Where Do We Go From Here? Reflections After The Funeral

Today, Officer Rafael Ramos, slain with his partner Officer Wenjian Liu on December 20th, was laid to rest by his family.  Thousands of police officers from around the country attended.  A nation is mourning.

And hopefully, reflecting.

In the short time that passed between the incidents in Ferguson and NYC, there were different responses from all sorts of people.  Most of them were rash, hurtful, divisive, and came with consequences that, tragically but predictably, will not end with the death of Officers Ramos and Liu.

Scripture tells us that we should expect a lost world to act lost, so I will not talk about the responses of the lost.  What I want to do is ask you to consider some things that may offset what I see as well-meaning but dangerously erroneous responses from Christian leadership.

Almost immediately, Christian pastors, leaders, and para-church organizations were tweeting and posting comments and organizing  conferences to show that they wanted to mourn with those who mourn-appropriate and appreciated efforts to reach out in love.

However, a vast majority of what was said  were comments about “white America” and “black America"- not about sin and holiness. Good and bad.  Right and wrong. 

Any blanket statement about white or black America is itself a racist statement. 

Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying the person who says it is necessarily racist. But the statement most certainly is.  As well-meaning as it may be intended,  such ideologies and comments will do three counter-productive things:

1.     Those who seek to treat all people like they are image bearers of God and have been for years will feel defensive and defeated. They will be thrown into a category simply because of the color of their skin.

2.     It will throw fuel on a fire that may have been started by a few, but will consume an entire nation and her people.

3.  The walls that these ideologies build will not easily be torn down.

Some pastors have taken the opposite approach and have decided to ignore the issue altogether-not even offering up prayers for the slain police officers and their families or prayers for the cities that have been most affected.  They will stay on track with their sermon series regardless if the nation is burning down around them. 

Neither choosing sides nor staying silent is the answer. 

First, I would like to flush out some cultural poison from our vocabulary.  We have no need to classify crimes as “hate” or "racist". Have you ever heard of a crime that was done out of love?  All crimes show that we have failed to uphold at least one if not both of the most important commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  Murder, abuse of power, theft, destruction of property, and assault are all crimes regardless of motivation.

It is a horrible mistake and grossly arrogant to claim to know someone’s motivation for committing an act against another- especially without a trial where both sides are given a chance to speak-let alone in the court of public opinion.

In God’s name, stop it.  

So, what are we to do?

Stop looking to the P.C. police for answers. They do not have them.

Look to Scripture and the history that has proven Scripture’s wisdom.  Here are 3 suggestions:    

1.     Follow Scripture’s overarching message of personal responsibility, holiness, and forgiveness.

The bible does not teach us to look behind to blame, hold grudges, seek revenge or compensation from our enemies for wrong done to us. What Scripture does teach is personal responsibility for how we react to injustice and what kind of response God esteems.  Look to Joseph, Daniel and our Lord for living examples.

2.     Learn what it means to be made in the image of God.  Do not preach race in a context that is not supported in Scripture. 

Take time to find out what it really looks like to believe that all men are created in the image of God - Image bearers of the Creator of the Universe! 

William Wilberforce and Hannah More, abolitionists in late 18th-early 19th century England, took up the noble fight because they understood through Scripture that ALL men are created in the image of God. They won the battle because they influenced people to see themselves united with slaves as brothers and sisters - not by dividing them into "black" and "white."  We would be wise to follow their example.

Teach what it means that ALL of us, in our beautiful, varied colors and traditions, share in the stewardship of the earth and each other, that each of us has innate value and dignity given by God.   Doing so will equip us to really grab hold of what Imago Dei means.  Being doers of this Word, we will see a jaw-dropping decrease in ALL sins against man and God.  Stealing, lying, cheating, physical abuse, drug and substance abuse, abortion, euthanasia, racism, pornography use, sex trafficking, fornication, divorce, poverty, all of it will decrease when we understand how precious each person truly is.   

(A deeper understanding will lead us to re-discover that the treatment for a fallen society is faith, family, community and work.  But that is for another blog.)

3.      Understand there is an enemy crouching at our door. Dividing us is how he will conquer us.

"United we stand, divided we fall" is not some slogan created to by a savvy publicist.  They were the words spoken first by Patrick Henry in his last public speech in March of 1799, two months before he died. 

“Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us righthereafter.  United we stand, divided wefall.  Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”

What was true for the country then, is true now.   Splitting us into white and black factions will destroy us.  As the church, we need to step up to our stewardship responsibilities of caring for our nation

Peter describes the two classifications of humanity: Those who are believers, those who are not.  Those should be our only classifications.  Not for the purpose of dividing, but for the purpose of living the Christian life out. (See 1 Peter 2:6-7)

Here’s an overly simplified explanation for a truth as old as time, but one we may have forgotten: 

One very effective way conquerors would gain/maintain their power over a nation they wanted to rule was by “thinning the warm blood of patriotism."

Divide people by race, ethnicity, religion…anything and everything possible.  They will feel isolated, fearful, defensive, and weak.  Then they’ll need a protector. That’s when totalitarianism/ dictatorships move in for the kill.

It happened each time Israel was conquered, it happened in Rwanda, and Germany.  There may be more examples-I don’t know.  But each of these is enough for me to see a pattern and become terrified that we are on the same path.

The blood of Christ is the greatest unifying agent in the history of all creation. The Church is responsible to steward the message of redemption for all men- there is neither Greek nor Jew nor free man nor slave, but all are equal at the foot of the cross.  We must vigilantly guard this truth and prevent Christ's church from being co-opted by those who seek to undermine all we hold dear. 

The best we can do as the church is encourage each other to lead lives that reflect God's view of humanity and righteousness.  There will never be enough government programs or police officers to maintain peace and order- it is the Church's responsibility to show us God's way for us to learn to regulate and discipline ourselves if we are to maintain our faith, freedoms and our very lives.

Could this be, at least in part, why God holds each and every one of us accountable as individuals for how we live instead of allowing us to place blame for our actions on others or governments?

There is more that could be said, but this is what I see as a firm foundation for a start to real healing.

Before you go, let me share something about John Newton, the writer of the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace," that you may not know. 

You may know that John Newton was once a slave.  Having been in involuntary service in the navy, then given to a slave trader, he became a slave of an African princess who abused him.

Did you also know that he became a captain of a slave ship AFTER his salvation? 

It was only after he was outside of the slave trade that he could truly see it for the evil it was. ¹        

                                      

Once John Newton gained his “sight”, he was instrumental in the abolition of slavery in England. 

Through his writings, sermons, and steadfast friendship, he aided William Wilberforce, Hannah Moore, and others to end the slave trade and begin to restore a whole country to God-fearing, God-honoring morals.

It took decades.

It took whole lives devoted to the Better way.

Read their stories.  

Salvation may come in a moment, but growing into that New Creation takes time.  Lots of time.  We will never get rid of all sin.  Christ is the only One who is able to do that, and He will upon his return.  

Until then, be inspired to change and action, that the truths in Holy Scripture, when believed and practiced by a submissive, holy remnant, can change hearts and minds and whole civilizations.

We have buried too many good men - all of whom were made in the image of God.  May we honor their memory and our Lord by being obedient to His Word and example.

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The following books have greatly deepened my understanding of God and what it means to love your neighbor.  I hope you will read them, too. 

The Image of God, by Glenn Sunshine

Fierce Convictions - The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More: Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist, by Karen Swallow Prior 

Amazing Grace - William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, by Eric Metaxas 

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1 Prior, K. S. (2014). Fierce convictions: The Extraordinary Life of HANNAH MORE: Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (pp. 105-106). Nashville: Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson.