THE ISSUE IS NOT
RACISM BUT HUMAN DEPRAVITY
Much has popped up recently on the
racial front in American society. It seems to have happened suddenly too.
Racial tensions have flared so much, in fact, that it is becoming increasingly
common to tear down historic monuments, rename streets, and even criticize
those who disagree with doing so. I would like to come at this from a different
and perhaps unpopular perspective.
Often, people want to know what the
Christian perspective on an issue is, e.g. war. I submit that issues are not
always clear-cut. With war, for example, is there one Christian perspective, or
is it possible for those who profess Christ to have disparate opinions on the
matter? I think the latter is true. Racial tensions are certainly areas where
there are objective standards, i.e. racism is sinful and utterly disgraceful.
It should not be elevated above any other sin, but that does not mean it should
be minimized; it is completely wrong. Therefore, Christians should be unequivocal
in both their stance against and hatred for racism.
What I would like to suggest,
nonetheless, is that recent events point to an even deeper reality, namely human
depravity. The tearing down of statues and monuments will not solve the issue
of racism because racism of a condition of human nature. We can tear down any
evidence or racism and even seek to purge our nation of its past, but the human
condition will ever remain. Until we cut the root of the issue, any management
of it will do little to no good. What we see happening in our culture is often
what happens in the church. We try to do this with sin in our own lives, e.g.
putting filters and blocks on websites when we struggle with pornography rather
than getting to the root of the issue and seeing it for what it is and, thus,
hating it because God hates it.
I am not advocating for keeping
racist symbols, but we need to think much deeper. Racism is pure evil because
it is not in the character of God. The mistake we are making then is seeing
humans as good by nature. Scripture is clear that there is not an ounce of good
in any human since the fall of Adam; we are all equally dead in our trespasses
(Ephesians 2). This, in no way, negates our responsibility as humans; God’s
sovereignty and our responsibility are compatible. However, if we fail to
recognize the depravity of humankind, we further illustrate our own pride and,
therefore, our own depravity. Society tends to expect perfection from its
leaders because we forget our own evil. I have both criticized and defended
past presidents equally including the current one. I think anyone who knows me
well can attest to that. The reason I have, however, is because I realize
everyone’s great need of grace. If we realize our own evil, we can faithfully
execute the mercy and justice of God. Tearing down monuments and renaming
streets will only make things look better on the surface, but it will not
repair the issue of human depravity. Racism will still run rampant through in our
veins until Jesus Christ changes us.
What do we do then? The first and
most important thing to do is to pray. It is not that all we can do is pray,
but in reality, the best thing we can do is pray. Prayer is a powerful weapon
against the enemy. The second thing we do is stand for justice. This does not
mean to fight hate with hate, which is often what happens, i.e. to counter-protest
rallies in violent ways. Rather, it means we espouse justice in a loving,
merciful, and peaceful way. It is no coincidence that the people who have been
most merciful to me in my life are people who have been through struggles
themselves. When we realize our own radical depravity, we are more willing to
stand for justice in no equivocal terms but also exude mercy at the same time; justice
and mercy are not contradictory but are, in fact, characteristics of God (Mic 6:8).
The third thing we do is stop looking for futile surface level solutions and
get to the heart of the issue. Racism is not the root issue; depravity is. For
that reason, no matter how much we try to manage it, racism will still exist in
humankind. As the church then, we need to address the issue of human depravity
so that people realize their utter evil. Without that proper realization, we
cannot humble ourselves to the point of allowing the Holy Spirit to change us and
remove any trace of racism that exists and is derived from Satan himself.
Hints of racism will always exist
in our society because the enemy is ever-present. Nevertheless, a radical fight
against it begins with the realization that humankind is sinful by nature. We
must strive to cut the root of the issue, not futilely make it look better by
managing it. Until that happens, no matter how many monuments we tear down,
more will be built to replace them because the human condition will still exist.
Monuments themselves are not reality but are a symbol of reality. As long as reality
is evil, racism will exist. We must realize human depravity and fight, by the power
of victory in Jesus Christ, against it. Prayer warriors, Christian soldiers,
and conduits of mercy, let’s get to work. We have a long journey ahead of us.
