Let Us Listen

Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

One thing I’ve heard more than once, when the problems of racial injustice in America are discussed, is that the church has not stepped up and helped as we should.

After the horrible things that have gone on this summer, I wanted to be a part of the church that would help. An important step, I believe, is to listen to what people have to say. Below is a note from my friend Stats Ky Bey.

We have more in common than we realize. We share the anatomy of eyes, fingers, toes. We share the desire for family, friends, home. We share the need for a father, protector, provider. And, most importantly we all need a Savior.

So, let’s think about these common needs as we think about that a man was shot seven times in the back. And, before we add the imaginary differences found in our psychology, what do we think about the fact that a man was shot seven times in the back.

If you are like me, you may be thinking, “Why wasn’t one shot enough?” And, if you are like me, you may be wondering, “Why wasn’t two times enough?” And, if you are like me, you may be wondering, “Why wasn’t three times enough?” And, if you are like me, you may be wondering, “Why wasn’t four times enough?” And, if you are like me, you may be wondering, “Why wasn’t 5 times enough?” And, if you are like me, you may be wondering, “Why wasn’t 6 times enough?”

And if you are like me, you may be wondering “Why was this man shot seven times in the back?”

We have more in common than you think.

Now, if you are not like me, you may be thinking, “That man should have been shot more than seven times in the back, good riddance!” And, if this is the case, let’s add in the biases of race, status, education, position, authority, and everything else that will stop us from asking the hard question of, “Why was a man shot seven times in the back?”

Key words to consider here? They are man, shot, seven, times, and back.

Is the issue with the word man? Maybe not every man, or every life, is seen as equally valuable? What do you think? Is every man, life, valuable?

Is the issue with the word shot? Does everyone who can shoot have the right to shoot? Does the freedom to shoot outweigh the responsibility to shoot? Do those who have the freedom also realize that they have the responsibility of acting in good conscience?

Is the issue with the word seven? Can we not see how much seven is? Do we not realize seven means, I intend to do this not once, not twice, not three times, not 4 times, not five times, not six times; but, I intend to do this seven times. If someone does something 7 times you would begin to think that it is no accident.

Is the issue with the word times? How many times does this have to happen? How many times do we have to hear the same story? How many times do we have to say this is not right before someone hears us? How many times?

Is the issue with the word back? Are we just going to turn our back? Are we just going to go back to the way things were? Are we just going to go back and forth and make no progress? Are we just going to go back to the question, “Why was a man shot seven times in the back?"

We have more in common than you think. We can change, we can speak, we can care, we can share, we can behave differently. We can pray, we can stay, we can teach, we can reach, we can be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding, in the work of The Lord!

It is easy to be discouraged by what is going on. It is easy to ignore what is going on. It is easy to dismiss the way things are and hope that someone else deals with it. But, we all, in our own garden where The Lord has placed us, can be the voice of change and continue to speak truth about what is going on. Ecclesiastes 3

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under

heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a

time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A

time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time

to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away

stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to

refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to

keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A

time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time

to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.