Spades: Racism, Accountability, and the Church

If you regularly follow the news, or if you’re on Facebook, chances are you’ve seen my town come across your feed or news station. If somehow you haven’t, I actually don’t encourage watching it, but please know, it was a disgusting and vile video that targeted African-Americans in an attempt to dehumanize them.

While the video alone is abhorrent and those responsible are being justly punished for creating and sharing that content, an even bigger picture of the problem is being exposed via commentary on posts made by those in our community.

This video wasn’t shocking to a large part of our community. It was what they have come to consider the “norm.” It was another piece of evidence that racism is alive, and it is strong.

That was soul-crushing to me. Personally, I have such a hard time wrapping my mind around the notion that some people think they are automatically better than others based on the pigment of their skin. I have such a hard time understanding why people are taught from a young age that people that don’t look like them deserve to be treated like lesser people.

That’s the reality, though. So, what now? Well, I’ve had some time to think over this issue that continues to plague society, our communities, our hearts, and even our churches.

Do we really believe Matthew 22:36-39?

That may seem like a silly question – but take the root of the severity of not really believing that. This will step on toes, but if it does, then it’s time for a self-evaluation.

Many churches have been and are breeding grounds for racism.

That’s not just a belief I have, but a belief has been acknowledged and some are attempting to correct to this day. There are numerous studies, papers, and dissertations on that alone, so there’s no need for me to venture down that path.

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:36-39

There are so many churches, communities, and groups that use the phrase “Love God, Love People.” That’s a good way to summarize what we’ve been commanded here by Jesus. Yet, we (Christians) fail at loving our neighbors daily. When you gather us together in community, we call that the church. Is the church following what Jesus commanded us? Are we loving our neighbors as the church?

Love is Not a Partial Act

Many churches do a wonderful job with community, loving their neighbors, and loving on all that come through their doors. I’m fortunate to be connected to two churches in town that set a great (not perfect) example of loving our neighbors.

The sad reality, though, is something we’ve almost all heard before – “We’re only as strong as our weakest link.”

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

James 2:8-9

This truth is abundantly clear. There’s no in-between – you either love all of your neighbors or you essentially love none of them.

I think this is where the history of the church (relative to America) has struggled. We do great things for so many neighbors, but not all of our neighbors. We do so much good, but have a blind eye towards certain groups. This is a weak link and us as Christians need to strive to build up the weak links so that we can better love, serve, and deliver hope to the hopeless.

“Call a spade a spade”

The events that unfolded in the national news certainly struck a chord with me and where we stand as believers and as the church, whether it be towards those of a different race, a different religion, or as I type this, towards those that have differing opinions on how to handle COVID-19.

It challenged me. It challenged the way I live and love from my own heart, but it also challenged me to take it a step further and to not just be comfortable with my own heart on loving my neighbors, but to hold others accountable.

The challenge: “Call a spade a spade.”

Be direct. Be strong, Be truthful. Being racist, prejudice, or hateful is sinful and fails to follow the commandment from Jesus to love your neighbors. Call out your friends, family, fellow church members, or even church leadership. The bible couldn’t be more clear.

¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:11

Call to Action

We’ve all heard the phrase “iron sharpens iron.” If you don’t know where that quote derives from, it is from Proverbs 27:17, which reads “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

In the context of combating racism in the church, and in general as Christians, I take this as the directive to hold ourselves and our church accountable to driving out hatred.

As I read through the comments, the pain, the anguish, and all the feelings that this video created, I was reminded that as our brothers and sisters that are African-American (and other races) don’t deserve to fight racism alone. That’s even more evident by the deaf ears that their cries out for help usually fall on. Our second commandment, straight from the lips of Jesus who we just celebrated the Resurrection of, was to love our neighbors. So, here’s my own personal call to action, and I think us as Christians can all follow this;

1. Love ALL of my neighbors. Show it not only by my actions, but also by my love, words, and thoughts. (John 13:34)
2. Be impartial with loving my neighbors. Love them wholly, don’t let their past or present detract from the love I are commanded to give them. Simply, I should love all others as I love myself. (Romans 13:9)
3. Prepare myself in prayer to join the battle with my friends, their families, and even my enemies, as we all strive to push out hate. By pushing out the hate at my church (churches) we can altogether become a better witness and a better vessel for delivering the gospel to those who are lost. (Colossians 4:5-6)
4. Hold my friends, family, strangers, and my church accountable if they don’t show all of our neighbors the love commanded to us. (James 5:19-20)

If we live in accordance to the commandment that Jesus gave us, we can do so much to improve society as we see it today. Friends that have dealt with racism on a regular basis, friends that have experienced racism in our churches – please know this, you will not be alone in this battle. Christians, it’s time for us to rise to the occasion. Fulfill the command and use it to glorify God.