I’ve mostly been fairly silent about current events relating to racism, Black Lives Matter, and the George Floyd protests, partly because talk is cheap. I’ll fight and speak against racism, discrimination, and persecution wherever I personally encounter it, but I don’t think it’s necessary to speak up and say that the George Floyd incident was wrong. Everyone I’ve heard from about the incident, wherever they stand politically, seems to universally agree that this was a horrible and unacceptable event – as they should, because it was.

A couple of friends also wrote things on Facebook which summarize my thoughts eloquently. Jim Lischeske wrote:

To my friends who are returning to work on a Monday morning after a weekend of chaos, consider taking a few minutes to think about your job in the context of racial injustice. Personally and inter-personally. In your group, firm, and industry. With personnel policies, client relationships, and your relationship to the community writ large. What are the ways in which your work can tend to perpetuate injustice? How can your work be redeemed to bring healing instead? This moment isn’t just about police brutality. Nor is it just about riots in our cities. It’s about all of us, about what we do and fail to do every day, and about the systems in which we daily participate, even those of us who consider ourselves bystanders.

And Blaize Stewart wrote:

I’ve struggled to write down my thoughts over the past few days about what is going on in Minnesota. I’d start, stop, then restart, only to stop again. I had to keep asking myself, “What is it that you are trying to say?” But truthfully, what I have to say isn’t important because I’m not the one that needs to be heard. I’m the one that needs to be listening. So, I’m going to put down my proverbial pen. Go ahead. Breathe. Because at the end of the day, all I really want to say is, “I hear you.”

I agree with both of these perspectives. I need to examine my own area and see how I can promote justice and fairness; that’s far more important than speaking out, especially in this time when we’re deluged with tens to hundreds of e-mails and announcements from every organization we can think of denouncing racism.

Public denunciations of racism are easy; it’s helping which is hard

I’ve gotten e-mails and announcements from many businesses and professional organizations denouncing racism, announcing their commitment to equality, etc. People are even going so far as to say that if you don’t publicly denounce it, you’re complicit. I disagree. I saw a meme somewhere which mocked some of the denunciation that’s out there, especially from companies. Along with the meme was the suggestion that, along with their pronouncements, companies should post a photo of their board of directors. I’m confident we have a pretty good idea what that would look like in most cases (a bunch of white men).

In other words, talk is cheap, but a lot of people are talking. People want to get onto the bandwagon so they don’t get accused of being complicit. It’s a lot easier to get on the bandwagon than to figure out how to actually fix systematic problems.

This reminds me of James 2 in the Bible, where James writes:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

A lot of the current public speech against racism reminds me of this – it’s saying “Go, keep warm and well fed,” or in this case “Go, and may you be treated fairly”. I want my actions to speak, rather than my words.

Relatedly, in the Old Testament, God objected to the people’s worship and went so far to say that he found it detestable, because their actions (in oppressing others, taking advantage of them, etc.) were so terrible. Micah 6:7-8 says:

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

For Christians, our faith is tested by the actions which result – as both of these passages indicate. Are we going to “act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with … God”? The real test is not what we say but what we do. Our actions, not our words, show what we really believe. See also Matthew 21:28-32.

So, I’m not saying much; instead, I’m asking what I can do.

Christians need to talk about these issues more

Apparently, Christians find it hard to talk about race issues, as this great article illustrates. A Christian hip-hop artist relates his experiences as a black man in America today, pointing out how even experiences in his youth have left a mark:

It’s about being told to leave the sneaker store as a 12-year-old, because I was taking too long to decide which sneakers I wanted to buy with my birthday money and the white saleswoman assumed I was in the store to steal something.

But he also highlights how difficult it is to talk about his experiences in the church:

It’s about having what feels like genuine fellowship with my white brothers and sisters who share the same Reformed theology—until I mention racism, injustice, or police brutality, at which point I’m looked at skeptically as if I embrace a “social gospel” or am some kind of “liberal” or “social justice warrior.”

There’s real racism and injustice out there (and, perhaps, inside us!), and we need to recognize it, no matter our political stance. We’re making a huge mistake if we throw out concern for the oppressed or marginalized because we might not agree with the politics or actions of those who bring up these issues the most frequently.

Read the whole article.