In light of the riots surrounding the death of George Floyd, I am setting aside today’s Corona Virus devotion in order to address our national crisis.

I believe we all are shocked by the senseless and needless homicide of George Floyd by a policeman sworn to “serve and protect”.  Our God is a God of justice and, as such, we want justice to prevail.  The officer involved has been charged with homicide and the other officers who just stood there are going to be charged also.

People certainly have a right to be angry and to express their anger in non-destructive ways, including peaceful rallies. In Ephesians 4:26 Paul says: “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”  This verse supports righteous anger, but it does not encourage us to keep fanning our anger.  We are to deal with our anger as soon as possible so it does not escalate to the level of sin: burning businesses, shooting officers, looting stores.

Ephesians 4: 31-32 says: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Forgiving one another does not mean you turn a blind eye to racial injustices, nor a deaf ear to a people’s cry of deep seated frustration.  We Christians have our work cut out for us!

There are things we can do! Here are some suggestions to consider:

•       First, pray that every person experience God’s peace, comfort, justice, caring, healing, forgiveness, and a desire to understand.

•       Talk about the issues and your feelings, without escalating the tension.  Be willing to listen to other people with whom you disagree.  Seek the common truth.

•       Not only make sure the officers involved in George Floyd’s death receive the justice they deserve, but we need to support the arrest those who have killed police while rioting, those who have burned down businesses, those who are looting, and those “professional” rioters and anarchists who have been bussed into various cities to help create mayhem and chaos.

•       See if you can join a town committee/group to address (and hopefully prevent) racial inequality and riots.

As Christians we need to do more that “smooth things over” or put a band aid on a very complex issue.  We need to do more than just pray, though prayer is powerful.  We live in a post-Christian era in the United States.  Not everyone cares about our Christian values.  Yet this is exactly what our country needs.  Now may be such an opportunity.

Pastor Bruce