On Racial Injustice

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28 NIV

There have been a couple very high-profile cases in which grand juries did not indict police officers related to the deaths of two African American men. I know this is not new news to my readers, but I wanted to briefly offer a reflection.

First, regardless of the evidence in either case, regardless of what happened, it is clear that racism continues  to be a very real and deadly threat in our country.

Second, we as Christians are called to fight against this injustice. The Galatians passage above is a clear demonstration: the distinctions that matter to the world are not to divide the body of Christ. A valid inference is that we as Christians should work against these unjust divisions. Whether it is Jew or Gentile, slave or free, black or white, male or female, or some other form of injustice: we must work at all points to end it.

Third, it is unacceptable to dismiss the concerns of others. Here I reiterate: whatever your view is of the evidence related to Eric Garner or Michael Brown, that does not matter in this context. What I am saying is that when others are expressing concern about racism it is inexcusable to dismiss their concern by saying the evidence in a specific case points against it being a racial incident. We can debate individual cases; what cannot be debated is the fact that racism continues to be a gross cause of injustice in our world. If you don’t believe me, feel free to slog through the comments on web sites about these cases. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Fourth, we should ever be working towards reconciliation. This means that we should seek to understand, offer forgiveness, and work to walk arm-in-arm with our neighbor. This does mean obeying Jesus’ call to love even our enemies. We must constantly strive, pray, and work to end racial injustice in our community and in the systems that exist on higher levels in our spheres of influence.

Fifth, it is not enough to shake our heads and say “What a tragedy” when confronted with racism. When we hear a racist joke; a racist comment; it must immediately be addressed. It is unacceptable. It is unbecoming a Christian. This does not mean we react violently. It does mean that we condemn and actively work against injustice.

Finally, I would note that I am by no means an expert in this area. I simply felt the deep need to comment.

God has given us a higher calling, brothers and sisters. God has given us a higher calling.