“There is no peace in Southern Africa. There is no peace because there is no justice. There can be no real peace and security until there be first justice enjoyed by all the inhabitants of that beautiful land. The Bible knows nothing about peace without justice, for that would be crying “peace, peace, where there is no peace.” God’s Shalom, peace, involves inevitably righteousness, justice, wholeness, fullness of life, participation in decision-making, goodness, laughter, joy, compassion, sharing and reconciliation.” ~ Desmond Tutu
On April 20, 2021, America experienced a landmark verdict against Derrick Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. There was a lot of celebration throughout America and around the world. For people of color, this was a step towards justice, but only a step. The verdict delivered accountability for the horrific actions taken by the hired professionals to protect and serve our communities, but a long way from justice for people of color. People of color have suffered from systemic racism before being kidnapped and sold into slavery, and Native Americans didn’t suffer from systemic racism until the Spanish arrived.
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism embedded through laws within society or an organization. It can lead to discrimination in criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among other issues.¹ Justice means ending all of the disproportionate balance of policies, laws, goods, and services toward particular classes of people. It’s amazing how blind and delusional human beings are when the system is in their favor. Many in America view people of color as a lesser class, and some dehumanize them altogether.
If you believe in God, then you know we are all God’s children, and God doesn’t have favorites. If we engage in racism, we will have to answer to the only judge qualified to judge over another, and that is God. We will all have to answer the question, “How did you treat others, my precious children?” Woe to any of us that don’t have an adequate response. When we stand in front of God (and we will stand before our creator) is when we will experience natural justice. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2 – NIV).
Every human being has fallen short of God’s chosen idea of justice, righteousness, and shalom for all of creation. Justice means every person has something good to eat, clean water to drink, a fair chance to be self-supporting, and live as equals. Righteousness means we all have the support and means to live a spiritual life and have a right relationship with God. Shalom means peace in a variety of ways. For someone hungry, shalom is a piece of bread. For somebody who is thirsty, shalom is clean water. For people oppressed, shalom is freedom from oppression. If we call ourselves children of God, then our mission in life is clear; it’s to help bring about justice, righteousness, and shalom to anyone in our circles.
“If a monkey hoarded more bananas than it could eat, while most of the other monkey’s starved, scientists would study the monkey to figure out what the heck was wrong. When humans do it, we put them on the cover of Forbes magazine.” ~ Unknown
People practice social justice in a variety of ways. Some are peaceful, e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr., others respond with hate speech, violence, and becoming that which they despise. In the world of the Spirit, any approach towards social justice and reform carried out without love is nothing more than a loud noise and divisive. If I speak in the tongues of humans or angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 1:13 – NIV).
God gave us the recipe for social justice and reform with the double commandment (Matthew 22:36-40-NIV).
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
There is a difference between being a pacifist and pacifism. We can lead a charge against systemic racism, social justice, and social reform with a crazy little thing called love. The message Jesus gave us was one of love and service. He told us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, blessed are the peacemakers, my peace I give you, etc. These are all radical responses to the injustice done in the name of love. It is time for America and the rest of the world to wake up and start living a life of love and service. The commission is easy, love God, love others, and change the world.
Lord, we are at peace with the verdict in the Derrick Chauvin murder trial. We pray for the Chauvin family, who were victims of the same broken system that took the life of George Floyd. Two lives were wasted because of systems, isms, and phobias. We pray for healing for both families. We pray for love to lead the charge for social justice and social reform. Please send the Holy Spirit to guide our country toward justice, righteousness, and shalom for every human being in the world. In Your Spirit and Name, we pray these things. May Your will not ours always materialize, now and forever. Amen.
Pat Hoskin says
I continue to be amazed at the wisdom and balance in your writing on so many different topics. Thank you for being the type of person who obviously stays in close contact with God. So happy to hear you will be publishing this wisdom in book form. Your words need to be shouted from the house tops. May you continue to be blessed by our awesome God.
Harold Long says
Thank You, Pat, you are very kind. I hope you have a blessed day.