There are many articles about Charlottesville and its
symbolism of current race relations in our country, from what the president
said to our nation to what pastors are saying in their pulpits, from what
families are discussing at their dinner tables to what our Facebook friends are
saying on their feeds. While many events have arisen since that fateful day, I
still think there is something I need to say. I am not sure I can add anything
to the discussion that hasn’t already been said. But I am compelled by the Holy
Spirit to add my voice to the mix about what this event in our history has
taught me and is teaching me still.
One thing Charlottesville has taught me is that I need to
reprove the works of darkness (Eph. 5:8-11). This was so eloquently done by a
preacher who recorded his reaction to the events on YouTube that one of my
Facebook friends shared on her feed.[i]
Pastor Mike Kleitz of Calvary Road Baptist Church in New Albany, Indiana,
doesn’t have thousands of Facebook followers. I don’t know him personally. He’s
not a known TV personality with millions of followers on Twitter nor does he
have his own late night TV show. He is a pastor who is charged with the care of
a flock of people God has brought into his church, and he spoke against the
works of darkness in the white supremacy movement, emboldened (but not new) in
our day. He took a stand, and that spoke volumes to me that I, too, must do the
same. My Christian testimony is on the line and my witness is being scrutinized
through the lens of Charlottesville. So, let me say, very simply, like Timothy
Keller did in his own reaction to the events, “Christians should look at the
energized and emboldened white nationalism movement, and at its fascist
slogans, and condemn it—full stop.”[ii]
The Bible tells me so.
Another thing that Charlottesville has taught me is that
I am afraid to speak what I believe because I care about what people think of
me, not necessarily what they think of my Savior. I live in a climate that is
so divided and split—even among my friends and those I love—that if I even hint
at an unpopular opinion that goes against one side or the other, someone is
going to be offended, get mad at me, think I’m not a Christian worth my salt,
think I’m holier than thou, etc. This ought not be the reason I remain silent.
So, let me say the white supremacists were in the wrong at Charlottesville
because their philosophy is wrong. They do have the right to speak what they
believe. The counter protesters also have that same right and some of them were
in the wrong, too, in how they demonstrated their opposition. The supremacists
were itching for a conflict to happen, and this leads me to believe guns or
weapons should not be a part of free speech gatherings because of it. Largely
in part because of our current racial climate, I’m okay with Confederate flags
and statues of past Confederate leaders being taken down in public places, as
well as in private places if the organization that has these wants to do so.
Individuals have a right to their own personal decision to fly a Confederate
flag or honor the Confederacy how they wish, and people have a right to protest
that. Propagandists are having a heyday with changing the narrative of the
events[iii]
that even good people I know are being deceived. Our president is also changing
the narrative and making this event like many, if not all, things in his work
as president, about himself not our country and is using it to continue to
demonize those that disagree with him or are critical of him. Most importantly,
this event has shined a light on my own apathy of race issues in America and
convicted me of my silence. God has much more to show me as I reflect on these
events, and He’s going to turn it into good for me and for those who love Him
(Ro. 8:28).
The main issue God spoke to my heart about through these
events, however, is the nature of sin, its consequences and our reactions to
sin and the sinner, including in ourselves. God used John 3:16-21 and v. 36 to teach me
this point in my own heart:
“For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He
who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his
deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his
deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. … He who believes
in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
What spoke to me in particular in this section of
Scripture is that all of us are loved by God. While we ought to and should
condemn the philosophies of hate and the reactions of hate they inspire, we
ought not condemn the individuals who hold those philosophies. Jesus didn’t
come into this world to condemn us but to save us, so I ought to live in
accordance toward others to reflect Christ’s mission. I read those verses this
way in context to Charlottesville. God loves the white supremacist protester
and he loves the antifa protester. He loves Heather Heyer and he loves her
killer, James Alex Fields Jr. His overwhelming love for humankind is more
astounding to me because He loves us while we are under His wrath. And we are under His wrath because of
our sin (and none of us are outside of that wrath (Rom. 3:23)). He knew
we could not in ourselves remove His wrath, so He sent us His Son to remove
that wrath for us. That wrath remains on us unless we trust that Christ died in
our place to atone for our sins, that He paid the penalty for our sins. Because we live in the church age, like Jesus,
God is not calling us to condemn one another, but to condemn sin. All this so
we see we all have need of a Savior. You see, in our time, God is calling
people to salvation not condemnation. And if I don’t act like I understand His
mission in our current time, I will only react in a way that does not bring Him
glory and honor. In other words, on the one hand, if I don’t reprove the works
of darkness (namely, the hate filled rhetoric I saw on part of many protesters
that day[iv]),
and on the other hand, if I don’t come to a place where I can be a testimony of
God’s love for even the individuals I disagree with, I am not being the
testimony I need to be for my Savior.
Beyond that, I see one more vital lesson. God showed His love
for us that day in providing His protective Hand over the Charlottesville
protests. While the events of that day were tragic and horrifying, they could
have been much worse. I read an article on the Intercessors for America website
that really inspired me and drew me into the call of God for all His children
to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).[v]
The article reports on a group of Christians who were also counter
protesting, only they were doing so by prayer and by song. In response, the hate-filled rhetoric on both
sides came to a stop for a time. People didn't know how to respond to them and so were silent for an hour. Who knows how else God used that form of protest that day.
I’m sure the days ahead will bring more lessons from this
and other events that take place in our nation and our world. I only hope I am willing to
continue learning from them and then to boldly take a stand when God asks that
of me. For His glory and His alone.
[iii] http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/21/fake-news-charlottesville-215514;
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/witness-charlottesville-death-threats-conspiracy-theories-began/
