Recently I learned of a study conducted with 135 preschool teachers. They told the teachers to watch a monitor that showed four preschool-aged students in a classroom: one black boy, one back girl, one white boy, and one white girl. They asked the teachers to be on the lookout for bad behavior. Using eye-tracking software, they were able to track the movements of the teachers’ eyes watching the students. The result? The little black boy overwhelmingly got most of the attention from the teachers. And here’s the catch: there was never any mischievous behavior displayed.
The goal of the study was to discover if the teachers had any implicit racial biases that would cause them to pay attention to one student over another. After the researchers told the teachers told what had happened, they were devastated. This black boy was a target for potential bad behavior and didn’t even do anything wrong. This is an example of what is called implicit racial bias. The implicit racism towards blacks remaining in our country has left a stain on our soul and guilt on our conscience.
By now, I’m sure you have heard the cries for justice. For Christians, we have to realize that this war on racism and injustice is not just natural—it’s spiritual. We cannot overcome hate with hate, but we must overcome hate with love. The great Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “That old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”
What is the right thing? The right thing is giving justice to the poor and the orphan while upholding the rights of the oppressed and the destitute, according to the Scripture. Christians are biblically mandated to enforce the rights of the oppressed. Justice is our business, regardless of our color. But has the church been adhering to this mission?
It seems as if some are just waking up to the realization that racism still exists. And yet, may continue to label it a “social” issue, dismissing themselves of any responsibility. Christians must resist the temptation to have a malnourished theology by only advocating for the biblical truths that suit our interests. Upholding the rights of the oppressed is an act of love, an act of selflessness that perpetuates unity. So this is not just a social issue. Injustice is a church issue, and we must deal with it.
History teaches us that at one time, black people were considered ⅗ of a person. And still, many didn’t consider them to be people but property. The dehumanization of a race took place. Once slaves were freed, Jim Crow laws were introduced to remind blacks that they still weren’t as good as their white counterparts. My father grew up in the south in Tuskegee, Alabama. He lived through segregation as a young man and still tells me stories of his experiences. His accounts serve as a sobering reminder that we are only one to two generations removed from this ideology. The result of this has been implicit cultural memories, unspoken emotions, and feelings passed on from generation to generation that still haunt the black community and society at large. Most of the black community is still fighting to feel whole again.
As a product of these events, offense has taken root in the hearts of many. This was the first part of the devil’s plan. First came offense, next comes division, and finally destruction. This battle against racism is ultimately about saving our country from destruction. If civil war is the worst-case scenario, is the Christian Church really prepared to stop it?
How do we stop the division? Focus on a unified vision. For the Church, our allegiance should not be to a political party first, but to the God of the universe who’s kingdom trumps all parties. We should have a bias of righteousness. With this in mind, we cannot use our words and actions to divide. We must be promoters of peace. We must make our goal to unify. There is a scripture that says, “When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice.” We must come together because where there is unity, the Lord commands the blessing. When people allow God to use them to be peacemakers, the love of God is put on display for humanity to see.
Love is how the Church can deal with this crisis at hand. In the Bible, God reminds His people that vengeance is His, and His alone. Vengeance, in the hands of man, often turns into revenge. Vengeance takes too much of a toll on the human spirit. Therefore we have to keep our eyes fixed on what lies ahead. Equality is not about getting revenge for past failures of the justice system. It is about looking towards the future envisioning the changes that need to be made within the system, with a Biblical worldview.
It’s time for a change. It’s time to change laws. It’s time to change policies. It’s time to create a system where blacks are not consistently oppressed, but they are given every opportunity to succeed. A system where blacks are no longer targeted, but they are empowered. It’s time to see racial equality and widespread unity. There used to be a time when people left doors unlocked, neighbors looked out for each other, and we collectively upheld the moral laws that governed the community. We must return back to that. There has been a failure in leadership at just about every level. That is why I started the Winston Leadership Institute to train up morally sound leadership.
Now an opportunity stands before us. Many have taken to the streets in protest over the last several months. Protesting can certainly raise awareness. But what can the Church encourage people to do after the protest ends? Make better decisions. It is a myth to think that our decisions aren’t affecting anyone. They are affecting everyone. Your decisions matter. Your decision to get your law degree and help people who can’t afford legal representation matters. Your decision to speak up when you see racism and oppression matters. Your decision to open a small business and employ those in the community matters. Your decision to go into politics to influence funding and legislation or deciding to go into law enforcement to serve and protect everyone in the community you call home—all of that matters. Those decisions matter because those decisions can save black lives and even empower black lives. After the protests end, the way you live your life will decide if black lives really matter to you. They should matter to the Church. They certainly matter to God. Every single life matters to God.
Being black was not a choice, so living as a person of color should not be a death sentence. It’s time to get back to genuinely valuing each other as people. That is how the Church can be a leading voice against racism and injustice. We can teach humanity what it means to value a human life, irrespective of color.
It’s time that we promote love, healing, unity, equality, justice, and hope. It may seem hard to find hope amid pandemics and protests. But for the Church, hope is here and always has been. Hope doesn’t have a color, but hope has a name. His name is Jesus: the ultimate example of love to humanity.
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