Responding Biblically to Injustice
In recent weeks, we have seen several tragedies that are not new in our country’s scene. The deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, along with the attempted weaponization of the police towards Christian Cooper.
One thing that I do not want to be lost on us as a church is that, even though the Bible may not speak specifically to a situation, it does give us a worldview to look through and apply biblical wisdom to in all situations. Truth is, though, the Bible speaks directly to the idea of justice, and often.
George Floyd (the most recent and tragic example) died while being restrained for arrest. The question should not be, “Was he resisting” or “What did he do to get arrested?” Because whatever the answer is to both of those questions, everyone (even the police force) 100% agrees that what he was doing did not deserve death. If he did do anything wrong, it should have been handled in the courtroom with a jury and judge, not on the pavement.
We Must Protect The Sanctity of Life
Scripture is boundless when it comes to protecting life and the value God places on each one of our lives individually. From the womb (Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5), to children (Mark 9:42), to adults (Luke 12:7), God deeply cares for us and deeply values us. Pro-life is not just about caring for the unborn. It is about caring for human life, from its very inception to its end. The unjust, premature loss of life should, as Christians, hurt us all. Do not let it be filtered by a political belief before it is filtered by our biblical belief. Your political belief may make you more ok with an unborn life lost or an adult life lost. Don’t let that be the case — we are citizens of God’s kingdom first with His given biblical worldview before we are a part of any political party or culture.
God Hates Systemic Injustice
Systemic injustice, where a nation’s system and laws disproportionately hurt a group of people, is real. God HATES this. All of the prophets in the Old Testament are rife with decrees about what will happen to nations that uphold this type of inequity. Consider Isaiah 10: 1–2:
1 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
This is also seen in the New Testament. Consider James 5:1–5. You cannot get a stronger condemnation than this. We must accept that unjust systems exist in any man-made society and that God hates them — just as James did — just as we should.
How Can We Respond?
There are two places we can draw from to see appropriate responses to injustice. First is Scripture; the second is Christian historical examples. In America, two great historical examples that had deep Christian roots were the Women’s Suffrage Movement (Christian women led the way for women’s voting rights) and the Civil Rights Movement through MLK. Here are some ways forward:
1. Prayer
Unfortunately, prayer has been mocked as a response to injustice as of late. I believe it is because most people don’t pray when they say they will and many will only pray but cower away from action. In the popular verse 2 Chronicles 7:14, people are not only called to pray for healing but also for repentance.
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
We must pray as a nation but also collectively ‘turn from our wicked ways’ of injustice. Still, we cannot underestimate the power of prayer as the first step. It is the thing that will humble our hearts enough to turn away from our sinful ways. Pray for the families affected by these unjust acts, that the Lord would comfort them. Pray for those called to enforce our laws, that God would grant them wisdom. Pray for our nation, that we would repent of our inequity.
The next step is action. Below are some action steps we can take after prayer.
2. Speaking Out for Others
In Scripture, there is an interesting thought around protest. Protest is something we are told to never do on our own behalf as a Christian people and individuals (1 Peter 2:13–25, James 5:7–12, Matt. 27:11–14). Yet, we see in Scripture, God sends others to speak out on others’ behalf when injustice is done (2 Samuel 12:1–15, Isaiah 1:17). We should speak out! Today, that may look like calling a politician, sharing a post, participating in a non-violent protest, or directly speaking against unjust power.
3. Our Personal Responsibility for Justice
Scripture is also clear that Christians have a personal responsibility to practice justice in all we do (Micah 6:8, Luke 11:42, Psalm 82:3). In America, I believe this means a unique duty for how we vote. We, as a people, are responsible for the people we elect. Read politicians’ policies. Judge whether they help or hurt the vulnerable among us. No politician will be 100% right, and no party holds a monopoly on biblical principles. We will need to use godly wisdom to vote with our biblical conscience. It won’t be easy to make decisions. Make them prayerfully, since we as a nation will be held responsible for who we elect, whether we did or did not vote. Corporate responsibility for sin is a large theme in Scripture.
4. Participate in God’s Mission
One of the first things Jesus preaches in the Gospel of Luke is a quote from Isaiah, that He came “to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:16–30). One of the beautiful parts of the Good News is the inauguration of the Kingdom of God that will end oppression, captivity, and blindness. Before Jesus ascends into Heaven, He gives us one command: Go bring the kingdom of God everywhere you’re spreading the Good News! The ultimate salvation from all injustice and oppression will be had at the hands of a new King and His kingdom that will eradicate all oppressive systems and sinful captivity. Don’t minimize your role in bringing that about. Jesus left it in our hands to be His mouthpiece.
5. Do Not Hate
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave very clear instructions on how to respond to people who do harm against you or give you a reason to hate them. Show love. Show love in ALL instances, no matter how painful. And when Jesus says this, He even specifically mentions the unjust (Matthew 5:38–48). MLK put it this way: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Many are calling to hate the police, hate the other, hate the man who put his knee on George Floyd’s neck. We may feel justified to hate, and by every worldly standard, we are, but thank you Lord we do not follow worldly standards that have perpetrated these cycles of injustice since Cain killed Abel. We are given a new way that will not only break the cycle but will ruthlessly eliminate it. Loving your enemy will be one of the greatest actions we can do to share the Good News and bring God’s kingdom.
Lamenting Injustice
Racial injustice, as a pastor, causes me to have deep anger, sorrow, and despair. To see injustice play out against so many people I love hurts on a very personal level. Scripture does not say, suck it up and keep moving. It gives us room to process pain, especially pain caused from injustice. In Psalm 10 we are given a roadmap for how to lament in three movements. First, verbally process the grief. Second, bring it to the Lord in prayer. And third, remember who sits on the throne. As the Church, we can do this together, and as individuals, we can come before God with our raw thoughts and emotions. He not only can handle it, but He also welcomes it.
Judgement Will Come
Whether in this life or the next, judgment will come. We can be sure of that. It is promised over and over again. To bring back the Scripture from James 5, remember this:
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (James 5:4–5)
The very things that the oppressors have used their power to gain will be the very things that testify against them in the day of judgment. They will not escape. The unfortunate truth is, here on Earth, many have gotten away with injustice, and many still will. The truth we can rest in, though, is that all will stand to account before the Judge, and on that day, they will not escape His wrath.
