I read the response from a dear friend’s daughter to the killing of a black man by a white Policeman with disappointment. She said she wished someone hadn’t led her to believe this (US) was such a great country. She said in many ways it is worse than the third world country she came from. I know it was an emotional response to a horrible event, but her broad criticism of the country which had welcomed her with a college scholarship, rubbed me the wrong way. Our country isn’t perfect by far, but she has done little more than receive from this country. Now would be a great time for Christians to choose their words wisely.
Another young lady had a different response. She is a little older and works at a Christian Camp. With a Nigerian father and a Russian mother, she experienced racism first hand while living in Moscow and other places. Moscow is well known for racial violence against non-whites and we saw members of our Church suffer from that violence. I saw a Facebook post that showed some frustration at the incident, and I commented that she should be careful not to join the haters. I scrolled down a little farther and saw another post where she was calling for prayer to get the Police saved and against violence. Way to go Flora, your Christianity is showing!
But shouldn’t we be outraged about a white Policeman killing that black man? We should be outraged at anyone killing anyone, but the Bible tells us to “Be ye angry, and sin not” (Eph 4:26 KJV). Sadly there are groups out there who fan the flames to stir up anger and hatred for their cause. They don’t care about the dead man, but have other agendas.
Then there are those who profit from hatred. Did the people stealing from businesses do it for the man who died? Did destroying neighborhood shops help in any way? They fed the racist stereotypes and hurt the honest people of their community. Most importantly, they distracted from the original injustice and the chance to make a change. The criminals provoked a Police response, which led to more anger, hatred and death.
Fortunately there were some who found a better way. I saw pictures of Policemen praying with and hugging protestors. Some protestors even protected a Policeman who was cut off from his fellow officers. In one place a group of Christians came out to “confront” a group of protestors with love. But what is that going to change? It might change some hearts and lives and lead them to or back to JESUS! JESUS doesn’t choose sides, He loves everyone.
GOD showed us the way when He “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). JESUS showed us the way when He said “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 KJV) as he hung on the cross. He suffered injustice, but returned love, even to those who crucified Him. What a different story this would have been if someone had witnessed to the Policeman and he had accepted GOD’s love and had shown mercy to George Floyd.
Wayne Lance (2020)