I spent yesterday evening in the garden, pulling weeds from the beet patch. I love beets, so I am eager for them to get a good start. Unfortunately, the weeds were taking over, threatening to choke out the tender shoots before they had a chance to grow. The weeds needed to go!
While I worked, my mind replayed the events of this last week. Once again our nation is facing the results of our racist attitude towards people of color and the brutal tactics used by some in power to control them. Racism is a noxious weed, choking out all that is good and right about America. Racism needs to go!
Yet, what is the solution? How do we rid our society of racism and injustice, so we all can grow together, realizing the promise in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”?
There are no easy answers to these questions, but one thing I do know. Violence is not the answer. Responding to police brutality, with violence and looting only makes the problem worse. It is like trying to rid my garden of weeds by hacking off their tops with a hoe. The roots remain buried in the ground, ready to spring up even worse than before. Violence solves nothing. Racism’s root cause remains, ready to spring to life once again. We must find a better way.
As always, Scripture is our guide. Isaiah 58:1 commands us, “Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people…of their sins!” As Christians we have a responsibility to speak up in peaceful protest when injustice occurs, whether it is against black people or any other group.
Our responsibility does not end, however, with marching through the streets and shouts of
‘Black Lives Matter.” As James 2 asks, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions?” Words are not enough. We must back them up with action.
What kind of action? Isaiah 58 tells us to:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.To eradicate weeds from our garden I had to get down into the dirt and get dirty. Likewise, if we are to eradicate racism and injustice we can no longer sit on the sidelines. We need to speak up, vote our conscience, and most importantly, get involved. We must look out for each other, and treat each other with kindness “that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble [us], corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:15)
The noxious weeds of racism and injustice have poisoned the soil of our nation for far too long. It is time for us to work together to rip them up by the roots and with acts of love and kindness and firm resolve heal this land, so we may once again truly be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
Brothers and sisters, the time is now! Let’s get to work! Racism is a weed destroying our nation! It needs to go!