“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion…”

Former President Barack Obama posted this in a tweet along with a photo of himself looking into a window at children of different ethnicities, and it quickly became one of the most popular tweets of all time. He accompanied it with a quote from Nelson Mandela: “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” While these sentiments may sound nice at first, they leave much to be desired.

The tweet makes the assertion that human beings are, by nature, innocent. It suggests that love for others comes naturally to the human heart, declaring that no one is born “hating another person because of the color of their skin.” While this may be a heart-warming idea, it is not an accurate view of humanity. Sure, a 4-year-old who has a playmate of a different ethnicity may not seem to have any issues at first, and the argument could be made that culture and upbringing would be the cause of any forthcoming prejudices or racism. But this is not biblical, it is not realistic, and therefore it is not helpful.

It’s not biblical because scripture tells us that we are born with hearts that are “deceitful above all things and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible teaches that all forms of evil in the world, including racism, is not primarily due to our upbringing or culture, but is a result of the sin that dwells within us (Mark 7:21-23). To suggest that no one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin is partially true – we are not born hating people because of something about them, but because of something in us: our sinful, self-exalting hearts. Because of indwelling sin, our fallen hearts will use anything to exalt themselves and become superior to others. While there are many ways we do this on a daily basis, racism has historically been and still is one of the ways sin manifests itself. That is not to say that upbringing and circumstances are not highly influential – they are. But those things are not the ultimate cause of racism or any other evil – sin is.

The tweet is also not realistic. You could observe children from different ethnicities in a room playing together for any significant amount of time, and there would surely be sin and self-exaltation – the root of racism – rearing its head. Let the children grow up together and see how long it would take for them to notice their differences and use them against each other. As John Piper points out, it does not bother a self-centered heart that has already exalted itself over its Maker to exalt itself over others, and use any means possible (including the color of their skin or other differences) to do so.

It matters how we respond to the events in Charlottesville, or any other event involving racism. Countering with sweet-sounding platitudes isn’t the answer, but neither is ignoring it.  We have to name the real problem and provide a solution as potent as the evil we are treating – namely, sin and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have to work with wisdom and Christ-like love to destroy systems that disadvantage groups of people and help build systems and support leaders that allow for the flourishing of all humanity.

The Bible tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:23). The root of racism is sin, and since all of us are in the same boat when it comes to that, there is no room for pride or defensiveness. We can stop being offended that we may have prejudices we don’t even know about. We can humble ourselves, admit that we are all sinners with blind spots, treasure the work of Christ, and offer the gift of God’s grace to others. We need to be humbled by the truth that we cannot save or change ourselves and be stunned by God’s love: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9).

We must also respond to God’s love with obedient faith. Believers shouldn’t politely bow out of the issue of racism or pretend it isn’t happening. Biblical love requires action. Perhaps the first thing we should do is humble ourselves before God and his word in prayer and confess the many ways we  we exalt ourselves every day over both our Maker and others and admit how blind we can be. We must confess that self-love, not love for God and others, is what comes naturally to our human hearts, and then rely on the finished work of Christ and the means God has provided – his word, prayer, his church, and obedient faith – to not only transform our hearts, but to give us wisdom in redeeming the evil time at hand.