The Fire Next Time
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? -Micah 6:8
Last Wednesday, none of us were surprised.
There was no shock. No gasp. No ignorance to our avail.
Just RAGE.
Black people–enraged and reminded that once again there lies a country that is blasphemous and godless. Black people were not at all surprised that the country of their own, of their stewardship, of their belonging, of their effort–a country of their ancestors' labor and sacrifice–had once again ruled against the value of their Black humanity.
Not surprised.
Unfortunately the habitation of justice and the existence of these United States of America are not one; they are foreign. Despite America's oath of allegiance–demanded and defended by those who deem themselves patriotic–uttering the words "with liberty and justice for all," Black people know those words are a paradox.
For me, the shock hits when the petition to defend and protect the lives of others falls upon deaf ears of those who call themselves Believers.
Why?
Because! Jesus’ Black Life Matters. (We’ve talked about this before, but in case you need to catch up, read here.)
And because Jesus’ Black Life Matters, I am always perplexed as to how the call to action for Believers to defend the faith and demand justice when the fundamentals of the faith aren’t upheld.
Where are you going with this, Nic?
Okay, so let me explain…
Last Thursday–a day after Kentucky’s Attorney General announced that only one officer of the three officers involved in 26-year-old Breonna Taylor’s murder would be indicted (and not even for murdering her, but endangering the dry wall of her neighbors’ apartment)–as a Black woman, I was tired.
I was TIRED. Tired of having to defend my own right to my own humanity, tired of saving elections, tired of trying to get people to understand the importance of voting (because state Attorney Generals are voted into office), tired of trying to get people to understand that you should probably research who is on your ballot before you vote (because just because someone is Black does not mean they have your interest or your community’s interest at heart), tired of explaining why I will not condemn the rioting and looting this country has seen over the last summer in response to racial injustice (America’s beloved forefathers looted this country from Native Americans, are you kidding me?!), tired of presenting the Cliff Notes version of every police involved shooting/murder case with an innocent and unarmed Black victim throughout my lifetime, tired of explaining the difference of experience between a white person getting pulled over by a cop versus a Black person getting pulled over by a cop...I was TIRED.
And I didn’t have it in me to defend my Blackness nor the worthiness of Blackness anymore. But then my Blackness and the worthiness of Blackness was challenged by one of my own–one of our own.
In conversation, a fellow Believer in the faith challenged me on the national outrage surrounding Kentucky’s Attorney General’s announcement that there would be no indictment related to the actual murder of Breonna Taylor. This fellow Believer defended the announcement. They believed that there was fairness in the prosecution’s case. They defended the fact that the law worked. They defended the fact that though there were 12 witnesses, the one who did not hear the officers involved announce themselves was the only account used to present the case before a grand jury. They reminded me that Kentucky’s Attorney General was a Black man. They reminded me that the grand jury was a “diverse” group of people.
Yet, they didn’t defend the most important facts.
A 26-year-old unarmed Black woman, Breonna Taylor, was murdered after police rampaged bullets through her home, while they were so called performing a no-knock warrant looking for a suspect that did not live at her home. After officers approached the home, they arrested her boyfriend, a licensed gun-owner who shot a warning shot when he heard a knock at the door and no answer. After her home was shot through by police, Breonna Taylor never received medical treatment. Never.
Those are the most important facts. And the most important facts show a downright disregard for human life; no compassion.
One of the greatest acts of compassion I can think of shown in the Gospel is after Lazarus dies in John 11. Lazarus is the brother of Mary, who poured perfume on the feet of Jesus (Matthew 26:7), and Martha. Jesus loved all three of them like they were family and when he found out that Lazarus was dead, he went to comfort Mary and Martha. While Jesus did perform a miracle in raising Lazarus back to life in John 11:38-44, before that, the scripture says that Jesus wept (John 11:35). He wept because he felt the same sorrow and pain that grief brings; He felt for Mary and Martha. He empathized with their loss. While Jesus wasn’t a direct blood relative, He still valued the life of Lazarus.
The same compassion and empathy Christ displayed in the Gospel is the same compassion and empathy expected of Believers. If that expectation is to be upheld, why then when it comes to Black life is that compassion and empathy lost in the church? Yet somehow, there is compassion and empathy left reserved when condemning abortion. There is great zeal and value of life among Christians whenever abortion is up for discussion. Life is life; there is no argument there. But whose life we see as valuable is somehow debatable.
Genesis 1:27 states that GOD created mankind in His image, in the image of GOD He created them; male and female He created them. Therefore if we value GOD, must not there be a reliance of our responsibility as Believers to value also the creation of GOD?
Isaiah 61:8 says that the Lord loves justice; He hates robbery and wrong and will faithfully give them recompense, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. Therefore if we value GOD, we must also value justice. And if we value justice, must not there also be a reliance of our responsibility as Believers to demand justice when justice does not prevail?
In his 1963 non-fiction book, The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin unpacks his apprehension and the antithesis that lies within his view of Christianity and what the faith has oftentimes presented itself as through the lens of Believers. If I could take the liberty of trying to reason with Baldwin, I think what weighed on him is the same weight and heaviness I also carry–the burden that those who claim to love GOD don’t love you. And it's a burden because GOD claims to be love and claims to love all His children. And if we are all made from GOD, how can such disdain for an equal creation exist? How can such cavalier character for the value of life persist by the same people who say they love GOD?
Baldwin writes, “If the concept of GOD has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If GOD cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.” To that argument, I agree. If the GOD valued by so many is not a god that requires responsibility and correction that will demand us to take a good look at ourselves–bringing us all into greater communion, freedom, and love, then what good is that “god?” It is best to release our allegiance to him.
But to our own ignorance and egotistical demise, GOD is not the GOD often valued by the church. The True and Living GOD is a GOD justice, a GOD of compassion (2 Corinthians 1;3), a GOD of love (1 John 4:7-21), and a GOD of His people (Genesis 17:8). The need to release allegiance isn’t on us as it pertains to GOD. The need to release allegiance is on us as it pertains to our own merit and our own hatred.
The church has a responsibility during times of injustice and that responsibility is to be a representation of Christ in the Earth. Christ stood for justice and equality (Matthew 21:12). When our brothers and sisters are done wrong, we are called to seek justice and correct oppression (Isaiah 1:17); not argue the legality of life!
The burden of proof is not on us. It is not our job to define what the value of life is; our job is simply to value those whom GOD created–people.
Breonna Taylor was a real person. Her life mattered. And that should never be up for debate–Believer or Non-Believer. And she deserves justice.
America is in ruin. It is seeing its failure to build its foundation upon truth, liberty and justice. America can no longer lie under oath–proclaiming its belief in those three fundamental values. The nation is crumbling, and if we the Church do not take a rightful stand–pursuing the truth and upholding the truth–I am convinced that the Church as we know it will not survive the crumbling. What our country is experiencing is the warning for us as the Body of Christ to get it right because next time there will be no warning–only the fire next time.
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” –James Baldwin; The Fire Next Time
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” –Amos 5:24
