Jesus doesn't command me to not be a racist...
Jesus doesn’t command me to not be a racist.
He goes much further than that. He commands me to LOVE my neighbor, and even more than that to love my ENEMY. No matter how “crazy” or “wrong” or “different” someone is, I am commanded, and GET to love them, if I am following Jesus.
At the very least, to love someone I have to have compassion. Start there. It’s not enough to “not be racist” but rail against the politics and practices of others, essentially excusing me to brush away their claims. The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. If I am indifferent to the plight of another, I do not love them. Period.
Seek compassion. If you don’t understand, listen. If you still don't get it, just love. If you follow Jesus, ask him to help you at least feel what others feel, even if you don’t understand or cannot see their point of view. Where there is pain, whether real or imagined, lead with listening. Have compassion. Seek to love your neighbor, and your enemy, at all costs. And it may cost. But through that alone will life and renewal and redemption come.
As a follower of Jesus, nowhere am I commanded not to be a racist.
But what He does command me to do is love my neighbor as myself. And if I do that, none of these things are possible. Even further than that, He commands me to love my ENEMY, which means if you are a racist, sexist, misogynist, fascist, conservative, progressive, Antifa member, BLM protester, “All Lives Matter”ist, etc, I am commanded to, nay GET to love you. The command to love our enemies is all-encompassing, and non-negotiable, as a follower of Jesus. That means that even if I can in no way understand why you think, act, feel the way you do, I get to love you, and listen to you, and care when you feel unheard or hurt. Even if I think you are absolutely wrong, I still have to honor you and validate you. And maybe, just maybe I might find out that you are right.
Follower of Jesus, THIS is your call. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. It is not enough to be right. It is not enough to “not be racist” or to “stand up for truth”. We are called to love and care for our neighbors more than we love and care for property or “law & order”, or even my “right to assemble.” If we expect people to hear our complaints about the injustice of whatever persecution real or imagined that we face, we must do the same for others, no matter how much we disagree with them.
The more I see followers of Jesus ignore the plight, regardless of agreement, of our brothers and sisters, the more I mourn the fact that the value of loving our enemies is lost. Father restore us.