The Kingdom of God and the Issue of Injustice

 In light of all that is happening in the United States since the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer, vast groups of people have been rallying to cry out for justice and much more.  My goal in this post is not to specifically address the negative, unbiblical approach I see in the BLM movement, but to address God’s Kingdom principles and discuss how Christians are called to respond to injustices.  Just to be clear, this blog is in response to things I’m seeing in social media, specifically from Christians calling the Church to align with the Black Lives Matter movement, which is a movement contrary to God, His Kingdom and His Kingdom principles.  (If you are curious why, I encourage you to investigate about the movement as I have.)  The things I address in this blog do not appear to have any value in the BLM movement (but to be fair, it is not a Christ centered movement), and yet Christians are flooding to the streets or their FB pages with calls to align with it.  My brothers and sisters, this should not be!  

The whole New Testament is written during a time of great persecution, suffering and injustice.  Jesus is born in the midst of all this chaos.  Jesus grew up in the midst of great persecution and suffering.  Jesus ministered in the midst of great injustice.  During this time, many Jews lived in fear, while others boldly protested and rioted the injustices of Rome.  But Jesus demonstrated and taught something completely different.  Jesus demonstrated throughout His life that His primary focus was to teach people about the Kingdom of God, reveal the Kingdom of God and lead people into the Kingdom of God.  The Jews believed God was going to establish His Kingdom on earth through the Messiah.  The Messiah was supposed to be a conquering king who would set God’s people free from the oppression of the Romans, who were brutal in their dealings with the Jews.  They were all about overthrowing the Romans and finding freedom, but Jesus turned things upside down with His teachings.  The things He said and taught were completely foreign to the Jews, and did not reflect what they expected from the Messiah.  The Jews failed to recognize the bigger picture God had.  Jesus is the Messiah and will one day return as a mighty conquering King to set His people free from the sufferings of this world, but His initial arrival was for another purpose, to set us free from sin and death and lead us to represent and live according to His Kingdom while here on Earth.  

Jesus said that He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.  He went about preaching, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”  He said things like, “You’ve heard it said, but I say to you…”.  Jesus was fulfilling the law, while raising the standard to reveal God’s Kingdom purposes, values and principles.  So, what did Jesus teach that was so radical?  What did He talk about in the midst of so much suffering and injustice?  

In Matthew and Luke, Jesus teaches extensively about how God calls His people to live.  See what Jesus says in Luke 6:27-36.  Jesus says, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies!  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who hurt you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also....  Do to others as you would like them to do to you.  If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that?  Even sinners love those who love them!  And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit?  Even sinners do that much!  And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit?  Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

Love your enemies!  Do good to them.  Lend to them without expecting to be repaid.  Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.  You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”  This is a key description for Kingdom living!  

KINGDOM PRINCIPLES

“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” 

So, who do you think came to the Jews’ minds when Jesus said this?  Exactly, the Romans.  They were their enemies.  Jesus was telling the Jews to love the Romans.  Wow…that was a shocker.  Definitely not something they were expecting to hear.  In Matthew, Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said, ‘love your neighbor’, but hate your enemies.  I say, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  “Love your neighbor” was in the OT law, but hating your enemies was not.  That was something man added.  Jesus was revealing the Kingdom mindset and raising the bar for all who would become God’s children.  It’s not enough just to love those who love you, you must also love those who hate you and harm you!  Jesus demonstrated that for the entire world.  While we were haters of God and still sinners, Jesus died for us so we could have new life.  Now He calls us to love everyone...even those who do us harm. 

“DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HURT YOU & BE MERCIFUL”

Jesus was clarifying and expounding on the fact that love is more than just a thought or feeling…it is action!  We must do good, bless and pray even for those who hate us, say bad things about us and do us wrong.  Love is the call!  
At the end of that Luke passage, Jesus calls us even higher, "You must be compassionate (merciful), just as your Father is compassionate (merciful)."  Wow!  Jesus calls us to reflect our Father by showing mercy, compassion and forgiveness to those who deserve to be punished or harmed.  You might say, "But that's not right!  They deserve to be punished!"  And you're right.  They do deserve to be punished for their wrong doings.  WE ALL DO!  After all, we are all sinners.  We have all done wrong and have been unjust at times and we all deserve to be punished by God!  But God has shown us mercy through Jesus.  We are called to do the same!  

“TURN THE OTHER CHEEK”

This addresses when someone personally attacks or insults us (physically, verbally, emotionally).  This is not implying pacifism, nor placing ourselves or others in danger.  Jesus is telling us that we cannot seek retaliation or revenge for personal offenses.  Offense (being offended) is not a value nor is it permitted in the Kingdom of God.  This is not a directive for government policies or the judicial system.  It is a directive for God’s children for how to live Godly lives in the midst of injustice, suffering and pain in this world, which goes hand in hand with loving your enemies.  Jesus demonstrated this perfectly and WE are called to live like Jesus.  This too is only possible when we surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to empower us to live like Jesus. 

“FORGIVENESS”

This is of vital importance to God.  In Matthew 6:12, 14-15 Jesus says, “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.  …If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  Forgiveness is no longer holding someone’s faults against them.  It doesn’t keep a record of the wrongs committed against you or others.  It is letting go of the past.  It is choosing to move forward, free from hurt, anger, resentment and bitterness.  It goes hand in hand with becoming a new creation…the old is gone, the new has come.  We no longer live according to what was, but look to Jesus and live according to what He calls us to.  Forgiveness is difficult when we hold on to the hurts and offenses of the past.  Forgiveness is easy when we don’t allow offense into our hearts to begin with.  That is not to say that it’s always easy, but it is the call.  A favorite quote of mine says, "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison hoping the other person will die."  We must remember, forgiveness opens the door to being forgiven by God, but unforgiveness not only destroys our lives, it blocks God from being able to forgive us of our sins. 

“RECONCILIATION”

From Genesis to Revelation, God’s desire and plan was to reconcile the world to Himself, meaning to restore us to right relationship with Him.  Once reconciled to Him, God would reconcile people from every tribe, tongue and nation.  Through Jesus, there would no longer be anything that divides us…not race, social position, economic position, etc, but all are one in Christ Jesus.  That is God’s heart and desire…for us to be reconciled with one another through faith in Jesus and the empowering, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit!  (Read: “Be Reconciled”)

“UNITY”

Reconciliation leads to unity.  God desires that His people, His children would live in unity—oneness in heart, mind and Spirit through the bond of peace and love.  Jesus prayed in John 17:23, “I am in them and You are in Me.  May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me.”  The body of Christ is to protect and guard this unity at all costs, after all, it is our unity in the bonds of love and peace that points people to Jesus! 

Paul writes in Philippians 1, "I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ."  He goes on to say, "ABOVE ALL, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.  Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News."

This is the call for all of God’s people.  As Christians, "our rights" are no longer the focus...the Kingdom of God is.  We abandon "our rights" when we come into the Kingdom because we serve the King!  "It is no longer I who live, but Christ Jesus lives in me!"  Our rights and opinions no longer matter.  What matters is what God says and that is what we are called to represent.  The question is will we be Kingdom Christians that seek to reflect God and His Kingdom or will we be a people who take the name of Christ and still reflect the kingdom of this world?  Will we be ABOVE ALL citizens of heaven, living in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Jesus, unified with one spirit and purpose, fighting for the faith OR will we be citizens of this world, living in a way that reflects the values of this world, unified with the spirit and purposes of the world, fighting for "my rights"?  These are a few of the questions we need to answer as we live in the midst of all this chaos we see in the world today.  

So, getting back to how Jesus would respond.  What would Jesus do in the midst of all the current chaos we see in the US and world?  Well, we definitely know Jesus would not be out looting and rioting!  But, would He even peacefully protest?  Let's answer that by looking at how he responded in His day.  

Did Jesus join His fellow Jews in protesting the injustices of the Romans?  

Did he ever start a peaceful protest against the injustices done to His people?  

The answer: NO!  Jesus in His entire ministry never even addressed the topic (the specific injustices done to the Jews by the Romans).  When asked about the unjust taxation of the Jews by Romans, Jesus simply said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.”  Did Jesus not see the injustices going on?  Did Jesus not care that people were suffering?  Of course He did.  He grew up in it and experienced it His whole life, but Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father doing and said only what He heard the Father saying.  Jesus came to proclaim, reveal, represent and demonstrate the Kingdom of God, not establish an earthly kingdom.  We are called to do the same! 

"So, it's wrong to address the injustices in the world?"  

No, as long as the purpose is to bring about the Kingdom of God.  The best way to "address the injustices" in the world is to live out God's Kingdom culture, live justly and treat others the way we would want to be treated.  For example, we are called to care for the orphans and the widows and the poor.  That is the call of the Church and Christian ministries.  We are called to do it, not wait for the government to do it.  Protesting calls on government to make changes.  The Church is called to live justly and care for the hurting, to reveal the truth about the Kingdom and to demonstrate the Kingdom of God to the world around us and to those who are lost and dying in sin. 

Micah 6:8 says, “the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right (act justly), to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”  We are called “to act justly”, in other words to live rightly and do what is right and just.  The people of God are called to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”  Again, I am not saying we don’t speak out against injustices when they occur, but we must do it in alignment with God’s Word and Kingdom.  Speak God's truth (not the world's), but speak it in love and with mercy for the purpose of reconciliation and unity in Christ.  The Church must lead the way, not follow worldly, spiritually blind, anti-God movements. 

So, what are we supposed to do then?  

Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength by following Him, surrendering our lives to Him and obeying His Word.  This leads us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  When we love God first, we will be able to love those around us with God’s unconditional, agape love.  The Word of God says that the world will know us (those who belong to Him) by our love.  In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan when asked, "who is my neighbor?".  He tells of a Jewish man robbed and beaten and left for dead.  3 men came upon this near dead man: a priest (Jew), a levite (Jew), and a Samaritan.  The first 2 men passed by, but the Samaritan stopped and helped the man.  Now what is important here is the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other, yet Jesus reveals to us that even those that hate us are our neighbors and we must go and do the same as this Samaritan did.   You see, we are incapable of truly loving like this apart from God’s love poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit and His enabling power.  1 Corinthians 13 describes this love: “Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  This is the kind of love we’re called to pursue. 

My prayer is that we the Church, God’s people, will be awakened to live according to God's Kingdom.  We must remember that we are in this world, but not of it and that we are called to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, join together as the reconciled and unified children of God, and love God and others completely and wholeheartedly, pointing them to Jesus--the King of kings and Lord of lords--for there is salvation in no one else.  This life is about living for eternity (having an eternal mindset).  This is our call and our mandate as ambassadors for Christ here in this world.  

Amen!