A question many Americans
will argue over is whether race should be “politicized.” In ways we may not realize, race is and
always has been a profoundly political thing – and Christianity does have and
always has had an illuminating, true and helpful theological viewpoint on
race. Whether it’s gerrymandering (in a
liberal or a conservative direction), education or poverty policy, voting
rights, or police and national security challenges, race matters.
And race matters to God – who created us
humans in precisely this way, evidently delighting in the variety of people on
earth, and no doubt dreaming race would provide us with a special way to learn
to love one another and see God’s image in everyone. God could have made everybody white, or
brown, so we’d all favor one another; but God let creation unfold so we’d have
a dizzying spectrum of people – not so we’d dislike or distrust one another,
but so we would love.
Last February, during a great public conversation
I had with Dr. Shannon Sullivan on “white privilege,” something dawned on me.
Christian theology helps us realize what we do not realize about ourselves
(that we are beneficiaries of God’s goodness in ways we never noticed, and also
that we have sins we aren’t aware of that riddle our souls) – and so does the
current race conversation! We white people
don’t see the privileges we get just for being white, and despite our good
intentions, nagging traces of racist attitudes lurk inside us.
For American Christians to think faithfully
about any political issues related to race, we need to deal with what lurks
inside us in healthier ways – both whites and non-whites! Our stories matter, and listening to the
stories of others matters even more.
White people may not be able to fathom the pain or anger in the black
community. But we can listen to real
people, ask how they feel and why, and refrain from judging. White Christians have good biblical cause to
give the benefit of the doubt to the person of color, the one whose history has
been far, far tougher than our own.
Still, in 2016, there are policies that are
detrimental to minority communities, not to mention implicit bias and lingering
habits of racial profiling and judgment.
Christians notice, and they care.
As Christians, we can’t say definitively which party or which policy
will in fact create a more productive climate for everyone, not just us – but
we have to care, and we have to cheer for what lifts up our neighbor – the one
we don’t know yet, but hope to.
“Black lives matter” has become a
controversial slogan. The Bible most
definitely would say “All lives matter,” but Scripture always has this bias,
this special pleading for the stranger, the outcast, the one who’s been
disadvantaged. The Bible’s constant
vision is not about me getting stuff I want, but a robust sharing and a radical
inclusion of every person in God’s blessing.
Politics wields so much power on the quality of life; Christian
political engagement dares us to labor for justice.
