It has been weeks since I have blogged. My heart has been full and overflowing with grief as I continue to watch the senseless violence. Growing up, I never imagined a world where human beings would treat each other with a lack of common decency and respect. Watching the recent George Floyd video hurt my heart. Looking past the color of those involved, which was hard to do with all the other videos involving police brutality, I saw a man disrespecting another man by denying him a basic function of life - air to breath.
I began to look for the names of those killed due to the brutality of the police. The list that began to form was overwhelming. Withing 10 minutes, I had 30 names. 30!!!! While I am not naive to cruelty and police brutality, who would have thought that in 2020, this mess would still be going on. Then I had to stop and think. This brutality of one human being on another is a repetitious cycle throughout history. The Egyptians becoming masters over the Israelites. The German death camps for the Jewish people. The slavery of Africans by Europeans. This brutality of one man, one race over another is a sharp reminder that history has repeat itself yet again.
But, the repeating of history doesn't make it right. In fact, it means that we as a human people have learned nothing. How do we sit in church Sunday after Sunday, reciting hymns, singing songs of praise, thanking God for being God and then go out on Monday and destroy each other? This destruction, however, isn't limited to the just white police officers. I watched a video that many of you have seen where two black cops participated in the abuse of two college students in Atlanta. As I researched some of the other cases of brutality, I saw that this incident in Atlanta wasn't the only case involving black cops. One of the cops in George Floyd's murder was black. So, then the issue isn't limited to the color of one's skin. Is this an issue of power and authority? Is it a man's/woman's thought process that they have the authority over another to treat them however they so choose?
This is a scary thought when police officers are involved. This is a scary thought when it concerns those that are to maintain the peace, those that took an oath to protect and serve. You cannot protect me from yourself. You cannot serve me while beating me with your baton. If your knee is on my neck and I cannot breathe, how then are you keeping the peace? Then I realized that to be a cop is a ministry all in itself. Yes, I said ministry. It is a calling for only those that value human life more than their own. Real police officers run to danger as we run from it. That takes a special kind of person. The clarity for me then becomes that not everyone wearing the uniform heard the call from the right source. They missed "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men," (Col 3:23 ESV) and "But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also" (2 Cor 8:7).
See, I cannot read the Bible, hear the Word and not understand that what I do, I do for God. Will He be pleased with me when I stand before Him on judgement day? Will He say well done or will He spit me out of His mouth? I push to excel not for the gratification of men or their pats on my back. People will see me and think I am crazy oftentimes. And, I am okay with that. I realize that the way I move, the things I say, and the thoughts I have are not always acceptable by the masses. But my concern isn't their praise and acceptance - it's God's.
If any of these officers accused of hurting another human being - if any of us accused of hurting another human being - don't take the time to get our mess right with God, then an eternal hell is where we will reside when this life is over. When you look at these officers and condemn then for their actions, take a breath and go look in the mirror and see if you've hurt anyone today with your actions and/or words. Their behaviors are appalling. Without any doubt. Now, ask yourself this - have I taken the time to examine myself to see if I've have put my "self-righteous", "prideful", "I know I'm right", "controlling" spiritual foot on the neck of another human being? Before you take communion, take time and humble yourself before God and seek His forgiveness. Excellence and Hatred Cannot Coincide. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum. If you want to excel, do in truth and with love. Hatred will only end with your destruction.
- - Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
Nakya