WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PROTESTS AND RIOTS?
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; — Colossians 4:2
Over the weekend, I was pretty much glued to my phone. I was checking twitter for the latest protests around California and America. I wondered if everyone was ok. It seemed they all started peaceful — then many turned for the worse.
It sucks but I get it. Hurting people — hurt, that’s the reality. I looked into protests near my house. The closest was Huntington Beach which was quickly shut down due to white supremacists and fears of violence.
This is the world we live in — it’s hurting.
So, what do you do when people hurt? I think Paul has a pretty good message in Romans.
‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ‘ Romans 12:14–15
FEEL THE PAIN
Put yourself in the shoes of those who are black. If you have trouble using your imagination — here’s a statistic to help.
Black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers. — Al Jazeera News
My kids can go outside and ride their bikes around the block. I don’t have any fear for them. I don’t worry that someone is going to mess with them. It’s not like that for my black friends. They fear for their lives and their children’s lives. They are a target — it’s f’d up.
Just imagine your life as if you were black. Imagine if you were black living in a white neighborhood — what that would feel like? Imagine your black and the conversations you have with white people. Most are probably always centered on WHITE 💩 . That would just irritate me so much.
You would put up with it — but you’d get over it. When you’re black and have to live in constant awareness —can you imagine HOW EXHAUSTING that would be. It’s like a constant tension that never goes away. A gripping fear that never let’s go.
So yah, put yourself in the shoes of those who are black. Do it daily and then you MIGHT — JUST MIGHT, have a glimpse of the terror that faces them every single day.
PRAY FOR PEACE
After you have put yourself in the shoes of those who are black every single day — pray. If God can shut the mouths of lions for Daniel, part the Red Sea for the Israelites and opened the eyes of the blind — anything is possible.
Pray for those who are hurting. Pray for those who don’t have the will to pray. Pray for the government and police to find a better way. Pray for local churches to be beacons of hope for all to see. Pray for the children of those who are deceased that they would walk in love and not in hate.
That’s a start — I believe we can all do better. I want to be better and hope you do too. Anything is possible to those who believe. What started in the 60’s lives on today — we carry the torch, it’s our turn. Don’t be afraid.
