“God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him
and do what is right.” - Acts 10:34-35
Our nation is
hurting—and less than three weeks ago, the pain only intensified. We were horrified
by the image of a rogue police officer in Minneapolis
choking the life out of George Floyd as three other officers stood by and let
it happen. Then, we were further horrified by the images of Mom-and-Pop stores
in cities across America being vandalized, looted
and set on fire.
Many of us thought
that race relations in America had come a
long way. But these past three weeks have made us realize that we still have a
long way to go. There is still far too much distrust, resentment and hatred
between Americans of different skin colors. Our politicians can’t fix the
problem. Our public schools can’t fix the problem. Even the social justice
warriors can’t fix the problem. They can’t fix the problem, because the
underlying root of the problem isn’t political, psychological or systemic. The
root of hate and racism is spiritual. That being the case, the only lasting
solution to hatred and racism is found in God’s Word.
The Bible
makes it clear that God has compassion and love for EVERY person He has made. We
read in Romans 2:11: “God does not show favoritism.” Peter proclaims in Acts
10:34-35: “God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who
fear Him and do what is right.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, “God our Savior wants all
people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” And in Proverbs
6:16-19 we find a quick reference list of seven things God hates. Those
include: hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked schemes;
and feet that are quick to rush into evil.
So, if
there’s any doubt in your mind about God’s stance on what has happened in our
nation over the past few weeks, allow His Word to remove all doubt. God is a
loving and compassionate God, and He hates it when people shed innocent blood.
George Floyd might have deserved to be arrested, but he did NOT deserve to be
tortured and killed. God hates what was done to George Floyd. But because God
hates it when people devise wicked schemes and rush into evil, God also hates
what vandals, looters and arsonists have been doing to businesses and church
buildings under the cover of protest. Those who are destroying things aren’t
“protestors.” They’re criminals. They’re self-centered opportunists. And their
actions are detestable to God.
Because God
is love, He hates…hate. Because God is love, He hates racism. Because God is
love, He hates the violence in our nation today. And because of that, I believe
that God wants to make three simple but profound pleas to us.
God’s 1st Plea: Let My Word change your
thinking. “From one
man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth”
(Acts 17:26). Every human being on earth is a descendent of one man and one woman:
Adam and Eve. God didn’t create a black Adam and a white Adam. He didn’t create
a Chinese Eve and a Mexican Eve. Every single ethnic group on earth—every
nation, every person is a descendent of that one Adam and one Eve. We all have
the same great-grandparents. So, when someone asks, “How many races are there?”,
the Biblical answer is ONE. There is only one race: the human race. PERIOD!
God’s 2nd Plea: Let My Son change your
heart. “The heart
is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9). We want to
believe we are basically good. But God sees the truth: Our hearts are harder
than we’ve realized. And there is nothing here on earth that can soften them. A
hater can’t be taught to stop hating and start loving. Just as you can’t teach
someone with blocked arteries to stop having a heart attack, you can’t teach
someone steeped in hate and racism to stop having a hard, sinful heart. The
only cure is to receive a heart transplant—and God’s Son Jesus Christ is the
only One who can perform the operation. So, God says to you and me today: Let my
Son change your heart, because hatred and racism are sins of the heart. Racism
is not a SKIN problem; it’s a SIN problem.
God’s 3rd Plea: Let My spirit change
your actions. “My
brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism”
(James 2:1). God doesn’t treat rich people better than poor people, or men
better than women, or whites better than blacks. Neither should we. So, take
time to PRAY with your brothers and sisters who look different than you. Take
time to LOVE and SERVE your brothers and sisters who look different than you. And
take time to LISTEN to your brothers and sisters who look different from you.
When a black brother or sister feels that black lives in our country are being
cheapened and cries out, “Black lives matter!”–it doesn’t help to shout back,
“All lives matter!” Your black sister or brother needs you to empathize with
their hurt and pain. This is the time to listen—and mourn with those who mourn.
In Luke 10,
Jesus tells the story of a Jewish man who was beaten within an inch of his life
and left to die at the side of the road. A brother Jew—a priest—saw him and
ignored him. Another one of his neighbors—a Levite—did the same. Finally a
foreigner—a Samaritan—rode by, had a gut-wrenching compassion for him, and got
down off his high horse to help him. Jesus turns to you and me and says,
“Christians, it’s high time for you to get down off your high horse and do
likewise.”
Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact
Christian Church. Please join us for our LIVE outdoor worship services Sundays at 8 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd.
in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc, on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on
Facebook.
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