As Long as There Is Sin

As long as there is sin, there will be racism.  It does not matter what systems are in place or policies are changed. Racism does not come from government policy. It comes from the hearts of sinful men.

Injustice is everywhere in the world. We here in America do not have ownership of injustice. If you do not believe it, ask the poorest of the poor held in bondage by drug gangs in the favelas of Sao Paulo where innocent people are randomly killed to keep the residents subjected in fear. I know this for a fact; I saw it.

Ask the pre-teenage girls sold into sex slavery in Southeast Asia if there is any injustice there. Ask the 15 and 16-year-old Christian boys in East Africa who watched their younger brothers hacked to death by extremists of another religion if there is injustice there. Ask indigenous peoples around the world who have been driven from their ancestral lands and treated far less than human beings if there is any injustice there.  

Racism is systemic, but its root is not found in political systems. It is systemic in the hearts of mankind everywhere around the world. There is only one remedy for it: a spiritual remedy.

Some years ago, a Hindu man visited a Christian church in Trinidad. While the pastor was speaking, the Hindu man rose from his seat, walked onto the platform, and violently assaulted the pastor before anyone could intervene to restrain him. While he was restrained, that bloodied pastor approached the man who attacked him. Speaking words of love and mercy, he forgave the man and prayed for him. The grace of God flooded the heart of that man. God healed him and saved him that day. That man became the associate pastor and armor bearer to that same pastor in that same church.

That is what my God can do if we allow Jesus the space in our hearts and emotions and pain to invade us with His love and bring healing to our souls. That is the only way to healing. 

Here are some humble suggestions:

Find balance. The Apostle Paul said, “Let your moderation be known to all man” (Philippians 4:5). The word for moderation in the Greek is epieikēs and also means gentleness, patience, and appropriateness. Extremism on any side of any argument, except the argument that Jesus is the only answer, does not benefit anything. Let your gentleness, patience, appropriateness, and moderation be your witness. And don’t forget balanced wisdom, too.

Offer healing to the wounded. There are many. They are all around you. This requires humbling yourself and doing what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:1-5, to prefer your brother and “consider the needs of others as more important than your own.” This is what Jesus did for us, so do it for others.

Pray first and foremost. As the Apostle James said, “The fervent prayers of righteous people accomplish much” (James 4:16). All of the right answers come from prayer and prayerfully applying the Living God’s eternal truth.

Focus on the Only Answer. If you are looking to Make American Great Again or Black Lives Matter or anything else for your security and to advocate for you, you are looking for earthly answers to a problem bigger than this world. Such movements can accomplish important things, but we must remember that the leaders of these and all other human-led movements are sinners just like all of us. Do not allow anything, no matter how good it sounds at the moment, to detract you from the Only One who can truly heal and bring eternal peace to you personally and to our world.

About 2,000 years ago on the Day of Pentecost, people who came together in unity and in prayer were empowered by the Spirit of the Living God to bring healing and salvation to all people from every nation, race, culture and language, and they changed the world. Let me say that again: About 2,000 years ago on the Day of Pentecost, people who came together in unity and in prayer were empowered by the Spirit of the Living God to bring healing and salvation to all people from every nation, race, culture and language, and they changed the world.

They did not wear hats and T-shirts with slogans. They wore the hope and love of Jesus in a world of sin, and they changed the world. 

They did not become involved in political movements and divisive rhetoric. They did nothing for political gain. They did not seek to make a name for themselves. They hid behind the cross, lifting up the name of Jesus above all names, and they changed the world.

They loved equally, served the least of these, brought healing to the wounded, and they changed the world.

Like their great Teacher taught them, they forgave their enemies and prayed for those persecuting them, and they changed the world. 

These are the answers for our world today, rooted in the teachings of our Savior and the example of those who, on the Day of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago, were in one room united in one mind and in one accord, praying and waiting for the promise of God to come. And that day, God changed the history of the world.

We need Jesus now – His love, His lifestyle, His forgiveness, His healing, His power, the example of Who He is walking around through us in this present darkness as the salt and light of the world.

On that Day of Pentecost, God gave His people what they needed to live His way, love His way, forgive His way, serve His way, and change the world.

The same is available to us today.