I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share my thoughts on the recent events. Honestly, I’m scared that something I say will be taken the wrong way, I will say something out of ignorance, or I will hurt those that I love. It would be much easier for me to keep my thoughts to myself, but I feel convicted to speak out. My intent is not to share political views, but to speak on the injustice and oppression that surrounds each and every one of us on a daily basis.

Let me start by saying the murder of George Floyd is disgusting, and should never have happened. My heart hurts and I’m choosing to sit in discomfort. I am mourning this terrible injustice and earnestly praying for George’s family, friends, and community. I am praying for justice to be served and for love to overcome. Everything I have to say is in response to George Floyd’s death… but everything I have to say also extends beyond George Floyd’s death. I’m speaking out in response to the individuals who were murdered before George Floyd. I’m speaking out in response to every act of oppression in the past, present, or future. I’m speaking out against oppression that stems from racism, sexism, and religious intolerance, just to name a few.

We have to get angry about the injustices that we are seeing EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. We need to remember that Jesus got angry while he was here on earth, and God is angry in heaven right now. Psalm 7:11 says, “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day” (New Living Translation). Anger is warranted. Anger is appropriate. Anger is necessary. To look at how to get angry and appropriately channel that anger, I think it’s important to look at how Jesus got angry on earth.

I want to start by looking at the context of this passage because it is crucial in helping us to understand why Jesus was actually upset. At the time of Passover, families traveled from distances near and far. While families were required to offer their own sacrifices, many did not bring sacrificial animals with them on their journey. In the outer courts of the temple, where gentiles were permitted, high priests allowed, and possibly participated in, the selling of animals for sacrifices. There was only one type of coin that was allowed in the courts, so money changers exchanged unacceptable currency into acceptable currency, for a hefty fee. This outer courtyard is also known as the Gentile Courtyard and was the only place where people who were not Jews could be present. The only space that the Gentiles had access to was disrupted by the money changers and sellers. The place for those who were already oppressed was being invaded. Jesus was upset because individuals that he cared deeply for were being violated. This is the exact same reason we should be getting upset today.

We see Jesus noticing these behaviors in verse 11, but Mark implies that Jesus didn’t act right then. He got angry, but he did not act rashly. He took that anger, rested on it for the night, and then reacted. He even curses the fig tree to make another point to the disciples before he continues on to clearing out the temple. Matthew Henry’s Complete Bible Commentary explains the importance of the delayed response very eloquently.

“He looked round about upon all things, but as yet said nothing. He saw many disorders there, but kept silence, Ps. 50:21. Though he intended to suppress them, he would not go about the doing of it all on a sudden, lest he should seem to have done it rashly; he let things be as they were for this night, intending the next morning to apply himself to the necessary reformation, and to take the day before him. We may be confident that God sees all the wickedness that is in the world, though he do not presently reckon for it, nor cast it out. Christ, having make his remarks upon what he saw in the temple, retired in the evening to a friend’s house at Bethany, because there he would be more out of the noise of the town, and out of the way of being suspected, a designing to head a faction.”

Matthew Henry’s Complete Bible Commentary

With the injustice of George Floyd’s death, and many other injustices, we must get angry. Jesus got angry when people took advantage of the oppressed. We must do the same. We must fight for justice, but as Christians, we cannot do it in a way that fails to show the love of Jesus to others. We should not act rashly. We should get angry, and take that anger to the Lord. We should pray to our Heavenly Father and ask Him to help us channel that anger in a way that brings about restoration, redemption, and justice, rather than further hurt. When we act on our own impulses, we will never bring about as much positive change as we do when we allow God to lead us into action.

We need to be working every day to have His Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We must be the hands and feet of Christ. We must actively fight to bring justice, but we also must not lose sight of the promise that one day complete and perfect justice will win. God does not promise perfect justice in the here and now, but He does promise it when Jesus returns. There are several verses that discuss how justice will finally be served, making everything right. While the context is different in each of these verses, some of which are listed below, the promise remains the same: justice will be served.

In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you. And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-8

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

Romans 12:19

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17

So what now? What do these action steps look like while we are trying to act in justice during our time on this earth (Micah 6:8)? Education is the best place to start. I am continuing to try to educate myself on oppression across the globe, specifically racial oppression. Books, podcasts, and documentaries are great places to start. I am also taking time to try to listen: to the stories of others, to the challenges of how I can grow, to the calls to take action. I am trying to identify and work on any implicit biases I may have. 

We can learn and grow and speak out against injustice, but we also must take action. Actions will always speak louder than words. This will look different for everyone. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what action steps I am going to take next. There are many ways to get involved, and I am praying that the Lord will lead me to act in ways that honor and glorify Him by loving and supporting His children. I’m praying about organizations I can support and conversations I can have. If you aren’t sure what some next steps may look like, I would love to share some resources with you that I have found helpful, so please ask. Let’s admit that we are uncomfortable by what’s going on around us and agree to strive to do better.

We need to love our neighbors. We need to act in mercy, humility, and justice (Micah 6:8). We need to take a stand. We need to be prayerfully considering how we can continue to take steps forward towards peace, compassion, and equity. Most importantly, we need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We need to trust that justice will be served, just as God has promised it will, when the time is right. Until then, let’s strive to be the light, to share Jesus with others, and to work to eradicate injustice and oppression.