The murder of George Floyd on May 25 sent America reeling. Opinions on racism, prejudice and justice have flooded our social media feeds and news outlets. Many see this tragedy as yet another instance of racism and oppression, but others insist that the statistics on police brutality and crime debunk that this event is connected to a larger problem.
How should Christians view these issues?
I hope to provide some biblical lenses with which to see issues like prejudice and racism. Everything that could be said on this subject cannot be said here. This post does not address the important topic of justice, nor does it expound on the depth of the evils that have occurred in history due to racism. The issues I’ve chosen to discuss are ones I’ve needed biblical clarity on, and I hope to encourage Christians to thoughtfully consider some of what the Bible does (and doesn’t) say about these things. While literal racial reconciliation was accomplished in Christ (Ephesians 2:13-19), the Bible has much to say about how Christians should view prejudice, ethnic and socioeconomic tensions, diversity, and unity.
A Lens: Partiality
The term “racism” isn’t in the Bible. It’s important to clarify and define what we mean when we say racism. Here is a scripture I have found very helpful:
“If you really fulfill the law of scripture, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James 2:8-9
I would suggest that partiality is a biblical way to define what we mean when we say racism. In the context of these verses, James describes treating someone differently based on what they look like. That’s what people usually mean when they talk about racism and prejudice. Here, the Bible gives us a name for it — partiality — and calls it sin.
Notice that this verse says that showing partiality is completely contrary to loving our neighbor as ourselves. We usually think of hate as the opposite of love, which is true, but here, the Bible puts partiality in direct opposition to Christ-like love.
This challenges me. Even if I don’t overtly hate someone of a different ethnicity, do I treat them with partiality and unfair bias? Unfortunately, I have to admit that I do at times. I am naturally self-serving and drawn to things that are comfortable and convenient — so I’m prone to avoiding people that seem difficult for me to connect with. Or, I’ll find myself making an unfair judgement based on how someone looks. This scripture forces me to think through this and to admit that I have sinful tendencies when it comes to partiality. Only when I am aware of that can I confess it and ask the Lord to help me. As I do, I become more aware of the people around me who are different than me. Instead of going along in my self-centered universe, I am prompted to notice others and extend friendship, kindness, and conversation.
Let’s push this a bit further. If we define racism as sinful partiality, perhaps Christians who are repulsed by the idea of systemic racism may be able to stomach the idea of systemic partiality. Is there perhaps evidence of ingrained partiality in our churches and communities? Look around. Do most of the people in your church and community look like you and share your interests and preferences? A lack of diversity is not always a sign that partiality is at play, just as the existence of ethnic diversity is not always a sign that Christian love is at work. But believers have a biblical call to grow in loving people who are different than us — whether that difference is ethnicity, upbringing, or interests. The concept of partiality applies to much more than just the black community specifically, but it certainly does not apply to less than them. Diversity for diversity’s sake is not a Christian idea — but diversity that comes from Christians who are serious about loving their neighbor is.
I have heard many people sharing statistics on crime and police brutality as arguments against systemic racism. But what statistics do not show are people’s experiences with partiality that are not recorded. Statistics don’t show how many times a black man has gotten pulled over for a “routine traffic stop.” But if you start listening, those are the kinds of stories you will hear (and worse). Yes, statistics and facts are important, but so is listening to our black brothers and sisters. Are we too prideful to admit that partiality plays a role in all of our lives and is something we need to be aware of?
A Lens: Privilege
What about white privilege? God has something to say about the idea of privilege in the book of James.
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.” James 1:9-10
Isn’t it interesting that the Bible talks about socioeconomic status? The ESV commentary on this scripture says: “James exhorts the rich to boast in their humiliation, (1) by realizing that their wealth is temporary and that it brings them no advantage before God, and (2) by identifying with the poor in their affliction.”[1]
Whether or not we believe there is such a thing as “white” privilege, the idea of privilege is in scripture. The Bible says that anything that would make us “rich” in the world is to be used for God’s glory and others’ good – especially those who have less than us. The more I have listened to black brothers and sisters describe some of the things they have experienced, the more I am convinced that there are certain advantages that come with being white in America. This does not mean that we “repent” of our whiteness (being white isn’t a sin), nor does it mean we are prideful or ashamed about it. Rather, we acknowledge that any advantage or influence we may have in this world, big or small, is to be used for God’s glory and others’ good.
Not only that, but James says that we should have an attitude of boasting in the fact that whatever worldly advantages we have are fading away. Our pastor recently said it this way in a sermon:
“Revel in the fact that everything you have in this world is fading away. Your business will one day close its doors. All your money will one day be in somebody else’s bank account. Your clothes will be hanging in a thrift store. Your life and your body will decline until its breath is gone. And there’s a sense in which all of that – the very humiliation of it – is something you should revel in. Not like a nihilist, or a self-destructive maniac, but because you are a person who glories in the truth that what is permanent is permanent and what is temporary is temporary, and you’re a person who doesn’t get those confused.”[2]
A Lens: Diversity
Here are a few other scriptures to help us see these issues from a biblical perspective:
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Revelation 7:9-10
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:13-20
The Bible is clear that God’s people are a diverse group. The verses in Revelation give us a picture of heaven being made up of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language. The verses in 1 Corinthians specifically speak to how people of different ethnicities, Jews and Greeks, are now part of the same body in Christ. These verses emphasize diversity in the body of Christ. I love how John Piper explains why his church pursues ethnic diversity:
- It illustrates more clearly the truth that God created people of all races and ethnicities in His own image (Genesis 1:27).
- It displays more visibly the truth that Jesus is not a tribal deity but is the Lord of all races, nations, and ethnicities.
- It demonstrates more clearly the blood-bought destiny of the church to be “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
- It exhibits more compellingly the aim and power of the cross of Christ to “reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Ephesians 2:16).
- It expresses more forcefully the work of the Spirit to unite us in Christ. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).[3]
A Lens: Unity
In the second part of the passage in 1 Corinthians, there is an emphasis on unity:
“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26).
In order to have true unity, Christians must recognize that God has put us in covenantal relationship with people who are different than us – and we are called to unity – with those people. If we are going to have true unity, we need to listen to and love people from other cultures and backgrounds, including our black brothers and sisters. Not an elusive “black community,” but real brothers and sisters in our churches, communities, and neighborhoods. Not all black people are experiencing and responding to events like George Floyd’s murder the same way, and it would be foolish to think that they are.
If we are going to truly love our brothers and sisters, we must have real relationships with them, listen to them, and seek to understand where they are coming from. The passage in 1 Corinthians specifically calls believers to care for the suffering brother and sister. If someone says they are hurting, we should listen, and we should care.
A City on a Hill
The church is called to be salt and light and a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Our lives should proclaim to the watching world that the sin of partiality can be forgiven and forsaken through Jesus Christ, who calls us to instead walk in true, impartial love of neighbor. The power to lay down preferences and advantages for the sake of others comes from looking to our Savior, who for our sake became poor. True unity and joyful diversity is possible when we share in common the most essential thing about us: reconciliation to God through forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
Let those of us who claim Christ embrace the opportunity before us to grow in self-sacrificial love and Christ-exalting unity with our blood-bought brothers and sisters of other backgrounds and ethnicities. Let us grow in true love of neighbor that draws near to people who are not like us instead of overlooking them. Let us continue to proclaim and showcase the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that is running in circles: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin (including partiality) of the world!”
[1]ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version. Crossway, 2011.
[2]Josh de Koning. “How to View Everything You (Don’t) Have.” San Antonio, TX. 5 Apr. 2020. Sermon.
[3]Piper, John. “How and Why Bethlehem Pursues Ethnic Diversity.” Desiring God, 24 January 2007, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-and-why-bethlehem-pursues-ethnic-diversity.