So begins Cat Stevens song from the ‘70s

Oh very young, what will you leave us this time, You’re only dancin’ on this earth for a short while, And though your dreams may toss and turn you now, They will vanish away like your dads best jeans, Denim blue, faded up to the sky, And though you want them to last forever, You know they never will, You know they never will, And the patches make the goodbye harder still

This song has been resonating in my mind the last few days, a combination of seeking the solace of simpler times when the world wasn’t so angry, as well as a reflection on the protests that many people, especially young people, are making in the wake of the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder by police.  This outrage, condemned by almost everyone, quickly morphed into the oh-so unfortunately familiar politicization of everything.  One could quickly see angry voices using this tragedy to justify whatever political position they were previously holding, both on the left and the right.  And in many cases, there are good points being made that are worthy of the public discussion that only comes in the times of passion.  I found David French’s post on systemic racism particularly helpful.  Yet there are many unfortunate responses that only increase the heat without adding any light. 

As progressives push their perceived advantage, a puzzling reality given the political realities of where this outrage occurred, conservatives fight back.  And lost to both in the broader political conflict is the pain of family that lost a loved one who would have rejected many of the actions taken in his name.  As a Christian with fairly libertarian leanings, I have long believed we have too many laws, and police (and the state more generally) have too much power over people’s lives.  I have opposed the drug war even while being opposed to legalization (ok, I recognize a little cognitive dissonance).  I am outraged by both George Floyd’s death and Mueller’s early morning raid of Paul Manafort in the Trump investigation.  I’m troubled by the militarization of the police, and I wonder what on earth does the EPA need military-style weapons for?  I oppose union privileges that protect bad actors in any setting, public or private.  I think when the Supreme Court invents a theory of qualified immunity for police out of whole cloth, it’s almost as outrageous as when they invent a right to abortion.  In both cases the constitution is silent, and in both cases the court going beyond its role enables the death of innocents.  So as we wrestle with the issue of police brutality (and who can deny it?*) there are many items under discussion that I will support, even while rejecting the notion that police generally are a problem. 

Yet the very young are seemingly asking for so much more.  While the initial response of someone my age might be to condemn them, I first want to applaud them.  To young people, I, and almost everyone, join you in condemning Floyd’s brutal murder, and we share your call for justice.  The outrage and emotion you feel is part of your being created in the image of God, who demands that we act justly, since our God is a God of justice.  For us to have more concern over the murder of someone by a policeman than by someone in the general public is appropriate; those that bear the sword are ministers of God—and those actions by police are just as reprehensible as when a minister of God’s word preys on one of the flock.  Further, the passion of youth to address social problems that previous generations have not solved is also a gift of God’s common grace—we should not be complacent in the accepting the status quo when those that share our common humanity are denied the dignity inherent in being created Imago Dei.  Every generation must anew fight to make the world a better place.  In this I applaud those marching in the streets and calling for action—your voices should and must be heard.  I applaud even more those that are using your voices to cry out to God for His mercy and grace on our world. 

Yet I would also caution the very young.  Your voices are not the only voices, and your ideas are not the sum of all wisdom—indeed there is much folly in what is being demanded. But I have a bigger warning for all of us.  For those that are seeing action needed in someone else, you are actually perpetuating the problem, especially those that are virtue signaling.  Racism is a particular form of the broader problem of our sin nature, and fundamental to every human that has ever lived.  Before the fall, we were “naked and unashamed,” but after the fall, “they (Adam and Eve) knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”   The Fall introduced a profound recognition in each of us that we stand exposed, and there is something inherently wrong in us.  We find many ways to try and hide it, but our shame remains.  The opposite manifestation of our shame is our pride, where we try to elevate ourselves over others to somehow make us feel relatively “better.”  It is this building of ourselves up, and often tearing others down, that is at the core of racism—but it clearly is not limited to racism.  By looking down on others, I can be somehow more comfortable with my own shortcomings—shortcomings I can never escape from, which haunt me daily.  The racist who looks down at someone of another race and the progressive who feels morally superior to the Trump supporter have the same underlying issue:  they want to put others down to somehow lift themselves up.  Looking down at others, for whatever reason, is at root a reflection of our fallen nature, and is a constant threat to all of us.  Do not allow Satan to deceive you that the issue is racism—the issue is much more problematic than that manifestation—the root is our nakedness before a Holy God.  The solution that allows us to “consider others better than ourselves” and rejoice that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” can only be found when we are one in Christ.  And it can only be made manifest in this fallen world when we daily repent and pursue the things of God.

And then I would encourage all of us to have hearts to rejoice.  There is a sovereign God who is working through all these things for His glory and our good.  Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening according to His plan.  Even in those circumstances that there is not earthly justice, we know that ultimately there will be justice. Every injustice will be punished–either by Christ on the cross for those that repent and believe in Him, or in an eternity in Hell for those that reject God’s grace. We walk by faith and not by sight.   

* Wayne Jones’ case is tragic testimony.  A man whose “crime” was walking in the street ends up being surrounded by officers on the ground, and was shot 22 times.  And the tragedy for me is I wasn’t even aware of that until two days ago.