I started this blog to help “put discipleship into practice.” My goal has always been to give practical insight into the Scriptures and tools that you can use that very same day – in your life, your disciples’ lives, or your small groups.
Like many of you, I have been wrestling through what has taken place in the past few weeks in our country. The murders of George Floyd, at the hands of the police, and Ahmaud Arbery, by white men before that, have sparked protests across the country and ignited conversations about racism and justice.
Last week I got a phone call from a college student who was trying to process how he should respond.
He asked, “Blake I don’t know what to do. I hate what happened. But I’m wealthy and white. Am I part of the problem? I don’t think I’m racist. I want to respond well and love people. When we get back to campus what do I do?”
That question raises just about all the issues, doesn’t it?
Racism. White privilege. Police brutality. Justice. Reconciliation. Action.
So, what should we do? How do we help disciple people processing these events?
I told him I want to respond biblically, not politically.
I gave this student 3 responses that I believe are true to Scripture.
It’s the advice I’ve tried to live myself.
1. Empathize in Love
The reason this topic is so heated is that it tries to make sense of so many issues. The temptation is to argue extremes. It’s easy to go lean way right or way left on this issue.
I’ve seen too much of that and it’s not helping the conversation.
Too often it lacks empathy. We can’t pound the drum of truth at the expense of love and weeping with those who weep.
It’d be a lot like my wife suffering through the pain of childbirth and me quoting Genesis 3:16 to remind her it’s just the reality of the curse. I doubt that would help. Instead, I think I’ll hold her hand and try to encourage.
We must avoid harsh caricatures and sweeping generalizations that hurt empathy. I don’t want to group an entire race into one category by saying things like “white people do ___” or “black people feel ___.” Every individual’s experience is different. That’s what makes this so complicated. We can find all kinds of people on different sides.
Andy Stanley called navigating this topic a “minefield.” (I recommend his sermon, by the way). But the truth is often found in the complex; in the messy middle!
When it comes to this issue I want to listen and learn. But I also want to respond. I don’t want to spit out facts. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. I want to gain understanding and empathy while putting discipleship into practice. I want to disciple others in the truth with love.
Biblically the root of all of these conflicts and issues is pretty obvious…we are all sinful.
Racism and prejudice are sin. The Bible uses words like hostility, malice, pride, and slander to describe how we treat others. You see racism in Scripture in the way Jews dealt with Gentiles.
In our country, laws, policies, and racist attitudes have disproportionately affected African Americans and women for hundreds of years. It has been so prevalent for so long that there are structural systems in place that limit, create obstacles, and hurt people. Only a fool would deny this reality. No matter how much better off we are now than we were, there are still lingering effects.
Many people struggle with the concept of systemic racism because they only look at it individually.
I tend to think, “Well I’m not racist and my friends I know aren’t racist, so it doesn’t seem like there is a problem.” I’m trying to learn to see the society from the bigger picture and how people have been affected through things like redlining, predatory lending, education, and the criminal justice system. Articles like Shai Linne’s have been helpful.
Those things are real. It does no good to try to brush those aside with facts and statistics. This has been part of me listening, understanding, and feeling empathy.
2. Examine Yourself
The second response that I believe is biblical is to examine our own hearts. The psalmist prays in Psalm 139:23-24,
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23-24
I don’t want to be made to feel guilty for the color of my skin. Nor should anyone. In this very same psalm, we learn God “knitted us together in our mother’s womb.” All of us are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God. We are to celebrate the way God has made us.
In examining myself I don’t see it as either I’m racist or I’m not racist.
It’s a scale.
The question I need to evaluate is to what extent am I racist? I’m somewhere on the scale! Why? Because I’m sinful. I haven’t loved other people perfectly.
Come on, if I’m honest, I know I’ve allowed the sin of prejudice to affect me. All of us have. We’ve got to admit that! I’m not just talking about all white people. I’m saying, biblically, all of us have failed to live up to the standard of love required.
I’ve had people counter this statement by saying not ALL people struggle with ALL types of sin. For example, not everyone struggles with homosexuality or drunkenness. So, is everyone somewhat racist?
Biblically, I believe the answer is yes. John Piper argues it’s a form of pride, greed, lust, and fear. It’s inherent in our flesh. We don’t love our neighbor perfectly. It’s sin.
The ONLY biblical response to that is to repent.
So, I want to. I want to repent of pride, prejudice, and being fearful of brothers and sisters in Christ I see as different than me.
I want to put on the new self—full of love, compassion, patience, and peace that reflects the unity of God’s people (Colossians 3:11-13).
3. Make Disciples
Lastly, I told this student that, Biblically, Christ has commanded us to keep preaching the gospel and making disciples. The best way we can respond to this moment in our nation’s history is to make disciples (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:18-20).
Ultimately, the gospel of Jesus – that Jesus paid for sins on the cross and rose to new life for us — is the only thing that is going to end racism in human hearts, and impact entire social systems. Darrell B. Harrison and Virgil Walker have a podcast called “Just Thinking” that has been helpful in reminding people of this truth.
We could fight for justice and laws all day long, but, ultimately, if people don’t come to know Christ no amount of changes on the societal level will have any lasting effect. Those are band-aids on cancer. The change has to come inside individual hearts.
The greatest combatant to injustice is the lead people to follow the Savior.
If we all did that in our corner of the world it would make a sweeping difference across the country.
But someone might say, “Blake, Christians have been saying that forever.” George Whitefield is a great example of a pastor who “just” preached the Gospel, and owned slaves. Don’t we need to do more?
Yes. That’s why we need discipleship. We must disciple people to be “anti-racist” the same way we would want them to be anti-abuse, anti-abortion, anti-bullying, anti-sin.
Christ gave us the “new” command in John 13:34-35,
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35
They also may say, “Well, what about abortion? No one says, ‘Just preach the Gospel and make disciples’ in response to that.”
While on the surface that argument sounds good, it isn’t the same thing. The reason should be obvious. A law could stop abortions. There are no laws that can be passed to stop racism.
Should we protest for people who are being wronged? Sure. Absolutely. Christians can and should be passionate about the fair treatment of people the same way we should be passionate about abortion rights.
We must be careful not to get so passionate about human rights that we get less passionate about human salvation.
Let’s lead people to Christ. Let’s disciple them in the compassion and love of Christ. Let’s teach them “here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). Let’s turn people, who would otherwise be racist, into compassionate disciples of Christ.
That would play a huge part in fighting for justice and equality for all people.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE:
- Empathize in Love
- Examine Yourself
- Make Disciples
That’s the biblical, practical response to racism in society. Which do you need to work on this week?
My hope is this post leads all of you to have at least one conversation about this. I don’t want this to be another blog post added to the thousands. My prayer is that it puts discipleship and the love of Christ into practice.
