Social Justice & Racial Equality According to the Gospel By: Nicole Webb

To say there's a lot going on right now is an understatement to say the least.

Our country is literally in the middle of two pandemics–one a health crisis killing people every single day, another a humanity crisis caused by a system that's set up a race of people to die from the other pandemic, in addition to other epidemics, at an astronomically faster rate than any other race.

I want to be clear: every life lost matters–every life matters. But it is evident that the value and worthiness of BLACK lives does not seem to matter right now.

Our nation is on the brink of a civil war to meet the demands and responsibilities of social justice and racial equality. While the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks are serving as the catalyst of a movement, it's really the 400+ years our country has ran from these demands and responsibilities that has led us here to this moment. This moment where "with liberty and justice for all" are not words mouthed as a part of an oath that never intends on protecting the lives of BLACK people, but are drenched now more than ever in innocent bloodshed by BLACK lives now calling on this country to affirm that their lives matter, and that they too are worthy of a life of liberty and justice.

Today, I want us to unpack social justice and racial equality, and the threat that racism poses to them, through the lens of the Gospel.

Let's start with the basics: Genesis 1:26-27 makes it very clear that when GOD made all of mankind, He made us all in His image–ALL. That means every color–black, white, red, purple, blue, yellow, allllll of ROYGBIV was made in the image of GOD.

But since the fall of man and sin entering into the world (Genesis 3:1-24), our understanding of our makeup has been distorted, as well as our lens on the makeup of others. The fall of man broke our alignment with GOD; it tainted our vision to see the truth, furthermore the truth about who we and others really are–children of the Most High GOD.

So, what happens when our lens is distorted? What happens when the image we see is not the image that was created? What happens when we don’t see the truth about who we really are–let alone others?

Plain and simple: there begins a battle between our insecurities and our ego, and that battle can oftentimes lead to our need to feel affirmed–which can birth a lust to feel superior over another person. And eventually, that’s where we end up getting all these caste systems defined by “isms” like racism.

So, what exactly is “racism?”

Racism is a “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” Basically, racism really comes from one’s own need to feel “superior” over another human being’s race.

So, why do people feel the need to be superior over another person?

So glad you asked, friend! Insecurity.

Insecurity is “a lack of confidence or assurance in oneself “ or a feeling of unworthiness...which translates to a feeling of inferiority.

As crazy as it sounds (which it’s not that crazy in fact), the root of racism (and any other “isms” that people use to justify their ridiculous ideologies to bestow the label of  “other” onto people) is not an actual sense of superiority, but rather a heightened feeling of inferiority presenting itself through a false sense of confidence or false sense worthiness.

In other words, RACISM IS ROOTED IN INSECURITY!

How do you know that?

Well, The Gospel shows us a prime example of that. Majority of the Gospel depicts Jesus going against the customs of the Pharisees to minister to the people that these religious leaders had looked down upon. The boldness of Jesus to go against custom and religion in order to seek out compassion and relationship stirred up the Pharisees because they needed to feel superior over the people–in order to affirm their sense of power. But here comes this man claiming to be the Messiah–going about healing people thought to be sinners (John 9:1-12), preaching in small towns (Mark 2:13-17), touching the unclean (Luke 8:43-48)–threatening the system. Jesus threatened the system of oppression that was disenfranchising the very people the Pharisees were supposed to be leading and serving, yet they were making money off of them.

In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus walks into the temple and He witnesses business transactions taking place in the holy temple with the awareness of the chief priests. This upsets Jesus because not only is the temple supposed to be kept holy, but the temple was supposed to be a place of healing. These religious leaders were clutching their pearls over the fact that Jesus was out here healing people on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6), yet they were gambling in the Lord’s house!

Blasphemy!

Eventually, He was so ticked off at them jawns that He flipped some tables on them...literally (Matthew 21:12) in the name of social justice.

What does this have to do with social justice?

The act of Jesus flipping tables might not literally have anything to do with social justice, but figuratively it does. Jesus was seeing injustice all around Him; He was seeing sick, hurt, and broken people who depended on these religious leaders to not only lead their religion, but their society as well. Yet, these same leaders wanted nothing to do with the people they were supposed to be serving; they only cared to make profit off of them. The Pharisees were benefiting off of the systemic oppression of their followers in the name of religion.

So when the Pharisees called out Jesus for going against the custom of resting on the Sabbath, Jesus fired back and asked, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” And He proceeded to heal a man with a shriveled hand (Mark 3:1-6).

Perhaps one of my favorite passages of the Gospel is when Jesus continues to display His willingness to go against the Pharisees’ “customs” (READ: insecurities)–and touch those who are deemed “unclean”–is the story of the woman at the well (John 4:4-26).

Jesus was just about sick and tired of being sick and tired of the Pharisees telling Him what to do, who He could heal, and when He could heal them. While on His way to A-Town stomp out of Judea and Cha-Cha slide back to Galilee, He stopped at a well in Samaria where He met a Samaritan woman. Upon meeting her, Jesus asked her for a drink.

Now if you know anything about the Jews and the Samaritans at this time, you know they didn’t get along...at all. Think of the Jews as Pusha T and the Samaritans as Drake; you don’t want them to ever be in the same room. Due to their differences in race and their own religious prejudices, the Jews were not trying to two-step with the Samaritans, let alone ask them for anything. Yet, Jesus–a whole entire Jew–asked this Samaritan woman for a drink.

So, what? What does this have to do with racial equality?

It has everything to do with it. A Jewish man was bold enough to take the first step and pursue a Samaritan woman for no other reason than seeing her worthy of being treated like a human being (John 4:13-14). It wasn’t a matter of Jew asking a Samaritan for a drink; but instead a matter of a Jew seeing a Samaritan as enough–as significant and of value. Jesus saw the image of His Father in this woman–even of a different race.

What does this…

All have to do with Black Lives Matter? Do you not see, friends–what we’re seeing today when it comes to matters of social injustice and racial inequality were already matters of society over two thousand years ago. The sad part is our world hasn't seemed to learn much from the history before us.

The end to social injustice and racial inequality is simple: it's JESUS. It's not only who He was and how He depicted Himself, but how He viewed others.

In order for the injustices and inequalities against BLACK lives to end, our country needs to start seeing BLACK lives as valuable–as made in GOD's image.

But maybe there lies the issue–maybe, just maybe, because the depiction of the true and living GOD isn't accurate, it is impossible to view what does not mirror Him racially as "made in His image?"

If Revelation 1:14-15 describes the Son of Man as having bronze skin and wooly hair, that would mean the Savior of the world was a BLACK man. But if the world has depicted Him as a white man with a silky fine, press and curl–stripping away His geographical and ancestral race, what then shall we say to these things?

Does GOD have a race? No. Did Jesus? Scientifically, yes, which is ever so described in that text of Revelation and proven geographically.
Do I think race is significant in our ability to be associated with GOD? No.

Do I think race is significant when it comes to Jesus? Yes.

Because if Jesus' BLACK life doesn't matter, then how can we expect ours to?

Praying for you always friends,

Nic.