Jesus Felt the Rage of Racism

Have you ever felt mad?

Have you ever felt mad at somebody else?

Have you ever felt mad at somebody else because they are Black, Asian, Hispanic, or White?

Whether or not we would admit it, I think we all have.  And in light of the recent shooting of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the police officers in Dallas, I think it is evident to anybody who has logged into Facebook and Twitter recently that a lot of racist feelings have been stirred up in a lot of people.

I know I've struggled with such feelings over the years.  Heck, I get those feelings even now.  The 24-hour news cycle practically beats them out of me.

There are few things that pull on our heart strings more than racial strife.  Whether we like it or not, so much of our personal identity is bound up in our racial identity, and it doesn't take much to rattle our cages when it comes to issues surrounding race.

And if we can't admit such honestly to ourselves, either we are one of the most saintly people to ever walk the face of the Earth, or we are lying.  Personally, I don't believe there is a person alive who hasn't felt something of this anger, hate, and rage towards another person because of their race.

Including Jesus.  

Yes, you heard me right, even the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten sinless Son of God, Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, has felt something of this poison that festers in our hearts.

The Bible says:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  ~ (Hebrews 4:14-16, NASB)

There isn't anything you and I have ever felt that Jesus Himself hasn't personally felt and been tempted with.  He is been tempted in "ALL THINGS."  And that includes the anger and feelings of racism that bubble up and overflow in you and I.  Of course, He felt these things and did not sin.  But He felt them just the same.  And Jesus didn't just feel them in some abstract ghostly or theological sense.  He felt them in His own flesh and blood, in the real world.

Racism was a major problem in the times of Christ.   The Jewish people, whom He was a part of, had lived for several hundred years in the land God promised to them, under the military occupation of the Roman Empire.

The Jews of Jesus day deeply resented the Romans, and for many legitimate reasons.  For example, the ancient Jewish historian Josephus tells us that about the times of Christ, in order to make an example to the Jews of the might and power of Rome, and to beat their spirits into submission, over 3,000 Jews were crucified and hung out along a major highway.   Such made them  no friends with any Jews to say the least.  And there is the distinct possibility Jesus might have witnessed this event firsthand.  But if He didn't witness it with His own eyes, it is definitely an event He heard told and retold a thousand times during His life, and would one day experience personally, as Jesus Himself suffered at the hands of police brutality.

And I don't know about you, but if I were a Jew in that day and saw 3,000 of my own people killed in such a way, such an event might make me more than a tad bit racist against Romans... especially officers in the Roman military.

Jesus Christ lived, moved, and breathed in such a culture.  A culture in which there were not only 10,000 stories that circulated about "police brutality" that were absolutely true, but there would have been 10,000 times as many stories that were rumored to be true.  Every individual Jew would have taken all these stories to heart.  And Jesus would've felt what they felt too.

But He remained without sin.

Exactly how He did it, I do not know.  But I do know that the Bible says that He was tempted in all things that we are tempted, and yet He remained without sin.  So that gives me some hope not only for me, but for you too.  And the Scriptures promise us that if we boldly approach His throne of grace, we will find the help we need in the midst of our struggles and strife in everyday life.

I believe in the midst of the racial difficulties we are seeing presently in our nation, right now, more than ever, we need to make sure that we put this passage into actual practice.  We need to draw near to God.  We need to get help from the very One who knows how to help us deal with the problems we are facing, and the feelings that are stirring in our hearts.  I don't know how to deal with those problems, but I know He does.

I know I am in need of much help.  I hope you see yourself in need of the same help too.

Dear Governor Nikki Haley: Take the Confederate Flag Down!

Dear Governor Nikki Haley,

I understand something of the history behind the Confederate flag that is lifted above your state capitol.  There are many people who would like to see that flag continue to fly.  But in light of the tragedy that recently befell the citizens of your state at the historic AME Zion Church in Charleston, there are many more people who would like to see it come down.

I understand that flag is flying by means of state legislation that commands it to be lifted up every single day.  I also understand, we live in a republic, and are a nation of laws.  And, I understand as an elected official, you have sworn to uphold the laws of your state.  But, I also understand that sometimes there are things that are more important than laws.

Drastic times call for drastic measures.  I am calling upon you, as the Governor of the state of South Carolina, to bypass the political and legislative process required by your state, and to physically remove the flag from the capitol of South Carolina yourself.  Order its removal anywhere else it may fly in your state, and dare anybody to put it back up. Such may be illegal for you to do.  But as we have learned in the history of our nation, sometimes civil disobedience is a necessary action required of those who wish to break the chains of injustice.

Don't wait to legislate. Help fight the hate.  Take the rebel flag down.  Nobody in their right mind will oppose you.


God bless,


Jimmy

What Is Racism: Through the Eyes of Dylann Roof

If you were to ask most people what racism is, most people would probably use the adjectives "prejudiced" or "hateful" somewhere in their definition.  Or, in light of the tragedy that happened at the historic AME Zion Church in Charleston this past week, you could probably open a dictionary and find a picture of Dylann Roof.

But what exactly is racism?

In trying to understand what was going through the head of Roof, reporters have discovered a "manifesto" written by this young man.  I find this manifesto interesting, because in it we discover exactly how the seeds of racism developed in Roof, and in seeing how it developed, I believe we can get a better picture of exactly what racism actually is.

I have selected portions of the letter for analysis.

Analyzing the Manifesto

Roof wrote:

"I was not raised in a racist home or environment...

The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words “black on White crime” into Google, and I have never been the same since that day. The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens. There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders. I was in disbelief. At this moment I realized that something was very wrong. How could the news be blowing up the Trayvon Martin case while hundreds of these black on White murders got ignored?

From this point I researched deeper and found out what was happening in Europe. I saw that the same things were happening in England and France, and in all the other Western European countries. Again I found myself in disbelief... 

Niggers are stupid and violent. At the same time they have the capacity to be very slick... 

Segregation was not a bad thing. It was a defensive measure. Segregation did not exist to hold back negroes. It existed to protect us from them. And I mean that in multiple ways. Not only did it protect us from having to interact with them, and from being physically harmed by them, but it protected us from being brought down to their level..."

Roof's manifesto lends proof to the idea that racists aren't born, they are made.  Admittedly, he says he didn't grow up in a racist home or environment.  He wasn't born a racist.  His parents didn't raise him to irrationally hate people of another race.

Rather, we see that his racism was to him a sort of moral philosophy that he discovered after in-depth research and analysis.  He discovered "the truth" in a way that sounds reminiscent of the greatest thinkers and scientists of history.  After hearing all the fall out in the media over the Trayvon Martin trial, Roof became curious over the incident, and started digging around. And, the facts and figures of what he unearthed left him stunned "in disbelief."

Roof wasn't born a racist, rather he believes he saw the proverbial light, and experienced something he likened unto an awakening.  He believes he became enlightened.  In his mind, the facts spoke for themselves, and such required practical actions in light of the reality he discovered.

True Lies

From Roof's writings we discover that his racism wasn't an irrational hatred of black people and other races.  It wasn't an "a priori" knowledge.  It had nothing to do with his upbringing, and everything to do with the truth he discovered by means of in-depth research.  In Roof's mind, his hatred of black people is perfectly rational, and grounded in facts and figures, and supported and confirmed by his own real world personal experiences and observations.

If asked, I believe none of us would admit to hating blacks or any other race of people simply because of who they are.  Rather, like Roof, we would admit that our bias towards others is based on certain facts and observations we have made over the years.

Racism is a belief system that is grounded in what we perceive to be "truth" of what we've extrapolated about other races over the years.  It is the belief that there are certain truths that exist about other races and nationalities, and such truths justify us treating other people groups differently based on the bias we've formed.

Sometimes this bias is positive.  "Italians from New York know what great pizza is!" or "Germans are great engineers, and make the best cars!"   Other times this bias is negative.  "Black people are lazy and have a bad work ethic!"  or "All Arabs are dirty and potential terrorists!"  

BMW and Volkswagen are able to sell a lot of cars as a result of marketing that plays off the positive bias that Americans have towards German made cars.  They are treated as a luxury, and the finest automobiles on the road. Whereas a black family from Georgia might struggle in marketing an Italian restaurant, no matter how "authentic" their pizza is.  One might suggest that they would find more success in opening a soul-food restaurant instead.

But in spite of all these perceptions, we know these things to ultimately be lies.

BMW and Volkswagen make some pretty good cars.  But we also know they make some bad ones.  Likewise, there are Italians from New York who make great pizza, but there are others who should stay very far away from a kitchen.  But regardless of the truth of the matter over such things, the perception still exists, and the perception of the truth is the story that is sold time and time again.  And it is in such stories that racism finds a place to lodge in our hearts.

A Poisoned Pill and the Cure

At the end of the day, racism is built upon a lie masquerading as the truth.  And all lies have their origins in the Devil, whom Jesus calls "The Father of All Lies."  (John 8:44) 

Therefore, if racism has its origins in the demonic, then it is fundamentally a spiritual problem.  And as such, no amount of talking about racism or attempting to craft legislation will ever cure man of the poisoned pill he has taken, and ingested into the depths of his soul.  The only cure can be found in the truth of the Gospel message, wherein the lies of the Devil are crucified upon the cross of Jesus Christ, and exposed to all of the world for what they are.  And it is only in the cross that our hope can hang, for it was on the cross that Jesus reconciled all the races of the world together.

I only wish Dylann Roof would have seen this truth earlier, instead of all the "truth" he found on Google.

It is reported that Roof has said that he almost did not go through with his massacre, because of how nice they were.  For in the hour leading up to the killing, he sat there and listened to these people pray and study the Bible together. And I earnestly believe in that hour he got a heavenly taste of how good the Lord is at AME Zion Church in Charleston.  He almost couldn't imagine killing them as a result.  He became a partaker of heavenly manna.  And like the Hebrews in the wilderness, he simply did not know what it was he was experiencing.

Roof did not know it, but the cross of Jesus Christ was at work in his heart.  God was appealing to him in that hour not to go through with the killing that was in his heart.  The truth of the Gospel was wrestling with the "truth" that was in his heart.  It was attempting to dig out the poisoned root so deeply at lodge within his heart.

Even in this hour, the hope found in the Gospel continues to work in Dylann Roof, as the families of the victims have announced their decision to forgive this young man.  They are forgiving Roof even as Jesus forgave those who crucified Him in their ignorance, the same ignorance that resulted in the death of 9 black men and women in Charleston this past week.

I pray the full work of the cross in felt in the heart of Dylann Roof.  It's his only hope.  And it is our only hope.