*forgive me for this one being more of an emotionally driven stream of consciousness than an organized rant*
In the past day and a half, America has been made well aware of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery after video of the incident surfaced. What has happened and what we have collectively been made aware of is horrific and is not justified in any way, shape, or form. Two white wannabe vigilantes murdered an unarmed black man because they thought through the lens of racism that he was suspicious. The killer called 911 because there was a "black male running down the street". Apparently there's something inherently dangerous about that. Shortly after, the wannabe white vigilantes shot Ahmaud dead.
I'm a white 21 year old several states away, so there's not much I can do about this particular incident. But when I read about this and watch some of the video, I think of my dearly beloved black friends and think that if this can happen in Georgia, it can definitely happen in Arkansas. I think of a weekend I spent in Harrison, AR earlier this year where Confederate battle flags flew abundantly (side note, be sure to do some actual research into your own ancestry before you claim it's "heritage not hate", because there's a good chance you'll find that your entire family was still in Europe during the Civil War) and billboards advertised "white pride radio", and I see that racism is still alive and well in the so-called "Bible-belt". I can't and don't want to imagine if one of my friends were the one in Ahmaud's shoes.
When God imparted His image into his human creation and said "it is very good", it means that every single human life is made in His image, and every single human life matters. It is not an anti-Christian or anti-life statement to say and believe the three simple words: "Black lives matter". It is imperative that the Church gets on board with this. I'm not saying the Church must join the organization that calls itself "Black Lives Matter", but we must agree with and stop suppressing this three-word sentiment, and come together as we have on other issues to fight the injustice we are seeing today.
Today is also a National Day of Prayer. As of writing this, I have seen very little from right-leaning evangelicals or politicians on the matter. Christian organizations have assembled popular, mostly right-leaning like Franklin Graham and Paula White-Cain, preachers to lead the effort to pray for our country and its leaders as well as an end to COVID-19. Very few of these faith-leaders and politicians I've seen have addressed the rampant injustice or called for prayer in the matter of Arbery's killing.
Today on a National Day of Prayer many have focused more on glorifying the leaders of the country than seeking justice for the oppressed as Christ did. By no means am I saying that we should not pray for our leaders - we absolutely should and are commanded to in Scripture - but the words of Jesus seem to be against making a big show of it like many are doing. Today, pray for our country and its leaders as well as an end to COVID-19, but also pray for justice for Ahmaud Arbery as well as justice and an end to racism in America, where black people don't have to live in fear of being shot for doing completely normal things like jogging.
Every black life matters to God. So I say it again:
Black lives matter.
Lord open our nation's eyes and heal our land from racism in Jesus' name.
Micah 6:8
"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
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