The gruesome May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has sparked worldwide protests and unrest, and has brought into sharp focus, once again, the systemic racism which is deeply ingrained in the American culture, and the ugliness of police injustice especially as this relates to the unwarranted killing of African-American men.
As believers in Christ we have an obligation to be a part of the solution of this national epidemic. We at Cambria Heights Gospel Chapel, join our voices with the thousands who have risen in condemnation of this ongoing injustice. Our response is grounded firmly in three fundamental truths in the Word of God – the Bible – on which we stand.
Firstly, we at Cambria Heights Gospel Chapel affirm that man is made in the image and likeness of God (Gen.1:26, 27; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9) and this image and likeness have to do with Man’s dignity, destiny and freedom of choice.
Secondly, we all share a common heritage as from the first two created human beings, God has populated the earth with one race – the human race; yes, diverse in skin colour, languages and cultural beliefs practices, but all ONE race. (Gen. 1:26,27; 9:1; Acts 17:26).
Thirdly, and this is a natural corollary of the first, despite our diversities, our varying ethnicities, and cultural distinctives, we all stand equal before our creator.
Because we are created in God’s image, because we all belong to one race, because we are all equal before God, it behoves us to be our brother’s keeper, to love others as we love ourselves, and to protect the life and dignity of each other.
We cannot afford to be silent on matters of oppression and social injustice. We must find ways to join the conversation and do our part to eliminate this evil from our society and bring healing to this grieving nation. As Bishop Desmond Tutu once said, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”. We must therefore stand against all injustice, as, in the words of Martin Luther Jr., ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’
God is a God of peace and unity – not anarchy and chaos. And so, while we push for justice and defend the right of citizens to protest peacefully, we equally denounce lawlessness and the senseless destruction of property.
We call on the Church everywhere not to miss what God is saying to us in these tumultuous times. At the start of His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus summed up His mission in the words “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18 NKJV). May this too be our mission and the vision that drives our walk, work and worship.
While our primary focus is on sharing the gospel, we must also participate in the push to reform policing policies and practices and to lobby for a justice system that applies the rule of law without fear or favor. We pray that God will grant peace and comfort to the families of all those who were or are affected by the recent acts of oppression and social injustice.