Last week, I left you with some questions. I know some of you felt uncomfortable at times, but did you learn something from those feelings? You have had a week to simmer or forget.
This week I am sharing my thoughts to find an answer. Last week I kept both topics jumbled together. To find solutions, we will look at them separately. Last week I spoke of our tendencies to avoid difficult conversations. So let’s start with the one some of you want to avoid.
I have no idea what to call the racial tension we deal with on a daily bases: Social Justice, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Black Movement, Systemic Racism, Structural Racism, Institutional…? Heartsick by the violence generated by protests and watching a war being played out nightly on the news. The violence by the police and rioting demonstrators cancels out the purpose behind the protests. Listen, hear their pain and frustration—friends, how can we turn our back on continuing injustice in our neighborhood?
Citizens, fogged with tear gas and rubber bullets is wrong in my eyes. Fireworks and water bottles hurled at police is wrong too. Yet, it seems to me; no one is taking the time to listen to the other side.
After George Floyd’s murder, peaceful demonstrations generated conversations, and we learned white privilege sheltered our perception. We exposed who essential workers are responding to their Covid needs like PPE’s for sanitation workers. We heard demands for revolving problems in our communities because some regions of town failed to obtain the same social resources as a neighborhood on the other side of the divide.
Imagine feeling like an ant, floating down the river on a leaf, but you are on a raft slowly drifting with the current. You look up at steep walls fading into a pale blue sky. It has taken millions of years to carve the great expanse into jagged pillars, demonstrating the force of nature and God. There are times I feel I am the ant on the leaf looking up to find hope hidden in the universe. The issues, blocking out the pale sky. Overwhelmed by yet another needless killing breaking into the news cycle, I feel stranded in a nation not changing fast enough.
Powerless to alter history, I look forward to the future and cheer for my friends, taking little steps today.
Is there an answer to Social Injustice? Yes, there is. It requires that each of us take responsibility for our actions and inactions, the state of our heart, and the words we speak. We must be bold in situations we never imagine would happen.
Ask for help, then ask the difficult question, “What can I do?”
Listen to the answer with intention. I found my answer in the Bible.
Jesus spoke these words found in Matthew 5:44. I am sharing the Passion Translation with you today.
In verses 46-48, Jesus goes on to say.
God’s Word gives me a guide of where I need to start. Jesus gives me hope; by loving others, I possess the key to obtaining the unity we each desire. No doubt, these instructions are not accessible alone—I believe every Christian must remember we work in partnership with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Alone I am nothing, and I can’t win the battle by myself; multiply that by each one of you, and I find myself on a winning team.
Social injustice has gone on for too long and is also profoundly ingrained; the solution is impossible without God.
Each of us is a part of the solution. We each have a different role to play in the body of Christ. We are the Church, not the building. I know we are on the winning team. Don’t you?
Paul offers this encouragement in Philippians 2:2-3.
"So I'm asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity—with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy. Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don't allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves."
Your first task is to discover what these words mean to you. I am asking you, like Paul, to read them to gain understanding. If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you may be surprised in the treasure before you. Others, who don’t know God and still reading, I am grateful.
The NBA player’s protest against the shooting of Jacob Blake and racial injustice drew many complaints, but it served to give us time to pause and reflect. I am proud of these men and teams standing together to make a statement—the power of peaceful protest displayed for a divided nation.
Covid-19 stopped basketball first and changed our everyday lifestyle. The rush to reopen the economy changed lifestyle again, as did summer holidays and vacations. Now, schools are reopening, the normal cycle of change starting a new school year complicated with masks, social distancing, and hand sanitizer plus full to part-time virtual learning.
Parents working from home learn to juggle child supervision with zoom calls. Essential worker parents find alternatives or family to fill in the gaps. High School football games played Friday night.
Case numbers are increasing along with deaths, and the seven-day rolling average maintains steady at a higher range. We are learning to live with this unseen enemy, like it or not. My social calendar is empty. I haven’t seen friends in months or visited with neighbors at Happy Hour, or attended Church since the middle of January. These are the two activities I miss the most. I realized that many of you have adapted to living with Covid out in the world.
85% of you wear your masks and keep your distance. I hope you are also washing your hands! There are some, even with mandates to wear masks in public. Don’t. On the news, I hear comments like:
“I’m not afraid.”
“If I get it, I get it.”
“I have the right not to.”
REALLY?
The danger with Covid-19 is many in the 18-35-year-old age group don’t have any symptoms. Spreaders of a deadly virus they can’t see. That’s why I only go to the doctor’s office, wear a mask. The chance I could be infected is too great. The mask will only offer me a little protection, but I honor my community by wearing one.
Loving others as Jesus loves us. 1 John 4:11 says it best:
“Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then “loving one another” should be our way of life!”
I know I have said it before, and I will keep saying it. Love is the answer.
