A Biblical Prescription For Racial Equality And Social Justice - Chip Tudor Communications - Dayton, Ohio
He has told you, O man. What is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God
–Micah 6:8
The George Floyd murder by a police officer has America, once again, wrestling with social justice and racial equality. It’s not new problem. But the Biblical solution is even older.
Around 700 years before Christ, the prophet Micah proclaimed God’s word on social justice. And during his ministry, Jesus addressed racial equality in his parable of the Good Samaritan and in his encounter with the Samaritan women at a well.
Micah and Jesus both identified the problem source. Where all human behavior originates and is radically transformed. In the heart.
A BIBLICAL PRESCRIPTION FOR RACIAL EQUALITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL RIGHT CONDUCT
God requires every person to act justly. Not just “some people” or “those people” but all people. In other words, everyone is responsible for self-examination and for doing the right thing. And when individuals collectively act justly, it forms a just society.
Of course, justice presumes a rule of law. Not just civil law, but God’s law. As God’s Word, the Bible prescribes God’s standard for all mankind. More than just right behavior, the Bible describes the right attitudes, motives and thoughts that drive it. Because behavior reflects them.
When God’s law is embraced and followed, it takes root as individual, moral conscience that is written on the heart. And social justice and racial equality become an internal desire rather than external duty.
A BIBLICAL PRESCRIPTION FOR RACIAL EQUALITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE INVOLVES EXTENDING MERCY
To love mercy means offering compassion. Walking in another person’s shoes. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Treating others the way you want to be treated. And recognizing that we are all, equally guilty of sin.
It recognizes that no one deserves God’s mercy. But He extends it as a gift through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Since God extends mercy to us, we are therefore expected to extend mercy to others.
A BIBLICAL PRESCRIPTION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND RACIAL EQUALITY REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL HUMILITY
To walk humbly with your God reminds us that God wants first place in our lives. And a right relationship with Him fosters right relationships with others.
Humility acknowledges that only God is absolutely perfect. Absolutely holy. Absolutely just. Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less as you consider the need of others.
Justice and mercy only work when God’s law is respected. For it is here that humanity finds unity and purpose. Bonded by the common pursuit of living out God’s precepts and imitating His character. And therefore, treating everyone with dignity and respect as equal members of the human family.
In a society that rejects God and His law, the solution requires humanly mandated, external measures. But when God’s Word is manifested in the hearts of a people, social justice and racial equality will thrive from the inside out.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is a freelance copywriter, published author, playwright and pastor. He publishes drama at www.chiptudor.com, books on Amazon.com, and articles on his blog.
