The Only Way to Truly Satisfy Social Justice Warriors

Do all these people who are crying out for equality, world peace, open borders, equal outcomes, distribution of wealth, and one unified global government realize that what they are truly longing for is Heaven? None of those things are fully possible unless sin is absent and resources are limitless.

God initially gave us Heaven on earth, but Adam and Eve were not content with perfection under the authority of God, so they chose to disobey God, tempted by that which promised to make them like God.  God's punishment on man included painful toil. Provisions would no longer come easily, and never again would there be sufficient resources readily available for everyone (Matthew 26:11). Since Adam and Eve sought to dominate instead of assimilate, they were deported from paradise, and a cherubim with a flaming sword was set up as a type of border patrol, blocking the way to the tree of life, with the strictest vetting protocol. (Genesis 1-3)

Under Nimrod, mankind tried to set up another global utopia at a plain in Shinar where they cried, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4) Knowing the wicked corruption that the lust for power brings and the folly of misguided worship, God confused their languages and scattered them into different nations and cultures so that no one man or government body would rule the whole earth.  God established the different nations for our protection and for the greater good (Acts 17:26-17).

God loves the nations.  He established clear boundaries for the nations and gives specific commands for protecting them (which do involve some massive walls), and for preserving their unique identities. (2 Chronicles 14:6-7)  He gives instructions regarding who to include or exclude (Deuteronomy 23:3, Exodus 23: 32-33).  He teaches families and nations to look out for their own first (1 Timothy 5:8, Deuteronomy 15:11,  Romans 12:13), but he also commands us to also show love and hospitality to sojourners (Leviticus 19:34, Leviticus 23:22, Leviticus 25:35, Deuteronomy 10:19, Deuteronomy 14:29,  Deuteronomy 24:19-21, Deuteronomy 26:12-13, Matthew 25:35-40, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:1), with the understanding that those who stay should assimilate into the culture, adhering to the laws of the land (Deuteronomy 31:12-13, Leviticus 18:26).  

(For more information on how the Bible instructs us on issues of immigration, reference Danny Carroll's article found here.)

While God loves all the nations, He established Israel to be a light to the nations, sent Christ to be the Light of the world (and the fulfillment of Israel's calling), and commissioned the church to take the Gospel of Christ to the furthest corners of the earth.  His Gospel is for all the nations.  However, God does not support globalism established by man for the glory of man, for as we have seen throughout world history with the rise and fall of kings and nations, ultimate power ultimately corrupts.  Only God possesses that power, deserves that honor, and can rule with perfect righteousness, but mankind rejected His authority.

By His goodness and grace, God set His redemptive plan in motion when He cursed the serpent at the fall as described in Genesis 3:15. The seed of the woman, Christ Jesus, would crush Satan's head and strike his heel. God planned from the beginning to restore all that was lost and to reestablish all He intended for His creation (see Isaiah 11:9, Isaiah 25, Matthew 5-7, Revelation 7, 21-22).  God is the One who will bring about this new kingdom, not man, for only God is perfect in holiness and justice, infinite in wisdom and love, limitless, omniscient, omnipotent, and eternally good.

So please consider, social justice warriors, that while we should all strive to make the world a better place and while God uniquely called us to be wise and faithful stewards over the earth (Genesis 1), what your heart truly desires is His everlasting kingdom (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  No amount of good works, activism, or passionate protests will get you to that perfect place your heart desires.  The narrow way to Heaven (Matthew 7:13-15) is found by trusting in Jesus's redemptive work on the cross and by believing that He is God's son who bore all our sins in our place.  Jesus is the only way to Heaven. 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

In His word, God gives us a glimpse of this new heaven that awaits all who believe. How glorious it will be!

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death....

...It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits^[thick. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.  (Revelation 21: 1-8, 11-26)

Eden Restored

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.  (Revelation 22:1-5)

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7: 16-17)

 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.  (Luke 13:29)

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tear from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

⁹ In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

¹⁰ The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;
    but Moab will be trampled in their landas straw is trampled down in the manure.
¹¹ They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
¹² He will bring down your high fortified wallsand lay them low;
he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.  (Isaiah 25:8-12)

When the answer is "No! Not Yet! I want to add more sin first!"

Today, I was volunteering in the 4-year-old class at church when the teacher gave one of my favorite object lessons. She had the kids use a Sharpie marker to scribble black lines onto a mirror. The kids looked at their reflection in the mirror with the black marks marring their reflection. The black lines represented sin. The kids were given a towel and challenged to try to wipe away the black lines (sin). No one could get even a speck of black mark off the mirror. Sharpie markers leave behind permanent ink after all.

Then the teacher took a red dry erase marker and drew a cross over the black scribbles to represent Christ's blood shed on the cross to atone for our sins. She asked the kids if they could wipe off the mirror now that it was covered in Christ's blood.  As expected, the red dry erase ink pulled off the permanent black ink, illustrating how only Christ can remove the weight of our sins with all the bondage, guilt, shame and death that comes with them.  But before the teacher let the kids wipe the mirror clean, she asked for volunteers, and one child quickly cried out, "No! Not Yet!  I want to add more sin first."

How many of us have wanted to come to Christ in repentance but delayed because we weren't done sinning yet, preferring to pile on as much sin as possible before surrendering our will to Him in genuine repentance?

That same child who really just wanted to color some more on the mirror grabbed the mirror after the lesson and kept staring at herself, focused intently on her reflection. So I considered how when we keep postponing Christ's offer, what we see in the mirror keeps getting darker and darker to the point that we can't even recognize ourselves anymore. What we then reflect to others is just random black scribbles, darkness with no clear direction, order, or beauty. Why wait to receive Christ's cleansing? We never know when it might be too late to truly repent!

There are pastors all over America and right here in my own county who are lying to their members about God's standard for righteousness. They falsely claim that certain sins condemned by God in Scripture (not man-made sins condemned by the Pharisees), even the Ten Commandments, no longer apply today. They encourage members to keep piling on more sin. Romans 6, Hebrews 10:26, and 1 John 3:6 all speak directly to this deception, warning believers against false teaching that will keep them from true repentance which leads to forgiveness, light, love, abundant life here on earth, and life everlasting. 

^"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left." (Hebrews 10:26)

Do not be deceived. Let His blood wipe you clean!

“'Come now, let us settle the matter,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18)

A Call For Christian Unity as Political Powers Push for Division

This post is addressed specifically to fellow conservative evangelical Christians.

Since I've suddenly become so vocal about politics and have honestly shared my struggles with this term's presidential campaign, I want to issue an apology and an appeal for the sake of unity. I am sorry if my words and opinions have offended you. I'm not looking to call anyone out but myself as I wrestle, particularly with the choice between two candidates who do not adequately represent my values or what I believe to be in the best long term interests of our nation and the world.

I am persuaded that during the primary campaigns, most of us were in the "Never Trump" camp. He won the Republican nomination as a result of constant media coverage, too many excellent but similar options on the ticket which divided our votes, and record numbers of crossover voters (who I am guessing wanted him as our candidate because they saw him as most divisive, easiest to smear, and least likely to beat Hillary).

We have vocally expressed our commitment to upholding integrity, morality, and especially sexual purity as God designed it (with good reason, for both the Bible and world history show us how sexual immorality so significantly impacts and marks the collapse of families, communities, and nations), and the DNC knows our stance quite well. Christians overall are the largest voter segment, so if we all unite around one candidate (and actually make the effort to vote, although over 25 million of us who are registered to vote didn't even bother), we are very likely to get the leader we want. Thus, the DNC strategy has been to divide us. What better way to divide us than over issues vs. character? The DNC & media could have focused their smear campaign on any number of issues (such as lack of experience), but the media has spent 90% of their time attacking Trump's character, particularly with regard to immoral sexual comments he made many years ago, to keep us conflicted.

I take it as a good sign if we have wrestled with this dilemma because it means we care enough to truly think through the issues while considering Trump's advisors, recent decisions, professed platform (recognizing inconsistencies in his past), trustworthiness, behavior/temperament, history, and accomplishments.  It means we have considered what Trump might do to the Republican party and compared it to what we confidently expect (based on a lifetime of experience in political corruption and undeniably alarming revelations through WikiLeaks and Veritas) Hillary to do the America, her Constitution, liberty, and the entire world.  Surely we can each understand why some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ would support Trump based on the critical issues at stake any why others wish to abstain.  Let us respect one another without condemnation with regard to disputable matters. (Reference Romans 14.)

Each light represents a crowded theater filled Christians united together in prayer and worship on October 18 at 9:00 p.m.

As (If) the DNC effectively achieves their goal of politically dividing us, we MUST refuse to let them divide us as a body of believers. Believers who are united under the Lordship of Christ can win back America as one nation under God whether the government grants us religious freedom or not.  If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

However, if we divide as a church, then George Soros and all his secular progressive minions will have won the battle they care about most. But all glory to God, they cannot win the war, for Christ has already won the war! (John 12:30-36)

Love one another with sincere hearts, dear family of faith, and preserve the unity of the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12) No matter how each one of us votes, let's remember that we are members of the same family forever through the blood of Christ. . No matter who rules over us on the earth, we are all under the authority of the perfectly righteous King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Savior of all the World. Let us fix our eyes on Him and uphold His unchanging truth, and He will unite us.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? ¹² And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12)

It is far easier to destroy what is good than to make something good

A very simple, matter-of-fact line from The Hunger Games (Book 1) has been running around in my head all day, so perhaps I need to unpack the weightiness of this line as it pertains to life, liberty, and all of eternity.

When Rue asks Katniss how she will destroy the career Tribute's supplies, Katniss assures Rue that she will figure something out, for it is far easier to destroy something than to make it.

I'm not sure how profound Suzanne Collins intended for that simple reply to be, but from my perspective, it sums up so much eternal truth about life, our purpose, major problems throughout the world, and our eternal destiny.

In the first three chapters of the Bible, we see the phrase "God made" referenced ten different times.  God made the earth and the heavens, the sky with all it's intricate perfectly balanced atmospheres, the sun, moon, stars, and the vast array of marvelous structures throughout the universe which He  spoke into existence.  He made all the creatures that walk or creep on the earth, fly through the skies or swim in every body of fresh and salt water. He created the plants and set the food chain into motion.  God created man and then woman in His own image.  Only God is greater than, bigger than and more powerful than the universe He made, so only God can violate the laws of nature by making everything out of nothing.  God is also perfectly holy, so whatever He makes or does is always good.  In Genesis 1, we see the phrase, "And God saw that it was good" repeated after after each phase of creation is completed on each day of creation.

God made everything, and He made everything good.  Best of all, God gave man and woman the gift of a personal relationship with Himself. True relationship requires the freedom to choose, so He created man and woman with a mind and a heart that gets to choose to love and obey God or to refuse Him. God gave us everything possibly needed for godliness, contentment, fruitfulness, fulfillment, love, and joy.

God did the hardest part.  He created everything, and made it good.  We are called to be stewards over all that God made (which is always good).  Satan, however, chose not to receive God's good gifts.  Instead, he chose a different purpose.  He is bent on doing what is the easiest of all, that is destroying what God made to be good.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  (John 10:10)

God also has the power to destroy and has brought destruction on wicked nations like Sodom and Gomorrah and on arrogant corrupt rulers like King Nebuchadnezzar.  God destroyed the entire earth by flood with the exception of Noah's family who He kept safe in an ark, and He will return at the final judgment to bring about destruction on the wicked again.  Christ defeated Satan on the cross and will ultimately destroy him in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10)

God is the giver of life.  He can create or destroy, but Satan can only destroy, whether through deception (twisting God's word to confuse the people or flat out lying and manipulating), stealing, or violence. Satan's work is easy and his power is limited, but his influence is as far reaching as we allow by giving him access.  Satan in under Christ's heel.  God is the one we should fear and revere!

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  (Matthew 10:28)

So why does it seem like so much of the world is under Satan's control?  Why is all that once seemed good now so vile?  Why has hatred replaced love?  Why do we continually divide when we know united we stand, divided we fall?  Why has corruption infiltrated every sector of our federal government?  Why are pornography which so enslaves and lies which betray pushed so consistently into our homes and hearts?

The answer is simple. Instead of using our God given free-will to choose the way of love that leads to life everlasting through a personal relationship with Christ and joyful submission to God's good and gracious will, we have chosen the easy way that leads to destruction.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Some boldly and blatantly reject Christ as Lord and proudly live as gods in their own eyes. They falsely believe they have more freedom and are better off without acknowledging God's authority over their lives and are not ashamed to admit it.  In fact, such a view has become so politically correct that there is an official name for it.  this theory of moral relativism (aka "tolerance") says that I will do what's right for me, and you can do what's right for you, but don't judge me or make me follow your rules.  Moral relativism DESTROYS unity and any rule of law, for under this theory, there are no longer any common values to unite us and no way to execute justice.  The prophet Isaiah foretold of this coming attitude thousands of years ago and issued grave warnings regarding the outcome of such thinking.

20Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!
²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
    and shrewd in their own sight!
²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
    and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
    and deprive the innocent of his right!

²⁴ Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
    and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
    and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
    and the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were as refuse
    in the midst of the streets...  (Isaiah 5: 20-25a)

But in God's great love and mercy, He does not let Isaiah conclude the prophecy there. The last part of verse 25 reads, "For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still."  It's NOT too late to repent and return to the narrow way that leads to life!

Then there are others whom we find in mainline churches all across America where pastors and parishioners practice religiosity just like the Pharisees. They dutifully attend scripted church services, volunteer in their communities, put token gifts in the offering plate, and puff themselves up by following certain rules, reciting rote prayers and the scripture verses they find pleasant (while ignoring those that are politically incorrect), and going through the motions of rituals and customs, but their words and actions mean nothing at all to the Almighty God because their motives are not pure.  All their religious deeds are done not to glorify God but to glorify self.  Some attend sophisticated churches just often enough to put church membership on their resumes. Others serve faithfully but without ever hearing or receiving the Gospel of Christ which is the culmination of all that the Old Testament points to with eager expectation.

Christ fulfills every single prophecy (over 300) perfectly when the probability of fulfilling even a few is statistically impossible.  Christ came to earth and died in our place not because we are holier than thou, but because we are desperately wicked and hopelessly unable to save ourselves.  Through His agony on our behalf, we are redeemed.  His shed blood covers us with His righteousness, not so we can exalt in our own self-righteousness, for we have NONE on our own, but rather, so we can enter into fellowship with the perfectly holy God.  The Gospel is all about drawing us back into a relationship with God which we severed when we sinned.  But too many churches fail to teach the gospel of Christ because they would rather glory in themselves than find all their significance and worth in Christ and in humbling themselves while offering all their praise to the King of Glory!  That's why Jesus warned his followers not to confuse religious acts with a relationship with Him.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21)

So let us ask ourselves how we are doing as stewards of the earth? Are we protecting, nurturing, and preserving life, nature, freedom, order, unity, love, marriage, family, and all that God made as God made it to be good, holy, helpful and glorifying to God? Or, does the fruit of our lives look more like a wrecking ball that is determined to destroy God's goodness and His authority in our lives?

As the U.S. presidential elections draw near, I can't help but look at the destruction of religious liberty, the rule of law (especially Constitutional law),  national unity and patriotism, moral virtue, and the protection and respect for our inalienable human rights given by God, not the government, as our country has turned it's eyes away from God and onto the worship of wealth, power, and all the lusts of the flesh.  It's so easy to destroy what patriots over the past 240 years sacrificed so much to build and preserve.  The only way to restore it is to humble ourselves before the Creator and Giver of life and turn back to the narrow way that leads to life.

Who is your father?   Are you a disciple of Christ living free in Him, or are you a slave to sin?

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰ but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”  (John 8:39-47)

Pride, Prejudice, and Privilege: The One Privilege Available to All Who Choose It

As racism has increasingly become a heated issue again in America, I've been trying to better understand what it means to have white privilege.  As I have listened to personal stories and read documentaries, I hope I am now more aware of the verbal slights, false assumptions, and undervaluing that still takes place.  I am asking the Lord to make me more aware and to guide me in defending and honoring those who are still being treated unfairly based on race.  The sordid crimes committed against black Americans in our nation's history are deplorable, and I am so sorry to learn how much racism is still rooted in the hearts of more than a few Americans. May we each ask the Lord to search our hearts and expose those areas that are still full of pride and prejudice. (Psalm 139:23-24)

I want to be very careful not to minimize what the black community has suffered, for to do so would be unloving indeed. As we search for evidences of white privilege (as defined in contrast to the negative experiences unique to black Americans), however, let us not forget to consider other privileges we experience that others are denied.  As with white privilege, some of our other privileges are the direct or indirect result of the oppression of others. 

Colonial Oppression of Native Americans
Let us consider the oppression of indigenous Americans during the time of early European colonization up until and after The Indian Removal Act of 1830.  They were forced to leave the land they had rightly claimed and toiled so diligently to tame, settle, and make fruitful.  Then they had to make the treacherous journey along the Trail of Tears to be displaced in a wild, unsettled environment better suited for different crops, animals, and modes of survival.  The colonists reaped the benefits of all the natives' labors while the natives had to learn a new way of life in a foreign territory.  The white settlers enjoyed colonial privilege while Native Americans paid the price. 

(Hardworking taxpayers experience a small sliver of this injustice when they take great risks, make huge sacrifices, and labor tirelessly to provide for their families and local communities only to have over half of their income taken through layers of taxation to pay for wasteful government spending and to provide not only for those in legitimate need, but also for those who refuse to work.)

As illustrated in the legendary artwork of Willard Stone's Trail of Tears Trilogy (pictured below), Native Americans have commemorated and preserved the memory of  all they have suffered. Interestingly, they do not merely consider their own sufferings but the sufferings of others as well. Instead of holding onto bitterness, they planted renewed hope as they built new lives for themselves. With fortified faith and unwavering determination, they worked together to heal, renew, rebuild and restore what had been taken from them. Through forgiveness, gratitude to God, wise stewardship, and diligent labor, they prospered once again and became some of the most patriotic citizens in America, with many serving valiantly in the armed forces.  They have grown the economy, created and filled jobs, invested in their communities, and contributed large percentages of their hard earned income through taxes to the same government structure that once so severely mistreated them. 

The Trail of Tears Trilogy

The first trilogy masterpiece Exodus, was commissioned in 1967 by the Cherokee Historical Society.  It is a large walnut sculpture composed of two teardrops, one balancing the other on a base representing the contour of the earth, honoring the Cherokee experience during the tribe's forced removal by the U.S. government from their traditional homelands in the East.  In describing the piece, Stone said, "I have tried to capture the tragedy and heavy load of sorrow and heartache being overcome by the Cherokee's courage and determination.  I have tried to boil down and bring into focus the heavy load of life the whole mankind carries and put it into an individual mother and child."

The Exodus (walnut)

The 1967, the Cherokee Heritage Society commissioned the second part of the trilogy.  Transplant depicts a Cherokee mother and child after the ordeal of the removal.  Stone described this piece as showing that "By faith, enough survived the Trail of Tears to seed the new land. By faith, they will sprout and make it better. For this they give thanks." 

Transplant

The final part of the trilogy, Uprooted, was completed in 1980.  In Stone's words, this culture represents the Cherokees "pulling away from the ground they had been living on from the time they were born." It also represents "any people who are forced from their land because of the greed or lust of some more powerful race." It is carved in the stump of a red cedar.

Uprooted (one side)

Uprooted (other side)

During The Great Depression, some Native Americans considered themselves to be the privileged ones because they could survive and thrive by simply living off of the land.  Stone's self-portrait in pencil below shows the happy contentment he experienced as an early teenager while stressed-out,  big city dwellers in the East were, as Stone commented, "jumping out of windows or going insane".  Growing up in rural Oklahoma after the Indian Removal Act, he enjoyed farming, hunting, fishing, swimming, roping goats, roasting peanuts, playing games and having house parties.  His people were less affected by the financial crisis because they were self-sufficient. While the colonists enjoyed unfair privileges through the oppression of Native Americans, the Cherokee people let the trials make them stronger which gave them the well-deserved privilege of resilience.  When Stone's work gained national attention, he had to travel to Manhattan for art related events.  He once wrote after spending a few weeks in New York for art exhibits that he wouldn't trade one acre of rural Oklahoma for all of Manhattan. Despite the oppression of the Native American people, they found joy, peace and contentment through forgiveness and resilience.

Willard Stone's Pre-Teen Self Portrait

(Note:  I could have referenced various forms of racial tensions following World War II instead, but since I have more personal experience with Native American people, I used them as my primary example.)

Other Privileges

While both African Americans and Native Americans have suffered oppression under the hand of white men, privilege comes in many other forms as well.

• If you can read, you have literacy privilege unlike 13.9% of the world's population.

• If you are living off more than $10 a day, you have more to spend than 80% of the global population, which gives you significant wealth privilege.

• If you are NOT currently enslaved for labor or for sex, you have a degree of freedom privilege that 29.8 million people around the world do not.

• Every child that is born instead of being aborted in the U.S. has been given what should be the most fundamental human right, life, but since life is now the mother's choice and not the child's, to be allowed to be born and live is now considered a privilege in America.  At least 730,322 children (18%) did not get to experience that privilege last year (down from 22.6% in 2006) because they were murdered in the womb.  The abortion rate was 52% in Russia during 2006, so being born in America statistically increases your birth privilege rate by 289%. (These figures do not include the significant number of lives terminated by the morning after pill.)

• If you had the freedom to choose your field of study and vocation, you have career privilege not commonly available in communist countries.

• If you have the freedom to fully pursue life, liberty, happiness, and prosperity on your own volition, then you have opportunity privileges not generally available in socialist and communist nations.

• If you are pregnant, have minority status and/or identify as LGBTQ while employed in the U.S., you have more job security privilege than white males.  Business attorneys consider you to be untouchable.  The odds that your job will be eliminated during a business reorganization are much lower than non-protected classes because EEO laws are biased in your favor.  While white males are easily let go simply because the management found someone they like better, those with protected classes could be overtly negligent, devalue the company, and fail to meet basic expectations without ever seeing a pink slip.  (This is not to say that EEO laws are not necessary or that they do not have their rightful place in giving certain classes the equal opportunities they deserve.  It only shows that the outcomes of such legal manipulation are biased.)

• If you were not raised in the south or have somehow managed to avoid developing a Southern accent, then you have linguistic privilege.  Southerners must work harder to earn respect and prove their intellect when conversing with non-southerners because of false assumptions and prejudice against their accent and/or dialect.

• If you have not risked your life to protect Americans and the U.S. Constitution through military or law enforcement service, then you have the privilege of being excluded from negative assumptions and accusations.  Far too many people assume veterans have impaired mental faculties and are unfit to carry a gun or to receive proper medical care. Others, including the NAACP, accuse the majority of full-time law enforcement employees (over 1.13 million), of being racist, even if they are black (the NAACP calls them "blue, not black"), and make them targets.

• The persecution of Christians is increasingly prevalent on university campuses. The ratio of Christians hired or promoted within universities has been falling in all fields of study but most dramatically in the humanities, while Christian students are ridiculed by professors and given lower grades if they do not adopt (or pretend to adopt) their professors' secular worldview (as I know all too well through personal experience). Even elite Ivy League universities where the prized marketplace of ideas once flourished are now censoring speech and prohibiting class discussion that contradicts the progressive secular worldview.  This anti-Christian bias in academia has created secular privilege for non-Christians. This bias has been growing for many decades. C.S. Lewis was possibly the most well-read, most gifted teacher on the planet during his lifetime with unmatched intelligence and communication skills, yet he was ostracized and denied promotion at Oxford University after his apologetic works were first published in the 1940s. The documentary, Expelled, uncovered evidence for this widespread bullying practices that prejudice against people of faith in academia 8 to 10 years ago  The oppression is still increasing today as described here.  

The Special Needs Community
If you have no physical or mental disabilities and no neurological or cognitive impairments that limit your ability to integrate independently into traditional daily life settings without accommodation, then the prejudices of this postmodern culture against the special needs community give you perceived ability privilege.  Far too many people assume that disabilities limit one's value or contribution to society.  After only a brief amount of time spent interacting with the special needs community, however, decent people should quickly realize that in many ways, these people have much more to teach us and to contribute than they ever realized. They have taught me better than anyone else how to enjoy life fully without the shackles of self-awareness, how to innovate and grow stronger through trials, the power of a smile to light up a room filled with gloomy people, and the sacred value of loving without limits. While the culture may prejudice against them, they have the privilege of displaying the glory of God. 

^"Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:3)

Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed as a teenager during a diving accident and fervently prayed for healing.  But when she visited locations in Jerusalem where Jesus had healed people, she found herself thanking God for not healing her because "that 'no' answer has left her depending more on God’s grace, has given her greater compassion for others, has reduced complaining, has increased her faith, has given her greater hope of heaven, and has caused her to love the Lord so much more." (Tim Challis) Tada came to see her paralysis as a privilege or a gift.
  
I could go on and on, for all of us likely have some form of privilege directly or indirectly because someone else is being treated differently.  Those I have mentioned as being privileged could just as easily point to another person who has a privilege they do not.

How Should We Address Injustice?
There are a lot of different movements and specific methods prescribed by social justice warriors to address these many social injustices. University of North Texas sociologist George Yancey describes the four primary secular models used to address racial issues in his book, Beyond Racial Gridlock.  These methods include:

1. Colorblindness
2. Anglo-Conformity
3. Multi-Culturalism
4. White Responsibility

Each model has advantages and disadvantages which are summarized succinctly in this post by Bruce Ashford, but not one has brought about the unity and racial reconciliation we desire or need for a number of different reasons both Yancey and Ashford describe.  I am convinced the primary reason these methods have failed is because secular models will NEVER solve spiritual problems.

Prejudice is a symptom of pride, and pride is the root of all evil. Pride is spiritual, not natural.

"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you....
....The other, and less bad, vices come from the devil working on us through our animal nature. But this [pride] does not come from through our animal nature at all. It comes direct from Hell. It is purely spiritual: consequently it is far more subtle and deadly.....For Pride is a spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment or even common sense."  (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 8)

Comparison is what makes us proud.  When one person compares his plight to another and takes pleasure in having more or appearing superior to the other, then pride manifests itself as prejudice.  If one man finds the other has more than he does or if he is being victimized by the prejudice of another, then pride brews angry competitiveness, enmity, and a relentless pursuit to overcome the one who is superior in whatever attribute or possession is being compared. 

None of us is perfectly righteous or without some form of prejudice (Romans 3:23).  In fact, we each carry so much guilt that we could not possibly carry the blame or the guilt for what we have each done or failed to do individually, much less pay back the guilt for all the wrongs done by our society collectively.  Yet, that is what many keep asking us to do.  Are we to wallow in guilt for the rest of our lives, enslaved to debts we cannot possibly repay without ever finding the chance to accomplish something worthwhile in life?
  
Yancey's proposed better alternative is an attempt to combine the best aspects of each of the four primary secular models under a Biblical framework such that both individual and collective responsibility are acknowledged and owned.

"That model will recognize that God’s original creational design includes and invites unity-in-diversity, just as his plan for the new heavens and earth involves a resplendent ethnic and cultural unity-in-diversity. It will refuse to assign blame entirely on minority or majority group members, but instead will call both to repentance and entrust both with responsibility."  (Bruce Ashford)

While Native Americans may have diverse spiritual beliefs, their careful observation and respect for nature have long drawn them into worship, and we can see how they have modeled much of Yancey's proposed reconciliation model  Their willingness to throw off their grudges, forgive their oppressors, accept their new circumstances, express gratitude, and build new lives for themselves is commendable, but such a selfless response defies ordinary human nature, so it must come from God.

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32)

Native Americans still preserve their cultural heritage while also seeking unity-in-diversity.  We own a bronze of Stone's Boots and Feathers walnut relief sculpture pictured below and display it our home as a symbol of both my husband's heritage and mine (which are quite different) intertwined to create our sacred family and as a reminder of the struggle for unity and the beauty found within a society that values and upholds unity-in-diversity.  Boots and Feathers depicts the artist's Native American daughter wearing a native headdress while trying on cowboy boots to illustrate their struggle to maintain their own cultural identity while adapting to the very different culture surrounding them.

 

 
Knowledge of the truth, which includes God's absolute truth and the facts of both our past history and our response to current events, should compel us to confess our sin.  Truth MUST then lead to repentance on every side.  We cannot undo the sins of the past, but we can confess and repent.  Repentance, by definition, requires us to leave our selfish pride and prejudice and to seek God's will, not our own. The first and biggest step toward humility and away from pride is to acknowledge and confess our pride. 

"If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."  (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 8)

Repentance should then lead to change.  God's work in our hearts will compel us through love and conviction to defend the oppressed and marginalized, to resist pride, and to continually surrender our will to His. 

The Perfect Privilege that Provides Perspective
Let me back up for a moment and emphasize that confession, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation are not possible by human effort alone.  No matter how many times we apologize, no matter what social justice movements we lead, and no matter what reparations we make, we will never fully atone for it all or appease everyone who has ever been treated unjustly.  Only someone with perfect wisdom, perfect righteousness and infinite love could avoid all these sins and love completely, fully, and unconditionally. And only that perfect One can bear the weight of all our sins past, present, and future and pay our debts in full. Only the promised Messiah could suffer to such an extent for those who hated and despised him and then extend forgiveness.

But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.(Luke 23:34)

Christ never committed a single sin, yet He was tempted more than any of us.  He deserves all our praise, yet He suffered more than anyone on our behalf. 

If you've been abused, beaten unmercifully, despised, rejected, tortured, or oppressed, He understands, for He endured all those things too.

If you've been mistreated, disrespected, robbed, ridiculed, slandered, spat upon, or scorned unjustly, then you are sharing in His sufferings, and He can comfort you like no other.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4)

If people flee from you, mistrust you, accuse you, or act repulsed by you because of your race, ethnicity, or heritage, He knows how you feel. He's been there and done that.  If your family abandoned you, your friends betrayed you, or your closest friends denied you, be comforted in knowing He suffered the same for you.  After the sin debt was paid in full, He rose again, and He will come back to raise up all who have accepted His free gift and welcomed Him in as Lord of their lives.

After two thousand years of experiencing divine encounters, watching prophecies fulfilled exactly, witnessing transformed lives, and receiving matchless grace, inspired teaching, and access to the perfect wisdom, everlasting hope, and life direction found through His inspired word, multitudes around the world still reject Him. Yet His loving compassion never fails.  (Lamentations 3:22)  He still stands ready to extend forgiveness, personal relationship, everlasting life, and a vast inheritance to all who believe, repent, and follow Him.

Any privileges (white or otherwise) we experience in this earthly life, whether freely given or unjustly taken, are worth nothing compared to the privilege we are all called to share as partakers of His grace.

 "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ," (Philippians 3: 7-8)

Note the stark difference between the privilege we have in Christ compared to the other privileges listed above.  That difference hinges on choice.  In the examples listed above, the victim does not choose to be oppressed or disadvantaged. Their suffering is placed upon them by someone else or by circumstances outside of their control.  Similarly, the privilege we define as not having to suffer under the same conditions are abuses as someone else, is also not something we choose for ourselves.  We can't choose our race, birthplace, gender, DNA, heritage, etc.  We can only choose how to respond to oppression or privilege.

The inverse is true with Christ.  He chose humility and the life of a suffering servant. He chose to bear all our sins on the cross while remaining perfectly sinless Himself. Love compelled Him to suffer and die to save His oppressors from a debt they could never repay. 

Who can comprehend the depths and heights of such love?  We are privileged beyond measure in Christ! Instead of telling us to check our privilege at the door like Harvard students were instructed to do at orientation, Christ instructs us to wear the privilege He won for us on the cross.  That privilege is the only way we can pass through the door from this life to eternal life with our God and King who is Lord of all righteousness, mercy and love.

²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  (Ephesians 4:22-24)