The terrible circumstances of George Floyd’s death last week in Minneapolis while in police custody, along with the accompanying multi-city protests and riots of the last few days and nights, leaves many more questions than answers.
Progress in the area of race relations all too often seems painfully slow.
How can we move forward – boldly, swiftly and thoughtfully, helping the disenfranchised remain both hopeful and encouraged?
We look at the headlines and the images on television and the internet and have to think, surely there is a better way.
Is it possible to address decades, even centuries, of racial unfairness and inequality and do so in a manner that champions the dignity of all people and advances the cause of justice?
As activists march and law enforcement officials strain to keep the peace, politicians regularly try to address it with speeches and even well-intentioned legislation.
Some agitators, never wanting to let a crisis go to waste, sow mayhem with lawlessness and violence, even addressing death with more death and destruction.
It’s illogical and wicked. Answering evil with more evil creates a downward spiral.
“Do not be overcome by evil,” wrote the apostle Paul, “but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
Only in Jesus Christ are solutions to our current problems found. In this current crisis, Christ is the answer.
As I look back in my own life and then review the sweep of history and the many overwhelming challenges that our nation and our world have encountered, it’s only in Him that true peace is found.
Christ helps us bear one another’s burdens, directing us to seek justice and address one of the leading causes of the anarchy and evil – the overwhelming impact of family breakdown and the absence of role models.
Too many of today’s young men and women are lost, unsure of what to do and how to act because there is nobody at home showing them the way.
The current crisis cries out for both spiritual revival and a renewal of the family and the critical role it plays in the community.
Throughout its history, America has been known for rewarding wise and diligent actions, like completing school, getting married – and having children – in that order. It’s called the “success sequence” and it works very well.
It’s not an arbitrary tradition – it’s a reflection of God’s recommendations.
Because of sin and a broken world, there are no guarantees that following God’s ways will result in a pain free life. It never happens, actually. But the probability increases exponentially that things will go better if you do – and all of society benefits along with you.
We mourn and grieve the death of George Floyd and our hearts break as we watch pockets of culture roil and rage in senseless violence.
Let us move forward with the Good News of Jesus Christ on our lips and in our hearts, serving as part of the solution to our current crisis.
Sign up for the weekly e-newsletter
Leave a Reply