I don’t like it when my friends fight. When I was in first grade, my kindergarten best friend Nichole and my first grade best friend Danielle got into a fight. Nichole and Danielle both wanted to be my best friend, but they couldn’t stand each other. So they started playing tug-o-war…with my arms! These girls had so much angst toward each other that they were literally pulling me in opposite directions. (To this day, I don’t know where our teacher was while it was happening…)
It’s a funny memory now, but I can still remember the knot in my stomach that day. And that’s how I’ve been feeling lately: like my friends are fighting and I’m being pulled in two. There’s been so much going on in the U.S. lately that I’ve felt overwhelmed. I’ve cried myself to sleep a few times. My body has shown signs of prolonged stress. I know I can't “fix it” or have all the answers, but I’ve felt so paralyzed by all the issues buzzing and multiplying that at times I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel or do or say.
My heart’s been especially broken for two reasons. The first is the number of Christians I see who are dispassionate about racism still existing. Some Christians seem to find it easy to ignore racism or have a somewhat laidback attitude toward it. I’ve been shocked at the lack of compassion I’ve seen in some of my fellow Christians—at how some are more willing to criticize BLM than to have a conversation about racism.
I’ve seen some Christians react by thinking they have to water down what they say (e.g. “I hope this doesn’t offend anybody/“I’m not being racist, but…”/“Everyone is so easily offended these days…”). This may seem like a valid attitude, but I disagree. This attitude paints those speaking out against racism as “the other” and as wrong. It provides a way out and an excuse for Christians not to actively stand up to the issue of racism.
I’ve also seen many Christians interpreting the current anger about racism as an overreaction, decrying and denying that racism is still a systemic, widespread problem. One common way I’ve seen it is in blanketing. I’ve seen many dismiss anti-racist activism based on flaws in said activists. They may reject the cries of racial injustice because they disagree with one event that took place or an ideology that some activists hold. By conflating all anti-racism activism with an organization, an idea, or a riot that they disagree with, they conclude that those speaking out against racism have no credibility and that taking action against racism is not a responsibility of the Church.
In a passionate effort to remove ourselves from any malignant association, we have exerted a disproportionate amount of energy in the wrong place. Instead of making it clear that the church offers Jesus’s compassion and healing to a broken and sinful and sometimes very racist world, we have made it VERY clear that the church is anti-BLM because that is a bad organization.
This makes my heart sad, because, as the followers of Jesus, I believe we should be leading with exemplary compassion—before politics, before presidents, before parties. It does not go against scripture or any of Jesus’s teachings to feel compassion for the black community during this time and act on that compassion.
I’m not naive. I’m well aware that there are other agendas out there being thrown in with anti-racism. But do compassion, empathy, and listening to a hurting group of people translate to complete agreement? I say no. Many people disagree with some things Trump has done or said, but they approve of other things he’s done. So they support him. We’ve each been given our own discernment, and we must use it. I simply refuse to believe that my discernment must nullify my compassion.
Since this one’s for the Christians, let me give you an example from the Bible. John 11:35 is famous as the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” In this passage, Jesus was met by Mary and Martha, whose brother had died four days earlier. They were devastated; they were grieving. They had no idea that Jesus was about to bring their brother back to life. But Jesus knew. He knew they were going to be ok. He knew that, in a way, they were getting more upset than they “needed” to. And yet, he didn’t meet their pain with a pithy response or a rebuke. He cried. He saw Mary and Martha as dear friends. He loved them so deeply that he felt their pain like it was his pain, and he cried with them. My heart longs to see a little more mourning with those who mourn over racism during this time and having our hearts broken by what breaks our brothers’ and sisters’ hearts.
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