The Way Forward, pt. 5 March 16, 2015
What can we do as a church to make a difference in theongoing struggle over race relations in our country? Last week I wrote that,first of all, we must pray. Second, we have to educate ourselves and thinkclearly. Oversimplified answers usually make things worse.
Third, wemust answer the gospel’s call to sacrifice. To surrender. To move away fromcomfort and toward need. Most of us in this congregation are members of theprivileged majority class in America.We don’t need to feel guilty or ashamed about that. God has been gracious tous, and we should be thankful. But we have to be self-aware enough to admit ourprivilege; otherwise, we’ll miss God’s call to us in this crucial hour andmistake who the Bible applies to when it addresses the privileged class. Over2,350 verses in Scripture call those with privilege to extend special care tothose without it—i.e., orphans, widows, foreigners, outcasts, the marginalized,and the poor. God’s word levels severe warnings at those who neglect to showjustice to the underprivileged. For example, consider Ezekiel 16:49-50:“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride,excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. Theywere haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I sawit.” I wonder if you had any idea you yourself could be tempted to commitsodomy.
What doesthe call to sacrifice mean for you? I can’t say for certain. Perhaps you needto get out of your comfort zone and be intentional about pursuing a friendshipwith a minority. As I heard one black brother say, “There’s no empathy withoutproximity.” Or maybe you need to contact our friends at ProvidenceBible Churchin Denver andfind out how you and your family can make a difference in the lives of someunderprivileged kids. Maybe you need to ratchet back your lifestyle a fewnotches, pray about how to use the resultant cash and/or time, and get involvedin alleviating the suffering of people Jesus called “the least of these, mybrothers.”
Fourth andfinally, we need to be humble. Stepping out is risky. Realize that you’reprobably not going to get it right every time. Prepare to fail. Just remember:Jesus died for failures, but apathy makes Him vomit (cf. Rev 3:16).