How Should Christians Deal With Racism?

With so much going on in our world in regard to racism and police brutality I find it necessary to use my voice to represent the Christian community. There are so many opinions and I won’t discuss who is right or wrong because everyone is entitled to their own belief. However, I will say as a Christian community we can not get wrapped up in what is being seen through the physical eye. We are fighting a spiritual battle that requires a higher degree of intercession from God’s people. Yes, we can protest peacefully and bring awareness to the injustice of minorities, but we must remember the word of God and abide by it.

Ephesians 6: 10- 18 urges us to put on the full armor of God and to pray continually.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

As believers we must not stop at the physical act of protesting, giving back, or educating others. We must go into our prayer closets and declare the bondage of oppression off of God’s people. We must keep praying daily and throughout the day because prayers do not perform magic tricks. Prayers will require days, years, and sometimes decades for God to answer. God is not ignoring the request of His people because He wants us to endure pain, but He developing our ability to remain steadfast in the midst of our pain. God wants us to realize that no law passed or any racist mindset renewed came by our doing but by His power only. Furthermore, even after we see the change we are praying for verse 18 tells us to be alert and to keep praying. Don’t let the changes in laws and people cause us to regress into conforming back to the society we live in. It is pivotal now to pray that God will sharpen our seeing eyes, hearing ears, and discernment. We can’t let the news cause us to slip off of our post. It’s no mistake if God is waking you up at random times of the night. He needs you on the battlefield. The world needs your prayer! We must remain vigilant and discern when Satan is prowling and trying to divide and destroy.

Speaking of division; God has been dealing with me on remaining proud of my ethnicity/race but also remaining spiritual in that proudness. There is a very fine line between being pro-black and exhibiting racism. We should be very proud of who are, but it should not be at the expense of making another race feel inferior. What good does it to repay evil with evil? Romans 12: 17 -21 Paul reminds us that vengeance belongs to God and that we are to live in love and peace.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I know I will get a lot of eye-rolling from this, but the new phrase “Karen” is exhibiting racism. Don’t get mad at me! Hear me out. I myself have used the term and I felt convicted in doing so. I realize that I wasn’t acting any better than those of different races who look down on blacks. I didn’t use the name Karen to be nice or to make a loving joke. I said the name Karen to be petty which really exhibited an ugliness in my heart that I had to immediately pray about. I realize I can still be proud of being black and fight for the civil rights of my community without relaying hate.

I want to reemphasize that I am not saying we cannot protest for the rights of those who are victims of injustice. In fact, Proverbs 31:8-9 says to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of innocent lives due to stereotypes, discrimination, and just plain hate. We must remain focused in this fight to getting justice for our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives. As believers and children of God, we are not weak at all. We possess a power that can only be attained when aligned to the Father and the Holy Spirit. We as people have a voice that we have to learn to use in a respectful, impactful, and life-changing way.

I just want us all to remember that at the end of the day we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Yes, some of those brothers and sisters have skewed thinking, but instead of calling them out of their name or causing petty arguments, we should choose to respond with wisdom and love. Some people simply aren’t worth you displeasing God. My prayer is that we will all be able to serve our community in a way that keeps us aligned with the mission of being a believer. So before you hit send on that snarky comment or you post that insensitive post, I want you to pray and ask God if that statement or question is pleasing to Him.

Heavenly Father,