I cannot even begin to quantify the injustice of what happened to George Floyd. America and the world watched a white policeman holding his knee on the neck of a handcuffed, black man. The horror of George Floyd’s death has sparked new debates about racial inequality in America.
Our nation is in the middle of multiple, simultaneous crises. The recent racially motivated violence has kick-started a cultural pandemic as if the COVID-19 turmoil wasn’t enough chaos already. It is absolutely clear right that now is the time for a reset. For the first time in my life, I feel that the church is not only paying attention, but its leaders are actually speaking out. Since this topic has everyone’s attention at the same time, it’s time to take action. Psalm 89: 14 says that from God’s throne comes righteousness and justice. What measures can we begin implementing to bring reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing to our nation? I believe these five actions can start the process of bringing healing to our country.
1) We Must Listen.
It’s time that we start listening to each other. James 1:9 says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Unfortunately, people are too quick to speak and too slow to listen. We have seen this play out on social media, and that’s why we see so much anger. We can’t begin to understand what a person is feeling or experiencing unless we listen to his/her story. Our experiences heavily skew our perception. It has become easy to pass judgment on another person without considering that person’s life experience. What an opportunity we have now to begin to have real, life-changing conversations. We can’t go back to the status quo. We can’t just write people off as racist, crazy, dangerous, evil, or hypocritical. We have to start listening to each other.
2) We Must Learn.
When we begin the process of actually listening to each other, then we will start to learn. By the way, once someone sees us genuinely hearing them and understanding them, they are far more likely to return the favor and begin listening to you. If you read my bio, you will see that I lead a student ministry in Birmingham. One of the most powerful experiences of my ministry is our annual mission trip to Washington, D.C. Every night, we have team time. This is a time for worship, the study of God’s word, prayer, and testimonies. There is nothing more moving than to hear high school boys open up to one another. The sharing of testimonies empowers these young men to peel back the layers that we, as people, often hide behind. Our guys learn so many lessons through vulnerability.
In recent weeks, I have had some fruitful conversations about what’s happening in our nation regarding racial disparity and what role the church must take to bring about racial reconciliation. I can’t begin to tell you how much I have learned just from listening. If there is one benefit from this pandemic, we’ve all had a moment to slow down and reflect on what we believe. As followers of Christ, we can’t sweep this topic under the rug. We must listen and learn from one another.
3) We Must Lament.
I don’t see America healing from 400 years of racial inequality unless we come to the place where we are truly broken by it. We all grew up studying slavery, the Trail of Tears, and the Holocaust in our history classes, but I don’t think many students grasp the reality of those tragedies. In our heads, we know these events were horrific, but in our hearts, I don’t think many of us felt deeply broken by the atrocities. I am not suggesting that we need to embrace false guilt. However, we may have become a society of desensitized people. In other words, we see tragic events occur, and without even noticing, we tend to dismiss them. I remember one time when a student was trying to convince me that watching violent movies wasn’t a big deal, he said to me, “The violence doesn’t even bother me.”
My response back to him was this. “And that’s the problem.”
It’s easy to dismiss things that don’t impact us personally. Still, as Christians, we are called to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). It isn’t just enough to listen and learn. We must also lament with our brothers and sisters who have felt marginalized. We need to empathize with the pain that they have felt, and we need to fight for lasting change in our nation.
4) We Must Love One Another!
John 13:34 reads, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” The litmus test for how much we love God is measured in the way we treat each other. As churches begin to re-open, my prayer is that we, as Christians, are stepping into our most beautiful moment. The church can’t transform the world’s hearts if we don’t demonstrate how God has changed our hearts. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” My prayer is that the world will see true reconciliation in the church, and their only explanation will be that it must have been God.
5) We Must Lead People to Christ.
The mission of the church has always been about making disciples. Believers must continue to be about sharing Christ. If we are champions of justice, but we don’t marry justice to the gospel, our efforts will be in vain. Luke 15 reminds us that the heart of God is always searching for his lost children. That’s why I believe the church can’t be silent about racial inequities. Those who feel marginalized will never be receptive to Jesus unless they begin seeing the people of God being the most vocal. But it’s important to remember that if our voices only amplify our efforts or the efforts of a cause, we will fail.
Former Georgia Bulldog Ben Watson once said, “Racism is not a skin issue, it’s a sin issue.” Sensitivity training, education, political views, and police reforms can address many of the problems we are facing today, but they won’t have any impact on where we spend eternity. Political solutions can’t solve spiritual problems.
Salvation comes when we transfer our trust to the finished work of Christ. Nothing else. It’s not our good works. It’s not our random acts of kindness. It’s not how many Bible studies we attended, how many philanthropic causes we supported, or how many social justice platforms we spoke out for. It’s Christ and Him alone. Heaven and hell are real, and people end up in one of those two places. That’s why the church must unite because people matter to God.
