ought to be “Black.”  But how “Black?”  Biologically speaking, I have explained elsewhere that humankind is of one race, not many.  How black must a person’s skin be in order to be “Black?”  Or how “White” in order to be disqualified?  According to D. J. Witherspoon, S. Wooding, et al. publishing in the journal, Genetics (176: 351–359 May, 2007), “…most human genetic variation is found within populations, not between them.”  Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall, both at the American Museum of Natural History, conclude, “race is a totally inadequate way of characterizing diverse humankind or even of helping understand humanity’s glorious variety.” [See “Black History 3:  Bible and Biology Erase Racism”].
 

There are many Blacks such as Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson), Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO), and Jack Brewer (@JackBrewerBSI) who disagree with the tenants of Black Lives Matter.  Therefore, some in #BlackLivesMatter dismiss these Blacks because they are not really “Black.”  Legitimate voices from both “Blacks” and “Whites” are rejected or silenced, often by both #BlackLivesMatter and some media outlets, if they do not meet the standard of “the worthy.”  But what constitutes the “standard” for being among “the worthy?”

Individual versus Institutional Sin
Turning our attention to a major source of the passionate cry for justice, our law enforcement officials across the nation, it is clear in at least some cases that there is need for reform, greater accountability, and justice to those who are proven guilty of abuse of their authority.  George Floyd would likely be alive today if Derek Chauvin had been held accountable for multiple earlier violations of proper police guidelines.  But, while it seems clear that Chauvin and his colleagues who were complicit in the murder of George Floyd should be charged and sentenced for their grievous crime, some in #BlackLivesMatter claim that all police regardless of ethnicity, professional record, or character are unworthy to be our protectors or enforcers of the law.  In fact, #DisbandPolice movements are emerging in major cities on the premise that all police are unworthy. 

If Black Lives really Matter, how can anyone who cares about Black Lives support dismissal of entire police departments and leave some of the most vulnerable communities including Black communities vulnerable to what will undoubtedly become vigilante law?  Here we can see the illogic of “throwing out the whole barrel of apples” when one or two “bad apples” are discovered.  It is both biblically and legally justified to condemn individuals who commit acts that clearly stem from bigotry.  It is also right to identify and reform institutions guilty of “institutional racism”—i.e. where one or few “bad apples” have spread their “rot” to the point of corrupting the mission and purpose of the institution.  However, it cannot be either biblically or legally justified to condemn a whole institution for the actions of one or a few.  This point brings us to the social media exchange I noted at the beginning.

Church Discipline or Demolition?
The following is a Facebook post from my friend followed by a response from one of his/her friends:
FRIEND:  The decline of Christianity in Europe and North America, whatever its proximate causes may be, is ultimately God saving the Church from white supremacy.  God can, in his time, rebuild what he tears down. But now is a time for tearing down (Ecclesiastes 3:3).  Let us not be found opposing God’s will.  I’m sure others have already said this, and I confess I am late in seeing it clearly.

RESPONSE:  Yes!!  Thank you, __ (name)!  The church has been one of, if not THE main agent in perpetuating white supremacy.

I love my friend and his/her family.  We have been friends for many years.  I do not know his/her friend.  I also understand and respect his/her genuine concern and desire for the Church to flourish in all of her roles on Earth to proclaim the good news of salvation, release to the captives held by sin’s bonds, to bring man sons to glory, and to glorify our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  But I also understand the tremendous diversity that exists within the true Church and within Bible-based local churches.  Therefore, I resist the pessimism that many seem to have.

Some local churches are almost entirely Caucasian, others are a mix of many ethnic groups, and some are almost entirely Black.  Our church is largely Caucasian.  Therefore, we may be unknowingly naïve or ignorant of ethnic diversity and struggles.  Ignorance is not sin unless we are not teachable and allow it to lead to wrong judgments.  We are fortunate to have a godly Black man who is married to a lovely Caucasian wife who serve on our pastoral staff.  We can learn from their example and teaching, first as our brother and sister in Christ, and secondly from the insights on cultural diversity which they bring to us.  But most of all, where the Scriptures are taught and sincerely followed, and where even biology is understood, there ought not to be a hint of bigotry or white supremacy.

Here, we must return to our question, “Who is Worthy?”  Specifically, who among #BlackLivesMatter is worthy to pass judgment on a local church, or upon “the Church” worldwide?  For those who reject the authority of God and His inspired Word in Scripture, nothing beyond this point in the article will be agreeable to you—I understand your rejection for reasons you can find taught in the New Testament.  If you are currently choosing to reject the teachings of the Bible, please consider what Jesus Himself taught in His parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8: 5-15) and what the Apostle Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16.  Personally, neither can I discern these truths apart from God’s love and His grace that opened my eyes spiritually.  Regardless of our personal choices, we must be assured of this:  All men and women are created to live under authority—the question is which authority will we choose or allow?  If not our government and our local justice system, then who?   And will that authority have our good interests in mind?  Sadly, anarchist views are being directed toward both local police and toward our children to incite them to defy their parents.  

Church Discipline and Restoration
Based on the authority of Scripture, I also find no teaching in Scripture that licenses an individual to judge a local church or “the Church (worldwide).”  That right is reserved for God Himself and His Son Jesus Christ who condemned proud, corrupt religious leaders (e.g. Matthew 23).  He wept out loud over His holy city (Matthew 23: 37; Luke 19:41-44) and promised stern judgment against apostate and lukewarm local churches (Revelation 2 and 3).

But what if there are indications of bigotry among God’s people in a local church today?  The Scriptures teach the individual born-again believer how to interact in the body of Christ.  We find particularly in Paul’s Epistles instruction for right living for husbands, wives, children, employees, church leaders, etc. The focus is on individual responsibility and accountability before God for how we conduct ourselves in relation to God and toward our neighbor, whether they are a brother or sister in Christ or an unsaved person-- and we are to make no distinction between ethnic groups (1 Corinthians 12: 13; Galatians 3: 28 and Colossians 3: 1-17, especially v. 11).  Bigotry is a sin against God and our neighbor!

The Scriptures give clear instructions that it is the responsibility of mature Christ-followers to confront a brother or sister in Christ who is believed to be living in sin.  Galatians 2: 1-2 states, Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ [which, see Gal. 5: 14, is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves].  Jesus outlined our responsibility as individuals if we are offended to go directly to the offender privately (Matthew 18: 15) and if he or she doesn’t repent and turn from the sin, bring one or two others with you and confront again (v. 16).  If he or she still refuses, then the whole church membership should hear the matter and if there is still no repentance, the offender is to be dismissed from the local membership as a step toward their repentance and loving restoration when that occurs.  When local churches practice godly discipline, individual sin of any kind does not become “institutional sin.”

The question remains, “Who is Worthy?”  Answer?  None of us is ultimately worthy to judge his or her neighbor, regardless of ethnicity or spiritual condition for the purpose of condemnation.  Nor are we worthy to condemn our parents (Exodus 20: 12, the fifth Commandment), our churches, the Church, or our institutions of government for God has placed rulers in authority over us for our good (Romans 13).  Instead of pessimistically judging and condemning individuals and institutions, we are to exercise stewardship, living as salt and light to others—one at a time (Matthew 5: 10-16), even in our dutiful confrontation where necessary.

The Life and Death that Matters Most
In all of these claims, my authority is the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered the most unjust and horrible death imaginable, and He alone is with without any sin.  Read carefully Isaiah 53 and allow God’s Word to speak truth into your heart—Jesus died not only for your sin and mine, but also for our sorrow, our grief, our frustration.  Let us look into our own “black hearts” which can so easily express the fallen tendency of our sinful nature (Galatians 5: 16-21).  At the foot of Christ’s Cross, we see how much He suffered to take away sin from us (1 John 3: 5).  Praise God!  May God help us to adopt a lifestyle of repentance of our sin and arise in new life, yielded daily to the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  He alone can produce the Fruit pleasing to God and a blessing to our neighbor—Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, etc. (Galatians 5: 22-26). 

How About You and I?

Do you and I need to “call ourselves out” to repentance (James 1: 19-27)?  

If we do, repentance will help us rightly discern the error in the spirit behind #BlackLivesMatter.  Perhaps we will be directed to live by #BlackHeartsMatter, being among those who look first into our own hearts, taking the log out of our own eye first before pointing to sin in our brother or sister (Matthew 7: 3-5).  Above all, we must never forget that no one is truly Worthy except our Savior, our Redeemer, our Counselor, and our Friend.  Why not take time, as I want to do again, to read carefully the Scriptures I have cited in this article, especially Colossians 3: 1-17. Let's allow God’s Spirit to speak His Truth to our hearts?  I would recommend while you read, to listen to Chris Tomlin’s lovely song, “He is Worthy.”  Indeed, only Christ is Worthy!

Love and Forgiveness Can Overcome Injustice

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.

Black History 2 Reparations or Reconciliation?

My junior high and high school history classes in the early 1960’s were enriched by our celebration of the American Civil War (or War Between the States).  My imagination was captured by books, TV programs like The Rebel, and a series of centennial stamps.  Because of the notable character qualities of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, the South drew my allegiance and I was saddened that they were defeated.

Then, I grew into manhood in the era of Alex Haley’s Roots which chronicled the life of the noble African native Kunta Kinte and his offspring through several generations of American history.   I began to realize that human glory and valor had distracted me from the untold suffering, humiliation, and death brought about by the institution of slavery, and the terrible cost of the Civil War that destroyed the lives and families of so many Americans.  I cannot imagine being a descendant of slaves wondering how my ancestors had suffered from being uprooted from  homeland and family in Africa, transported to a foreign land, and then be confined to labor on a plantation as the property of another human being.

My boyhood wish that the South had won soon gave way to the wish that this bloody chapter of American history had not occurred.  A chapter in which both the North and the South benefited from building their livelihood on the backs of an ethnic group of human beings deemed to be inferior—and a chapter which has continued to play out in the lives of African Americans who have not had the advantages of growing up a two-parent home, receiving a good education, and having a good network of peers.   So, I can at least partly understand the call for reparations (to “pay back,” or undo past offenses) to Black Americans for the losses they and their families have incurred over many generations. 

Ta-Nehisi Coates, correspondent for The Atlantic, has written a landmark article, “The Case for Reparations.”   Coates introduces his argument by quoting Deuteronomy 15: 12-15 in which God commands that slaves be offered freedom every seventh year, and that their masters not send [them] away empty-handed…[but give them] a generous farewell from the bounty of the land, all the while remembering that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you!

While some evangelical leaders today appeal to the Old Testament biblical command, many who do not profess faith in God are still moved by their God-given, inborn sense of right and wrong that enables them to feel in some indirect way the pain of injustice against Blacks.  The following Twitter exchange expresses this desire for reparation:

So let me get this straight; our [Black American] ancestors were robbed of their culture, lineage, dignity, and multiple trillions of dollars in wages over hundreds of years.  [But you still think] It’s an “entitlement” mindset for the modern descendants of those ancestors to demand to be paid?

In response to the questioner, Bob Woodson, Founder and President of The Woodson Center, tweets:

How is it (reparations) a remedy for the problems facing Black America?  What does it solve?  Reparations is a distraction, false solution, and an illusion of a cure.

I Invite Your Opinion
Rather than writing at great length about reparations when I’m just beginning to grasp the complexity of the subject, let me offer some points for discussion and invite you to respond in “Comments” below.  My points are as follows:  How will the cost of reparations be computed?  Will reparations really help?  Are reparations the right moral response?

Family separation at a slave auction.

Computing Reparations
First, consider the difficulty in computing the cost of reparations to Black Americans.  How could we establish the monetary value?  At what point in history would we choose as the starting year for the computation?  Realizing that most Black Americans today are not subject to the same harshness of their ancestors under slavery, how would this variable be factored into the cost to be paid for reparations?  For example, in his Atlantic article, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes that enslaved Africans in 1619, though torn from their homeland and transported to the colony of Virginia, “…did not initially endure the naked racism that would engulf their progeny. Some of them were freed.  Some of them intermarried. Still others escaped with the white indentured servants who had suffered as they had.”  So, are reparations also owed to enslaved whites?  Should Native American tribes who enslaved Blacks also be required reparations?

The fact that reparations are difficult if not impossible to compute does not itself provide reason for opposing the notion.  As Coates argues, “…for the past 25 years, Congressman John Conyers Jr., who represents the Detroit area, has marked every session of Congress by introducing a bill calling for a congressional study of slavery and its lingering effects as well as recommendations for ‘appropriate remedies.’”  Conyers’ bill does not require computation of reparations, but would “submit the question to study, and then assess the possible solutions.”  What do you think—should the Conyers bill be brought to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives?

Will Reparations Really Help?
Some argue that reparations to Black Americans would simply be another slap in the face in which “advantaged White’s” are perceived as “paying charity” to “inferior people” who are not capable of “making it on their own.”  And, even if reparations were not perceived in this way, what will be their effect on the social and economic status of Black Americans?  Bob Woodson believes, “It is important to recognize that the destiny of Black people is not determined by what White people do or not do; it is in our own hands… It is our values that determine our condition in life not what some oppressor has done.”  
What do you think?  Instead of trying to pay reparations, would it be more beneficial to Black Americans in the long run to use contributions and tax dollars to develop educational, spiritual, and employment opportunities for all ages aimed at restoring hope, dignity, and purpose to individuals and families?

Are Reparations Morally Right?
Here, as with any moral issue coming under the category “social justice,” we must identify an objective standard for judging what is moral.  For example, in his landmark article cited above, Ta-Nehisi Coates references a biblical command given in Deuteronomy.  Whether he acknowledges it or not, the only truly objective foundation for moral judgments is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3: 16; Proverbs 1: 1-7).  Unless we all agree that Blacks and all other ethnic groups are equal and valuable, that racism or any oppression of one ethnic group by another are moral and spiritual problems, and that reparations must be weighed against the need for moral and spiritual restoration of people living today, our efforts in my judgment will fall short.

The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel presents a view of social justice and ethnicity (or “Race”) based on the Word of God:
God made all people from one man. Though people often can be distinguished by different ethnicities and nationalities, they are ontological equals before God in both creation and redemption. “Race” is not a biblical category, but rather a social construct that often has been used to classify groups of people in terms of inferiority and superiority. All that is good, honest, just, and beautiful in various ethnic backgrounds and experiences can be celebrated as the fruit of God’s grace. All sinful actions and their results (including evils perpetrated between and upon ethnic groups by others) are to be confessed as sinful, repented of, and repudiated.

DISCUSSION:  Inviting Your Comments:
Question #1 Individual Accountability:  Do you agree that everyone of us is individually responsible to act according to an objective moral code or law?  For example, how would you respond to the following statement and the Scriptures cited:
Any human deviation from obedience to God’s commands in Scripture, including our neglect to love our neighbor, regardless of ethnicity, is sin.  The Bible teaches that every person is individually accountable to God for his or her own thoughts and actions (2 Corinthians 5: 10; Romans 1: 18-2: 16).  The Bible also teaches that every person has an inborn sense of right and wrong which can lead us to repentance, confession, and forgiveness (Romans 1: 18-21; 1 John 1: 9).  This point is illustrated in Acts 3: 17-21, a portion of the Apostle Peter’s sermon preached not long after the crucifixion of Christ.  As you read it, notice how Peter’s challenge comes down to a clear invitation to individuals and their spiritual accountability to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Question #2 Responsibility for the Past:  Do you feel responsible to make reparations for the sins of our ancestors? What motivates individuals to look beyond their individual moral standing and become committed to reparations for the failings of others throughout history?  Do you agree or disagree with the following:
Grievous as human sins of the past may have been and as much as we wish we could be a part of erasing the evil of the past, those sins are not “our sins.”  We are not meant to bear the weight of conscience from sins committed by others in history.  Yet, many in both the Church and in the secular world are obsessed with paying back what is owed by the injustices inflicted throughout history.  But God’s plan through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is for redemption of humans and His whole creation is not about reparations, but all about restoration.  God spiritually regenerates and restores individuals and adds them as “living stones” into His church, the body of Christ on Earth (1 Peter 2: 4-6).   As the psalmist writes (Psalm 49: 7-8), only God can redeem us (buy us back) from the slavery of sin because only He can pay the infinite cost:

No man can by any means redeem his brother
Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—

Only God knows perfectly each sin of the past, and only God has the full remedy.  The Apostle Paul declares, For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5: 19). 

Can we agree, human effort alone cannot eradicate injustice?

Question #3 Is there a “right way?”:  Most would agree that history is filled with gross violations of what many call “social justice.”  Although we may not agree on how to address social injustices, would you agree that we must have a moral standard or reference by which to judge what is or is not “just?”  Would you also agree that this moral standard ought to address the nature of humankind and our tendency to fall short of that standard?  If we answer the above in agreement, then can we also agree that there is a common root cause for both the actions of perpetrators of injustice and the responses of those who are objects of injustices?  Finally, if we can agree on the root cause of injustices, can we also agree on at least the general nature of a restorative plan for both perpetrators and those unjustly treated?  Consider the following excerpt from the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel which states, based on God’s Word, that …whatever evil influences to which we have been subjected via our culture can be—and must be—overcome through conversion and the training of both mind and heart through biblical truth.

For anyone who is grieved at the injustices perpetrated against Black Americans, and for those who have been victims of perceived injustices, healing and restoration begins by repentance and confession of sin.  Our restoration and healing are made possible because Christ paid for both our sins and our griefs on His Cross (Isaiah 53).  We must rely on the authority and trust in the sufficiency of His Word (2 Timothy 3: 16).

Will reparations of past injustices solve current ones?

Once we are transformed by the grace and forgiveness of Christ, the words of Bob Woodson can become a guide to moving forward in the freedom of Christ: “…the destiny of Black people is not determined by what White people do or not do; it is in our own hands… It is our values that determine our condition in life not what some oppressor has done.”  

All of humanity, deceased and living, are offenders and have been offended.   Grave injustices still occur all around the world as statistics on current human slavery reveal.  Christ-followers need to be attentive to how they might participate or support efforts to end human slavery and other injustices through biblical means.  

Concluding Points to Consider:
We began with a citation from Deuteronomy 15: 12-15 by Ta-Nehisi Coates in his Atlantic article that slave masters not send [slaves] away empty-handed…[but give them] a generous farewell from the bounty of the land, all the while remembering that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you!   Based on the spirit of this passage, what would be the nature of an approach to promote meaningful and lasting restoration of Black Americans and others suffering under real or perceived injustices?  Are you aware of organizations or programs that resemble such an approach?  Check out The Woodson Center which offers a hands up approach.

Related Articles: 
Black History: 1  Correct History Brings Light
Black History: 3  Bible and Biology Erase Racism

Injustice All Around Us—But Where is God?

The Nativity scene on our neighbor’s lawn was decimated.  Mary, Joseph, angels, and stable animals were strewn about, and an adult figure of Jesus was partly covered with the collapsed stable roof.   Just the day before, we had watched as a grandfather, father, and son assembled the Nativity and added lights for nighttime viewing as a testimony of their faith in the virgin birth.  But now, it seemed that their labor had been in vain.

Who would do such a thing?  What’s more, how could God allow this to happen? 

On the same day of the “nasty Nativity,” the news from northern Iraq added more gruesome details of how the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had continued in its pillaging of villages, brutalizing and killing residents, and carrying off women and children.  All the while, the opposing factions remained committed to defending their homes and villages, many willing to die for their faith in Christ while using limited weaponry to fight off the ISIS pillagers.

What kind of people would do such a thing?  What’s more, how would God allow this to happen? 

As I pondered these questions, I wondered if there is any place on Earth where one can truly find sanctuary, a place of refuge where a person can be safe and accepted among friends and family.  Is there any place where one can be encouraged in things that are “true, honorable, right, and pure?”  Then, I remembered an unfortunate situation that occurred in a place that should have been a safe sanctuary.  According to the story, a husband and wife had just been saved and had rededicated their lives toward loving and obeying God in obedience to a newfound power of the Spirit within their hearts.  Wanting to share the joy of their walk with Jesus, they invited a lady friend to come to church with them.  This lady had had a hard life because of some bad decisions she had made—some would say she had a “shady reputation.” 

When our newly revived couple introduced her to their pastor hoping she would be drawn closer to God through his encouragement, he greeted her politely, but later called them aside and said, “We don’t want her kind in our church.”  How devastated they were!  Wanting to be the hands and feet of a welcoming Savior, they were instead crushed in their faith. 

What kind of pastor (shepherd) would do such a thing?   How could God allow this to happen?

As I’m writing, a grey squirrel frolics in the branches of the oak tree outside my study.  The cute little fuzz ball reminds me of another puzzling event that I witnessed recently.  While raking leaves in our front yard, I observed our neighbor’s cat walking stealthily across the front of our house and disappear around the corner.  In a few minutes, I heard a raucous outburst of protest from squirrels in the backyard.  I looked toward our house and saw the cat returning with her prey—you guessed it, a squirrel hanging limply from her jaws.  Meanwhile, what seemed like angry protests in squirrel language continued to sound from the backyard.  Then, all was silent, except for a pathetic, solemn utterance from one squirrel that repeated every 10 seconds for another 5 minutes.  I paused and listened to what seemed to be an expression of mourning, perhaps by a mate for her lost companion.

Gray Squirrel "mourning" the death of  her mate?

What kind of world gives us frolicking squirrels punctuated so quickly by mournful death?   And, what kind of a Creator would allow life to be snuffed out so quickly without warning?

Perhaps a disheveled Nativity scene in the eyes of the boy and his family is a small thing.  After all, it can be restored.  But such events have a way of lodging in the memory of a child and could plant a seed of doubt or confusion.  Is this how the world, or God, responds to the good intentions of a family?

On the other side of the world, Syrian and Iraqi Christians must wonder whether their commitment to Jesus Christ is worth losing their homes, their children’s lives, or their own lives to the murderous actions of terrorists.  Where is God Who promised never to leave us or forsake us?

All around us are Christians who extend a hand to help a neighbor only to be misunderstood.  Or who invite a friend to their church only to experience disappointing behavior from supposed “people of God.”  Where is God’s power in His church where people ought to hear His invitation to come unto Me all of you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest… (Matthew 11: 28)?

Even God’s creatures seem to convey the message, “Something is wrong.  Something is not quite right.”  Where is the promise of a loving, caring Creator Who asked His disciples, Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father (Matthew 10: 29). How can  God be attentive to the minutia of His creation without being deeply touched by the mournful sound of a squirrel at the death of its mate?

Christmas is a season of contrasts.  It has been that way since the night of Christ’s birth—a light piercing the darkness; a King born in a lowly stable; a Child of God being hunted down by a powerful and murderous king.  These contrasts seem to us to represent a chasm between “what is” and “what ought to be.” But Jesus was well aware of this chasm, and He declared, in the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16: 33).  And so we wait, and we wonder how many more storms, personal trials, and deaths will occur before Christ returns to establish His kingdom in justice and righteousness on Earth. 

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.   – Romans 8: 22-23

Reader Comments Welcomed:   How do you reconcile calamities in creation or in the daily news or in a person’s life, with the notion of an all-knowing, all-powerful, and personal God?   If you are a Christian and are awaiting Christ’s return, how do you balance your wait with work so that each expresses the faith and power of God’s Spirit within you?   How might the season of Advent be a good time to bring biblical faith to bear on these questions?