Violence cannot be fought with violence. The voices of hurting people need to be heard, but they will never be heard over the screams of terrified civilians or the gunshots of police officers or protesters.
People are treated poorly every single day, and that is a travesty. But one police officer does not represent the thousands of others within a city, just as one person and his actions do not represent the entirety of his race.
We are not called to decide the fate and punishment of those who break the law. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves in Luke 6:31, and we’ve lost sight of that.
Rioting and protesting in and against innocent cities, civilians, and police officers only physically and emotionally damage each. Destroying buildings and shooting other human beings does nothing to change the issue itself. Looting will not demolish racism. Rioting will not demolish racism. Violence will not demolish racism.
Love will.
I empathize with hurting communities, as I have never personally been part of one. I feel for the families of the innocent lives that have been so abruptly taken. I feel for the police officers that are doing their jobs and take abuse for it. I feel for the cities that are being burned and broken.
But when will we realize that these issues cannot and will not be solved by hate? When will we remember that we have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves? When will love win?
Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor.” Love does not spit in the face of those who treat it poorly. Love does not hate an entire race of people because of something one person did. Love does not stereotype an entire population based on its profession.
This is not to say what’s being done on either side is fair. This is not to justify the wrongdoings of civilians or police officers. This is not to justify the defacing of cities. This is solely to remind us of who we are and what we’re called to do on this earth.
1 John 4:8 tells us that, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
It’s convicting. It’s hard to read. But it’s true. We are not here to do wrong to those we feel have wronged us. We are here to love our enemies. We are here to be lights in a world that get darker every single day.
The problem is that we are trying to be the ones serving justice. We are trying to do all of this on our own and take these matters into our own hands. That has never been our place as children of God and it never will be.
Ecclesiastes 3:17 gives up hope when it says, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
Protestors won’t bring judgment. Rioters won’t bring judgment. Looters won’t bring judgment. The wicked and righteous will get what they deserve. We do not decide that, and it’s time to recognize our role as Christians.
We are here to love every soul on this earth. We are here to love our enemies. Every single person on this earth was handcrafted by the God of the Universe. Every person is valuable, and every person is to be loved.
Love doesn’t care if someone is your best friend or your greatest enemy; Love treats every human being the same way. Love reacts the same way every time without fail. Love wins, and love covers all wrongs.
