An Open Letter to Christians in the Kaepernick Era

Tricia Timney
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

My Fellow Christians,

We are divided - and ironically, that is the only thing we can agree upon.

As many of you know, Nike released a new ad campaign this week with Kaepernick on the front, which has some fuming.

This rage stems from Kaepernick’s decision to kneel for the National Anthem in 2016, which he explained as a reaction to the injustice surrounding police brutality.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,”

While the backlash from this action confuses me, (when a player is injured on the field, players kneel as a sign of respect. In fact the bible shows us that kneeling is an appropriate action when coming before God — so why is it being interpreted as disrespectful here?) I believe we are losing sight of Jesus through this controversy.

Regardless on your opinion of what kneeling represents, I’m calling out Christians for being more concerned with how football players treat the flag than we are about the prominent loss of life in America.

I recently listened to a podcast from New Life Church in Colorado Springs that discussed how much God loves life. God created life and declared it was good. Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life. He died on the cross for the world to have eternal life. The bible was written for those to have life through Jesus. God cares a whole lot about life — all human life.

Therefore as Christians we should all be upset about the unjust death of POC in our country. We are called to love God and love our neighbors; when we ignore this issue or try to justify these incidents, we are not loving them or bringing glory to their Creator.

We should also be upset about the unjust death of our police officers and military members who die protecting our country. “No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Police brutality is an issue, but it should NEVER be used to portray the idea that all police officers are bad, corrupt, careless, or bias. We are all indebted to them for their continued sacrifice.

Jesus wept when he saw death — and he was the only human to have conquered it. Every death should upset us to the point of kneeling. We should come before God, because if life is good and precious in the eyes of the Lord, then death is the work of the enemy.

My brothers and sisters, we are called to unity (1 Corinthians 1:10). How can we represent Life to the world when we are divided?

Tricia Timney

Written by

Freelance writer, coffee lover, marathon runner, amateur curler, and world traveler, her passion areas include travel, wellness, and higher education.

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