It Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better

On March 3, 1991, footage was taken of Rodney King being beaten by five LAPD officers. The video circulated quickly, and it didn’t take long before everyone in the country had seen it. The video’s spread resulted in waves of anger, shock, and outrage throughout the nation. Many couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The beating was savage and it was being delivered by those that were expected to protect and serve. Others were not so surprised. Conflict with the police has been part of the black experience in this nation since the first slave patrol was created in 1704. The sheriffs that followed the slave patrol after the Civil War functioned in a similar fashion, particularly in the South. Their purpose had shifted from returning escaped slaves to their masters to upkeeping the rules of the Jim Crow era. The modern police force evolved from those sheriffs and while the stated purpose of the modern police force may be different, many would argue that it functions in largely the same way.

The police force is not the only problem. The whole Justice system has its flaws. After King’s beating, the offending officers were put on trial. Most thought it would be an open and shut case given the visual evidence of wrongdoing. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. All of the officers were found “Not Guilty” and that verdict led to a series of riots in Los Angeles in 1992. The riots shocked the nation and grieved many. The U.S. was supposed to be better than that. Even in the midst of those hard times, some had hope that after such a display, things would certainly have to get better. The problems had been brought to the light for all to see, so fixing them would have to be the obvious outcome.

Fast forward to now, 2020. Those who thought things would get better are likely now feeling disappointed and disenfranchised. It’s hard to believe that anything has gotten better. In 1991, King’s beating was seen as shocking. Nowadays seeing people killed under similar circumstance has become so commonplace that many are numb to it.  It would certainly be hard to argue that things have gotten better. In fact, by the look of it, things have gotten worse.  Still, a video of injustice has the ability to move the masses. The latest spark was the recorded murder of George Floyd. Now, instead of one city, the whole nation has become ground zero for waves of protests and riots.

What does this mean for Christians? Part of our Faith involves belief in God and His plan. Another blog entry already covered the dangers that come with overestimating our ability to understand God’s plan. One thing we can understand is that, in many ways, things in this world will get worse before they get better. That’s not conjecture. That’s a promise. The Bible says as much.

Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves. - 2 Timothy 3:12-13

We look around and think that things seem bad, but we know that the evil people and things of the world will continue to get worse. The book of Revelation is proof of that. The end is God’s victory and paradise for his followers, but before that the world descends lower and lower into wickedness and madness. That might be a hard realization, but what we have to understand is that through the ups, downs, and bigger downs God is always here. We have to keep our faith. The Bible, as always, gives good insight. Early Christians had their fair share of strife with which they had to contest. Certainly, many of them believed that Jesus’ coming meant quick and easy salvation for them, but instead, for many, life got harder. It was up to their leaders to give them perspective and help them keep the faith.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 1:6-7

Peter was telling the people that the trials they were going through weren’t just hardship for the sake of hardship. They were opportunities for the people to dive into their faith and lean on their relationships with God.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope - Romans 5:3-4

Paul expands on the idea letting it be known that greater trials not only strengthen our faith but can lead to greater character and hope. That’s important in a time like this because if we have hope we can come to understand that even though in some ways things may be getting worse, in other ways they may be getting better. In 1992, angry groups, mostly people from disenfranchised neighborhoods, rioted in response to their frustration with injustice. Now, in 2020, thousands of protesters around the world of all colors, faiths, and backgrounds are taking a stand for what is right. In this time of turmoil, we Christians need to let our faith shine. We can’t be sure what the world will throw at us next, but we do know that God will be with us as we go through it all. With that in mind, we should also know that if we are on the righteous side, we will prevail. For better or worse, we will prevail. As Paul also said (Romans 8:31)

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Reference:

https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/

Chris Lawyer