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I am so saddened. I'm saddened by George Floyd's murder. I'm saddened by the destruction in Minneapolis. I'm saddened (read: maddened) by the suggestion that shooting the looters is the solution.
You guys know that I have a hard rule about staying out of political issues publicly online. But this is not a political issue, even if some leaders have tried to politicize it.
This is a moral issue.
This is a moral issue.
And it's something I view from an uncommon perspective. My dad is a cop. My siblings are black.
I know the fear for my dad's safety caused by the shooting of police after Philando Castile and Alton Sterling's killings. I also know the fear and frustration caused by white moms..
I know the fear for my dad's safety caused by the shooting of police after Philando Castile and Alton Sterling's killings. I also know the fear and frustration caused by white moms..
... at Spring Creek Park in Tomball accusing my brother of trying to break into their cars when he stopped longboarding to change the music on his phone.
Here's the thing: it breaks God's heart when someone is killed senselessly. "Then He said, 'What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!'" Genesis 4:10
It is our responsibility to stand up for the oppressed. "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:17
And there are warnings to those who stand idly by: "Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked." Proverbs 25:26
Honestly, posting online still feels like standing idly by and giving way. But I believe it can make a difference, as long as when we lift our voices we direct them towards our gracious God. After the Israelites were confronted with their sin in Judges 2 it says...
they "lifted up their voices and wept."
God listened.
He is listening now. When we call out, God answers. He answered Jonah: "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice." Jonah 2:2
God listened.
He is listening now. When we call out, God answers. He answered Jonah: "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice." Jonah 2:2
Call out. Cry out. God hears.
These lyrics from one of my favorite songs are echoing in my head today:
These lyrics from one of my favorite songs are echoing in my head today:
“Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”
We live in a broken normal. But there is a better normal coming. As the people of God, let's be evidence of the kingdom to come by crying out against injustice.
