Christian Civil Disobedience

When it comes to unexpected incidents and crises, 2020 seems to be the year that keeps on giving. We now find ourselves thrown into new turmoil, but the source isn’t really unprecedented. Another unarmed black man was murdered by police. It’s something that has been happening for a long time in this country, but with the advent of cell phone cameras, these incidents have become more visible than ever before. As Christians, we know the world is wicked, so these incidents should not surprise us. Still, if we know Jesus and understand how important things like love and empathy are to the Christian walk, we can’t help but feel disturbed when we see a man stripped of his life in such a way.

The question becomes, what should we as Christians do? It’s not our job to save the world. The world as we know it can’t be saved. The book of Revelation is our proof of that. However, we can save people. In fact that is our responsibility as Christians. Jesus handed that responsibility down to his disciples himself:

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. - Mark 16-15-16

Jesus was talking more about salvation as it relates to the life to come, but if we can help to save others in this world too, we should do what we can. After all, people need to be alive to believe and do God’s work. Surely, it’s not the Christian way to riot and loot, but shouldn’t we, at least, be a strong presence in the protests overall? Some who misunderstand or misrepresent the Bible have used Paul’s teachings about respecting authorities (Romans 13:1-6) to push the idea that protesting is wrong. However, if that were really true then Blacks would likely still be slaves and second class citizens as Christian protests were important to both the abolition and civil rights movements.

The idea that it is not Christian to resist wrongdoing by authorities isn’t just antithetical to what has happened in our society. It’s also contrary to Jesus’ example. It’s hard to read his story and not see the rebel in him. Most of his actions in the Bible were against the will of the Pharisees, who were the Jewish authorities at the time. He constantly taught the truth despite their attempts to muddy what the scriptures said. He openly rejected much of what they stood for and challenged them in front of the people. He defied them in a way that got him labelled a blasphemer. Much of Jesus’ life on earth was spent setting the record straight. Yes, that meant teaching the Word in a way that only he could, but it also meant tearing down the wrong minded foundation that had been built at the time. He didn’t just stand against bad teachings though. He also defended people who the authorities sought to wrong. When the teachers tried to use a woman as a tool against Jesus at the expense of her life, he did what he always did. He stood for what is right.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. - John 8:3-9

When the authorities twisted the law and attempted to rally the crowd against the woman, Jesus shut them down. Jesus’ rebel spirit wasn’t always exercised in such a calm and reserved way. When Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem, he didn’t just accept the wrong actions he saw because they were allowed by the authorities at the time. He also didn’t just speak softly in response to what he saw.

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ - Matthew 21:12-13

In all things, we should seek to follow Jesus’ example. It’s difficult to say what Jesus would do or how exactly he would react upon witnessing the events occurring in today’s world. We can say for sure that he would take a stance that opposed injustice and unrighteousness. He would speak out against what is wrong whether it was being done by the authorities or just average people. He would not limit himself to just words. He would take action when necessary and always be on the right side.

We aren’t Jesus and don’t have his insight, so we don’t always know what the right side is in complicated issues. Still, we have been gifted the Holy Spirit, and we have prayer. We should make use of both to figure out how we should react to these modern incidents. We should behave according to how God guides us. In some cases that may mean just praying for the people involved. In other cases, that may mean speaking out against those in the wrong or marching on a building. Whatever we do, let us always make sure our actions are out of love and bring glory to God’s name.

Chris Lawyer

Image Courtesy of Theos Think Tank