In part 1 of “Hindsight is 20/20” I addressed the pandemic of 2020, but the year 2020 held more difficulty for us to process and the church to deal with. In May of 2020, suspect George Floyd died in police custody. A highly publicized video of the disturbing event set off protests that turned into violent, destructive, and deadly riots lasting for weeks across this country. Vocal and more highly publicized activists blamed the situation on racism and injustice. The outcry was for “social justice.”
Again, the church struggled to respond. Some Christians claimed that the Bible was all about social justice and that the Gospel was a message of racial reconciliation. My own church at the time quickly launched a five-week class on the issues, which became very controversial. I cannot claim to be an expert on these matters in Scripture but after a lot of listening and reading there are a few things about the Bible and social justice that I can confidently state.
The word justice (but not social justice) is frequently found in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. It is very often paired with the word righteousness. In Scripture, God clearly condemns dishonest scales and witnesses, unjust judges, bribery, and taking advantage of widows, orphans, and the poor. God’s Word also praises kings and leaders who treat people justly. But a closer look at the use of the word justice in Scripture reveals that usually the term is referring to the justice of God: the fact that disobeying His ways requires consequences. God’s justice demands a ‘payment’ for sin. The Gospel is not the idea of fixing human problems like racism: the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus’ death is the payment for sin, giving each of us access to full forgiveness and reconciliation to God! Much of this transparency was muddled in attempts to be sensitive to the unrest that was going on.
During that summer of the pandemic with its lockdowns and racial turmoil, I sat next to a young Black man on a flight. Through our masks, we exchanged small talk. I was heading home, and he was headed to DC for a commemoration of the MLK “I Have a Dream” speech. Despite our differences in race, age and gender, the conversation was respectful and friendly, a vast contrast to the narrative of hostility and inequality that was being pronounced everywhere. These positive encounters, sadly, are not highly publicized.
I continue to see regular displays of diverse folks getting along, even in a Southern town where prejudices may have once run deep. I’ve noticed the older white man insisting on lifting a case of bottled water for a Black woman, though the Costco employee was also ready to help. In a busy medical waiting room, I heard the white receptionist mispronounce an African American name and then further mistake another African American for her relative, but she felt no offense, only smiled and returned to her smartphone. On the other side of the lobby a woman of color was knitting and eventually gathered a circle of white ladies interested in her project. I overheard part of the conversation, chimed in and she gave me her business card. So, it seems to me that hindsight is not black and white either.
Of course, racial problems exist. The human heart is not pure and easily tends toward animosity, but our hearts also have an awareness of what is good. While the tragic was sensationalized in the George Floyd case, the norm in this nation is often good and fair. We can thank God for that and continue to pray for and act with understanding. The Gospel transforms hearts, which is the ultimate answer.
To close, here are two Scriptures describing the equality of the Gospel on earth and in heaven. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” Galatians 3:28, and “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Christ),” Revelation 7:9.
Part 1
Two years ago this month, the pandemic became real to me. Without forewarning, the school district where I was teaching, closed its doors on Friday the 13th of March 2020! It took weeks to implement an on-line instructional plan and train us to teach virtually. Our nation then experienced a gradual shut-down of most places: stores and other businesses, restaurants, schools, offices, and even medical facilities and houses of worship. Government orders prohibited assembling. Hindsight is 20/20 and at the time, scientists, medical experts, and politicians had no idea how to handle a new and different virus.
The church, too, struggled to respond. In most cases, local and state mandates regulated, mostly banning, in-person gatherings. Later, a Presidential directive declared religious groups as “essential,” thereby allowing some church ministry. Church leaders quickly rallied calling for Christian courage and I heard more than one pastor reference the sacrificial and heroic courage of 3rd century Christians during a deadly pandemic in Rome. Eventually however, a trending pandemic mindset took over and churches followed suit. My own church cancelled in-person services prior to local mandates to do so and months later reopened with stricter protocols than were required. A year into the pandemic, I watched a nationally known minister state that his congregation would not gather in-person due to continuing local COVID cases. “We wouldn’t want anyone to die,” he explained. What a shocking remark as a Christian who lives not for this temporary life on earth, but for the reality of eternity in glory, like Paul wrote of in Philippians 1:23! Of course, Christians do not recklessly endanger their lives, but we have much to joyfully anticipate, not fear, in eternal life.
In 2020, the church strained under a myriad of pressures, but it is founded on Scripture, which commands us to gather together as Christ followers (Hebrews 10:25). In fact, the statement takes an unusual negative position: “Let us not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some.” According to Christian author and respected preacher Timothy Keller, this ‘gather’ term entails far more than attendance. It suggests deep connection in community, something built only through personal interaction.
If law and policy collide with Biblical principles, how do Christians respond? That is a huge question that a blog post can’t tackle but I will point you to Scripture. The Bible tells us that God ordains government for the good of society (Romans 13:1-2). It also tells us that God’s law supersedes man’s laws. Christians obey God, over man, when they conflict (Acts 5:29).
Yes, hindsight is 20/20. More is known now about the virus, its transmission, and treatments but a lot remains unknown. And all of it remains polarized. I wonder if hindsight is not as clear as we would hope, in this case. Will we ever know all the facts of the virus and motives of resultant policies? I think not. I end with these words that I think explain our lack of clarity: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know, just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Answers await us in eternity.
