Please do not get me wrong, there are more good, honorable officers than dishonorable ones. But the sad news is that we are judged by our extremes- from Westboro to Jihadists. The best thing we can do is to continue to show others that our negative extremes aren't who we are legitimately.
However, due to the recent events, it's becoming much harder for me to continue to turn a blind eye to the cries of my African American brothers. The boiling point came to me when I saw a video of a black man being arrested, willingly surrendering by going face first into the ground. As he was descending, one of the white police officers kicked him in the face, breaking his jaw, and knocking him unconscious.
My first reaction to this video was: ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Forget the fact that this incident happened in the area I live in, but it's going to put me in utter disgust when I hear people justify this officer's actions. There is no justification.
Do you believe that he is a criminal?- If answer is yes, please proceed.
Do you believe that he is human? - If answer is yes, please proceed.
Do you believe that he was violently resisting arrest? - If answer is yes, please proceed.
Do you believe that a human that isn't violently resisting arrest, deserves to get a broken jaw from an officer's boot?...Enough said.
Disbelief. Utter disbelief. What more needs to be done? What more can I do? These are the questions that are frolicking through my mind like little kids running through a field.
Then, I heard a song. One of my absolute favorite songs. It's a song that calls for unity. A song that calls for unity first and foremost with those that are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. If we, as the Church, take a stand, there is no force of Hell that can overtake us. Lets be honest, we might not like each other, but we need each other. Don't believe me, take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.
The song is called Great Wall and it's by a rapper named Da' T.R.U.T.H. I beg you not to judge the song by the cover because it's a rapper. No, listen and read the words.:
I'm going to leave you with some of the lyrics that hit hardest to me and keep in mind, this song is talking about the bride of Christ--the Church. We have a TON of work to do if we are seriously planning on changing the world.
"We choosing our membership based on the hour and the reverent skin;
So from the pews to the president;
We struggle to love each other like the Jews and Samaritans."
"It's like the movie "Crash" --it's a vicious cycle;
Like aluminum cans, the hatred gets recycled."
"Lord, what kind of madness is this?
I'm looking at your body, it's like a caste system.
But in Revelation chapter 7, when we snap the picture;
We see the king and every Christian, every land's forgiven;
Every tribe, every tongue (of) man is represented;
And unified by the Son and his plan of redemption;
To reconcile the nations, the great and the small;
So we life our hands and give him praise (because) he's breaking the walls."
I REFUSE to take an "us" versus "them" mentality within the church. There is no us, there is no them, there is only We. When one of us suffers, then we all suffer. I'm calling on my fellow brother and sister in Christ to examine yourself and at least consider, that there may be, just may be something wrong. We need to be together.
