 Recently, I found myself in a situation where I was frustrated over the horrible circumstances we now are experiencing together as a nation. I struggled because I wanted to make points in contradiction to what I thought were statements that were trying to paint me as a racist. After the incident was over - and it was not all that pleasant - I saw the problem we all face as we hear varying accounts - hear varying news reports (usually from one extreme or the other) - and face the battle over how we will think of things and respond to them.
When I got home that evening, I fired up my computer and decided to reread "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wanted to read it because I knew it was addressed primarily to the religious clergy of the Birmingham area. As I read this wonderful letter again, I was reminded of the terrible plight of blacks in America - even after a Civil Was that supposed gave them their freedom from slavery - even after legislation was passed that sought to undo the unjust segregation and injustice that was still rampant 100 years after the Civil War. Particularly painful was rereading sections of Dr. King Jr's letter where he described the "degenerating sense of nobodiness" that began to cloud the mind of his 5 year old daughter - and that settled in like a infectious fog on the generations of black men and women who lived through the injustices of many generations. Please read these words that I am about to quote - because I think it may be helpful to those of us who have not had to deal with systemic prejudice and racism. "I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” men and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger” and your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”;—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience." (King, Dr. Martin Luther, "Letter from Birmingham Jail") Re-reading this letter was so helpful for me - in trying to begin to get a handle on just how difficult it has been - and in many ways still is - to battle injustice and feel like an entire system is against you. I have to admit that I don't know this - although there is a very real time when any Christian who believes and sets their standards by the Scriptures in regard to morality will face this kind of situation in our nation. I also must admit that neither do I fully grasp what it is like to be a police officer seeking to do the right thing - and facing a growing distrust and opposition. Guess you would like for me to get to the point of all this. Honestly, I am not sure yet of my point, except to say that I need to spend more time understanding others and hearing what they have to say. I need to not have my own knee-jerk reactions to things that frustrate me. Dr. King Jr. spoke of how the non-violence leadership he gave required those involved to do engage in a four-part preparation. I quote Dr. King Jr. again, "In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: (1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; (2) negotiation; (3) self-purification; and (4) direct action." (King, Dr. Martin Luther, "Letter from Birmingham Jail") When I read this, I had to admit that I've not gone through these wise steps as I've encountered the difficult days which we've faced over the past couple of years. I realize that I need to do a better job of collecting facts about things - and not just reading one short article or listening/watching my favorite version of the news. I need to be better at negotiating - which I've come to realize means "listening" to those who are different than me. I need to do a much better job of "self-purification" so that my heart is brought into agreement with the heart of God and with the Prince of peace, Jesus Christ - rather than just quickly reacting to what I don't like about what I am hearing. And then finally - I need to do a far better job of hearing God about where I need to engage in direct action in seeking to be a peace-maker in a world that is increasingly being set on fire by words spoken too quickly and too harshly. The point I do want to make is this - too often I - and I hope I can say we without sounding too sanctimonious - have spoken in terms of "us vs. them" in what I've said in response to situations, laws, and court decisions over the past decade. It is still my desire to speak the truth in love (and by truth I refer to God's Word and a Biblical worldview). It is still my desire to keep the main thing the main thing (which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it speaks to the ultimate issue of mankind's sin against God - a problem that affects every person alive on earth). But I would like to remember one last statement of Dr. King Jr. as I do these things. "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty." (King, Dr. Martin Luther, "Letter from Birmingham Jail") May God give us both wisdom and grace as we pursue such things and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which promises to make both sides in every issue into one new man in Christ Jesus - the only real hope against racism in ours or any other society.
0 Comments
 Recently I’ve read a number of articles about the situation surrounding the flying of the Confederate flag (actually it is the battle flag of Northern Virginia) on a public building in South Carolina. This has been an issue for years with groups who oppose it on the grounds that it represents racism – and those who support it based on their heritage. Please understand that I know that even that sentence is a gross simplification of a battle that has raged for years. While reading these articles I’ve noticed very strong feelings on both sides of the issue – and in a way where I see how both views have those sympathetic and those opposed to their rhetoric. With a sense of the fear of God, I want to weigh in on the issue from the standpoint of a pastor who is seeking to recognize the Lordship of Christ over my life – and a call to radically follow Jesus Christ.
First of all I would like to address the whole concept of “flags” and what they are meant to represent. Flags are meant to be symbols to identify someone or something – and are often used to rally people together in support of what they symbolize. Because they are symbols meant to rally support they tend to engender strong feelings as we see them. I was reared by parents, and a society, that had great respect and honor toward the flag of the United States of America. I pledged allegiance to that flag every day I went to school at least through the eighth grade. I was also taught what that pledge meant. It meant that I supported the “republic for which it stands.” This meant that when I saw that flag it reminded me of the Constitution which established a Republic. It reminded me of a system of checks and balances intended to protect freedom. It also reminded me one of the greatest threats to that freedom was government itself. I was taught that any evolution of government that began to ignore those principles was going to eventually be a threat to the freedom they represented. It also reminded me that our nation openly believed in God, stood for liberty, and justice for all the people. Being a student of history I openly admit that this pledge is a goal – not a reality. The things pledged were meant to be ideals we sought to live out in our daily lives. Our history reveals that sin and selfishness have tarnished these ideals. Our treatment of Native Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans during WWII, and a host of other sins against each other are well documented. The most egregious of these sins is against the unborn. By saying this I am not trying to downplay other national sins, but one would have to admit that we have no other holocaust like the one perpetrated against unborn babies legally killed in the United States of America. That number is now over 20,000,000 – which is beginning to dwarf even the holocaust in Germany. You may be wondering why I am going into all this. It is because there are enough issues out there for me to be offended with the flag of the United States of America – as well as just about any other flag that exists. Take the “Christian flag” for example. At VBS we pledge allegiance to it as a symbol of our Savior, His kingdom, our shared brotherhood in Him as we serve and love Him. But flags similar to this were flown during the Crusades, which is one of the darkest moments in Christian history. I believe the actions taken during that time were under men who were probably not even regenerate, but Christianity in general has received a serious black eye because of those sinful actions. I could be so offended by those actions that I refuse to even fly a Christian flag. How do we deal with symbols like flags? If we choose some aspect of selective outrage over the sinful moments of what they symbolize – we won’t have any flags ever. Another option is that we will spend the majority of our time debating which flag is more sinful than the other. As I read a few articles about all this (along with comments made on them) I noticed that it is almost as if we are arguing who should loathe themselves the most over which flag they support or reject. I also noticed in the comment sections that things usually move from thoughtful comments to vitriolic, angry barbs seeking to one-up each other. The first flag ever flown was not even a flag – it was a tower. That tower was an attempt to gather people under a symbol – and to foster a sense of pride in who they were. Unfortunately for them, that symbol was one that sought to bring them together out from under God. Their cry was, “ . . . let us make a name for ourselves,” as they built a tower reaching into heaven itself. God saw the power that such symbols have – as well as their ability to gather people together so that they could make much of themselves, much of their views and ideals, and much of their group. That is where the Lord confused the languages so that men could no longer gather in this way – until the end. Interesting that when they do in Revelation, they gather under a symbol so that they can rebel against God and His sovereignty. By the way, it doesn’t end well for them either in Genesis or Revelation. Flags and symbols have always been used to gather people together for a cause or an identity. It was under a Nazi flag that many of the German people gathered together to advance their nationality – and a set of ideals that led to horrific acts and eventually genocide. A majority of people sees that flag, and the swastika on it, and reacts in horror over what was done under that symbol. But before we get too exercised about those acts, remember that since 1973 our nation, not under a flag used during the Confederacy, but under the flag of the United States of America, have now killed over 20,000,00 innocent babies in the womb. Under our flag – and with the full agreement and blessing of our current government – we’ve allowed full term babies to be partially delivered and then executed in the most horrific way – and that without anesthetic. Those who do this and support it don’t even recognize a baby as 3/5 human, which is even less than our government did under ungodly laws prior to the Civil War. Mankind has done unspeakable things when gathered under a symbol of their unity in “making a name for themselves,” as they reject God and live according to their own fallen, sinful direction. As those saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ our loyalties are always to be subject to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our first and foremost desire is not to make a name for ourselves, but rather to magnify and exalt Jesus Christ. We are to do so not under men, but under the Word of God. Anything done by men in leadership is done recognizing God’s Word as the ultimate authority in the Church. Remember, men led others into the error of the Crusades because they lifted a man (at that time the Pope) above the Scriptures, so that what he said was more authoritative than the Scriptures. We gather, not under a flag or any other symbol. We gather under Jesus Christ Himself for the glory of God and the advance of the message of the Gospel. We enter into dangerous territory when we begin to equate that with any other symbol – and begin to gather under that symbol rather than under Him. It is not wise to mix any form of national, racial, or religious pride (i.e. denominationalism) with Christ. What you come out with is a form of idolatry. Our loyalty and submission to God through Jesus Christ should infinitely dwarf any other loyalty in our lives. When it does it will lead us into a place where we will try to mix these things with Jesus – making Jesus subservient to our other loyalties. Jesus is Lord and will not be an errand boy for a nation, race, or religious group. We are to live under Him – with all our allegiance to Him – and with our ideals firmly founded upon His Word as we not only hear it, but do it as well. So, where do I stand on the controversy in South Carolina? If I were to argue that on the basis of making a name for myself, it would involve multiple things like a desire not to offend my precious bothers in Christ who are black, the first amendment right of free speech, a desire not to be identified as supporting slavery or racism, my southern heritage given me by my parents, an offense against those who used such symbols as a rallying cry to oppose civil rights, a desire to have nothing that would cause people to be offended with the gospel I preach (except the gospel itself) and a host of other thoughts that would argue back and forth – even in my own head. But - my desire is to make much of Jesus Christ. I want to glorify God as I seek to live out my faith in Jesus Christ – and proclaim the gospel as the only remedy for sin. Because of this I may listen – and even have strong feelings rise within me as I do. But I choose to turn the conversation to things that will make much of Jesus. I do this because my loyalty is not to a flag used by the Confederacy, by the United States, or even to the one used by the church. All of these flags and symbols have opportunity for offense – and to give unquestioned allegiance to them will lead to idolatry in the end. One of the facts of life since Genesis 3 and the fall is that you cannot live your life without offending someone - eventually. I don’t want to offend people – but if I do – may it be because of my identification with Jesus Christ and the gospel – not because of what flag I do or do not want flown over a government building in South Carolina. NOTE: The real issue in South Carolina is that a precious group of our brethren in Christ, who are black, were attacked and killed inside their church by one man who is by his own statements a racist. Maybe our focus should be more on comforting them in their loss, rather than turning this into a political issue where their pain is beginning to be forgotten. In Christ we are not Jew, Greek, barbarian, slave, free, black, white, or any other way of “making a name for ourselves.” Christ is all and is in all. He took ALL of us with our previous nametags, whatever they are, and made us into one new man in Him. If you want to know what will truly solve racism, it is the gospel and the transformation of our lives when we come to know Jesus Christ and find our true identity in Him. |
 What is the Prophecy/News Update?At Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro, we believe that history is moving toward fulfilling God's plans and purposes. In an effort to help us be prepared for His appearing - and also to chronicle news items you just won't see in the national media - this page is devoted to sharing those items and their possible significance to 
Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend.
Thank you!  Archives
July 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed