We, at Branch’s Baptist Church, would like to express our resolute condemnation of the brutal force used by those in authority that resulted in the death of George Floyd. We are compelled to speak out publicly because we hold dear the values of our Lord Jesus Christ. He too, was brutalized by an unjust authority. Jesus condemned the rich man who refused to hear the cry for help from poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). How much more outrageous it is to kneel on a man’s neck for over eight minutes and ignore the pleas for a life-saving breath.
In Micah 6:8 we have a direct revelation of God’s demand for justice, “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.” NIV. Jesus echoes this demand by denouncing the hypocrisy of religious leaders who neglect justice. In Matthew 23:23-24 He said, ““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” NIV.
If justice is so important to our God, then we must understand what it means.
- Justice must be rooted in the respect for the dignity of every human being. God created all human beings in His own image and endowed them with dignity that is inviolable. This inviolability is clearly stated in both he Old and the New Testament. In Genesis 9:6 we read, “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” And in James 3:9 we are told, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” God commands respect for the dignity of every human being because each one of us bears His image. Reprehensibly, the experience of too many of our black citizens has been one of racial prejudice and profiling by those in authority.
- Justice must be impartial – In Deuteronomy 16:19-20 God instructs us to be unprejudiced, “Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” NIV.
- Justice must be proportional – The famous saying “ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,” Exodus 21:24 NIV, is not a call for personal revenge, or chopping off hands and feet, as many misinterpret it, but mandates proportional justice. One eye, for one eye, and not gouging both eyes for one eye, or worse. One does not take a life for an alleged $25 in counterfeit bills!
- Justice must be tempered by mercy and compassion. In Exodus 22:26-27 we are instructed, “If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.” NIV.
The slogan of the protests resulting from Mr. Floyd’s death has been heard around the country, “No justice, no peace.” Proverbs 29:4 reminds us that, “By justice a king gives a country stability.” NIV.
Justice and peace go hand in hand, but there is one more necessary thing for peace and stability to prevail among a nation. God tells us that in addition to justice, personal righteousness is necessary for peace. Personal righteousness, or right behavior, is dependent on the “fear of God.” If the police officer Derek Chauvin truly feared God, he would have acted righteously and respected the life of George Floyd. If he feared God, he would have used proportional force and showed compassion to a man pleading for the breath of life. If people who resort to violence truly were to fear God, they would not smash, burn, and loot stores that in many cases are owned by African Americans or other minorities. If we all feared God, we would stand up against injustice and “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” Proverbs 31:8