Racism is Evil. Charlottesville Proves It.

Charlottesville, Virginia, will never be the same. Never. What happened there this past week is repulsive to say the least. Two racist groups decided to show their moronic side and clashed in riot, violence and vandalism and the end result was one dead and many injured.  All over the removal of a statue. It should’ve never happened. Something is seriously wrong with a nation who’s citizens will riot over statues that are mere symbols of our historic past. Good, bad, agree, or disagree as to what the statue stands for – it is merely a symbol of something in a bygone era.  It is not real time action of something historical.  We cannot change history.  We can only allow history to change us – for good or bad.   Scripture is full of symbolism. The final symbol for us to connect with, have a testimony about, is that of the cross.  I believe the underlying hidden drive and motivation for this spirit to remove statues is simply that of the kingdom of darkness.  The goal, I believe, is to eventually attack the cross being symbolized anywhere in America.  Buckle your seats folks…the manifestation of spiritual war is starting to heat up. But I digress.

What took place in Charlottesville is only a small taste of what is possible when people move away from God for social and religious foundation.   J. Lee Grady put it this way in his blog (Fire In My Bones with Charisma Magazine) dated 8.16.17 and titled “The Demonic Roots of White Supremacy”: “Racism is sick. Neo-Nazism is sick. And despite what some smug, churchgoing racists may tell you, these philosophies are totally incompatible with Christianity. White nationalism is an idea that was hatched in hell itself.”

White supremacy is evil. Racism is evil.  It needs to be eradicated from the earth and it must start with the churches and the true believers in Christ. It’s time we recognize the propensity in all of us for being prejudice and racist, seek forgiveness and pray for a revival of healing in our nation.   Any group that has the spirit of racism or white supremacy as part of their creed, public or private, should be called out and cast out. Make no bones about it – it doesn’t matter if these groups falsely hold to the title of “Christian” or not – they are evil.  The seed of Satan himself couldn’t produce any spirit of evil any worse than white supremacy and racism.  Jesus was a man of color…and it wasn’t white. His skin was olive tone in color. And He was a Jew. Any white supremacist who claims to be “Christ-like” and is full of hatred and racism is a foul mouthed, repulsive and white washed hypocrite.  Look at these scriptures to see how racism cannot be connected with Christianity.

• Mathew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (22) “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (23) “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”
• 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
• 1 John 3:4 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”
• Ephesians 2:13-16 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (15) by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, (16) and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”
• Ephesians 2:19-22  “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, (20) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, (21) in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, (22) in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

Oh, I could pigeon hole a number of other scriptures to prove my point – which is this: no person who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ can support or be a racist, white supremacist, bigot, or belong to any titled group of sick and twisted reprobates (Romans 1).  Christians must vociferously denounce white supremacy, the doctrines of the KKK, Nazi hatred, Islamic terrorists, anti-Christian movements and any other group that is filled with this type of evil and putrid mindsets.  Scripture doesn’t allow a place for it in our heart simply because it’s not in our Father’s heart!  Maybe we should return for a season to our childhood roots and sing in lieu of some of our progressive  worship choruses – “Jesus loves the little children … Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.”  All humans were created in the image of God – not just the white ones.  Not just the American ones.  He created us all male and female.  We all bleed red.

Franklin Graham recently said this, “Really, this boils down to evil in people’s hearts. Satan is behind it all. He wants division, he wants unrest, he wants violence and hatred. He’s the enemy of peace and unity. I denounce bigotry and racism of every form, be it black, white or any other. My prayer is that our nation will come together. We are stronger together, and our answers lie in turning to God.  It was good to hear that several Virginia and Charlottesville leaders attended church today at Mt. Zion. CNN said, “The racial divides that fueled Saturday’s violence were replaced by unity Sunday…”.  It’s too bad, Reverend Graham, that the spirit of Sunday worship couldn’t be as active on Monday through Saturday.

The Canaanite Woman and How Jesus Dealt with Race and Bigotry
In the days of Jesus, the world, according to Judaism, was divided into only two groups – Jew and Gentile. The Jew’s took a rather hard pious look at anyone outside their group. I was prompted to look at this passage this week as I prayed about our nation and where we’re at with the division of racism…especially that of white supremacy.  No better model than that of Jesus to look to.

Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” (23) But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” (24) But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (25) But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” (26) And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (27) But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (28) Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

At first glance this looks like a display of intentional racism and bigotry on the part of Jesus. We know that it wasn’t due to His deity. His human side kicked in and he leaned, just for a moment, on purpose to prove a greater point, toward the bigoted culture of his day.  Judaism had it’s faults.  He showed the culture of his Jewish roots that indicated a “us” and “them,” the “worthy” and the “unworthy,” the “uptown” and “downtown” and the “haves” and “have nots” ideology that pointed directly to division via racism.  He knew, as the Son of God, that the Jewish culture he lived in and influenced looking down at the Canaanite’s, was repulsively wrong. He knew His Father’s heart which is revealed in Proverbs: 6:16-19 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: (17) Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, (18) A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, (19) A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Jesus knew the seven sins that God absolutely hated were directly connected to racism and bigotry.

• haughty eyes: to look down on someone as being less than you
• lying tongue: indicative of falsehood and deception; being deceptive
• hands that shed innocent blood: causing blood loss in someone that is guiltless
• devising wicked plans: the planning or scheming actions that are evil; premeditated evil devising plans against others
• quick movement toward evil: unrestrained action and or involvement in injury, pain, misery toward others
• false witness that lies: personal, intentional and purposeful attachment to a lie against another
• speaking strife among brothers: intentional discord and division among countrymen or kinsmen

Let me remind you that God intensely detests any one of the above sins.  Yes, God hates racism and all of its evil siblings (bigotry, white supremacy, neo-Nazism, etc.) Can you imagine how He feels when all seven sins are engaged toward one person, community, village or nation? I hope you’re starting to sense God’s displeasure for racism and bigotry.

Jesus wasn’t ignoring this woman’s request because there was any sense of racism within His being.  He did so to prove a greater point – the power of love, grace and forgiveness toward someone unlike us.

Jesus Didn’t Condemn Her. He Tested Her Faith
He moved past the sinful cultural assessment of who she was. He conversed with her. He engaged in a social and spiritual relationship with her when His group screamed “leave her alone!”   He recognizes, for a greater purpose, her positional deficiency as judged by the culture she lived in.  He infers that society tags her as a “dog” but He doesn’t personally call her a dog.  Thayer’s Greek Definitions (e-Sword.com) defines a dog as a “man of impure mind, an impudent man”. Jesus identified with soemone who, according to social standards of “his group,” represented a culture of impurity.  Jesus didn’t see an ethnic variance in her – He saw a person making a request of Him that needed what only He could provide.  This is no different in function and process than recognizing and testing someones faith to instruct them to “stand” or “stretch forth” their hand for a healing or some type of provision.  He was pushing her toward what I call forward motion faith. He still does this with humanity everyday single day.

Jesus Showed His Father’s Heart Toward Her Canaanite Heritage
Here is what scripture says about those outside our “people group”. Deuteronomy 10:19 “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Did you get that? Show love for others outside your people group because somewhere you have been or will be outside of your people group. This takes us directly to the two greatest commands of all.  Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) “This is the great and foremost commandment. (39) “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (40) “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The two commandments are this: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Racism doesn’t just avoid your neighbor.  Racism abhors your neighbors ethnicity and or religious position.

Her Faith In Jesus Surpassed Her Ethnic or Religious Position
She had a faith that was tenacious. She believed that Jesus was who He said he was. That’s all He has ever asked from us – believe in Him. She did and that’s what He wanted others to focus on.  His recognition of a racial, bigoted, religious and social culture was what He was intentionally throwing aside. His love, grace and mercy was more powerful than all the sin dominated cultures of the world put together. He wanted others to see Him in action. The Canaanites faith was the key to showing justice toward a woman who was “unlike” Jesus according to culture but yet what His Father created to have fellowship with Him – male and female.  God didn’t create ethnic division. We did.  He didn’t create prejudice and hate toward others who are different.  We did.  His blood covenant will stretch well beyond the racism, bigotry, prejudice and hatred of anyone. He heals what we injure.

I stand amazed that school districts all across America are taking hard stands on bullying.  There is zero tolerance for any type of bullying in school aged students.  Isn’t it sickening that while we employ the doctine of anti-bullying in schools across America – and we should by all means necessary – we are allowing people groups of all background to riot, kill, maim, injure and vandalize the streets where these students will engage social efforts in getting along.   Without a doubt we are teaching students one thing and engaging another as adults.  The classic phrase, “do as I say and not as I do,” comes into play here.   White supremacists, neo-Nazi fascists, KKK, Islamic extremist terrorists, and a host of other groups are simply bullying one another.  God hates all of it.  All of it!

When neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia they did so with hearts motivated by hate. They arrived with an evil heart and left a trail of evidence of their hatred toward anyone who is not like them. Their trail of hatred left one woman in a funeral home and 19 others in a hospital.  Do I need to rehearse the seven sins God hates? He hates racism and bigotry with a passion.  How dare anyone attach their racist views, the term Christian, their acts of evil and violence to Holy Writ and say that it’s right.  It is wrong in every way imaginable!   It is sin. It is evil. It’s time to call it what it is. God hates it and so should we.  If you hide racism and bigotry in your heart you are an evildoer.  You are a practioner of one of the sins God hates.  Repent.  Let’s get this right.  We’re better than what happened at Charlottesville…and anywhere else racisim, bigotry and white supremacy is practiced.

Years ago I was having coffee with a pastor from a different denominational group than the one I belong to.  Walking out of the coffee shop and into the parking we were being approached by a young man with purple neon hair, nonstop tattoos, and weird or unconventional sytle clothes.  I immediately drew conclusions that were prejudice by nature.  I judged him by what I saw.  He greeted my friend and said, “Good morning Pastor!”  After exchanging greetings my friend ask him how many he had at his high school Bible study the night before.   He gave a number that impressed me but what caught my attention most was when he said, “We were able to lead seven of them to Jesus!”  Conviction overwhelmed me.  I almost fell to my knees in the parking lot.  I sheephisly wandered off to my car where I lamented my sin and ask God to forgive me.  The enemy of my soul had attempted to seed the thought of prejudice in my mind.  That seed could’ve grown into evil actions that could’ve been embarrasing.  I saw how easy it was to open the door to something God hates.  I have tried for many years since to keep that door closed and locked.  I want to hate what God hates and love who He loves.  I hope all of us can move toward that same direction.