Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Is anything clear cut? It feels like no matter what happens, people can argue for or against anything. Take it a step further, Christians love to use the Bible to argue for or against anything. Biblical scholars spend years looking at the original languages and the original contexts in which the Bible was written in order to understand what the intent was.
I have seen so many things on social media regarding social justice in the last couple of weeks. I have seen so many Christians posting things, good and bad, about social justice. Our current situation has been compared to the parable of the lost sheep and leaving the 99, it has been compared to the story of the prodigal son and how the other son was not happy when the praise was off of him, and so many other stories. People love to argue, and everyone wants to insert their opinions on how these stories should be interpreted or what they mean for us today. It can be so much simpler; love you neighbor as yourself.
If anyone is questioning what God would want Christians to be doing today in the midst of all that is happening, I think it boils down to: Are you willing to love your neighbor as yourself?
There is a video of Jane Elliot asking a large group of white people if they would be willing to be treated the same way as black people are treated in America right now. She asks them to stand if they are willing. There are some looks of shock, but nobody stands. NOBODY STANDS. You know why? Because people know that there is injustice happening, but when it doesn’t impact them, it’s easy to ignore.
Don’t let that be your narrative. Make it impact you. Stand up for your brothers and sisters. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus tells us to do this and it’s easier to talk about it than act, but it’s time to act. Love your neighbor as yourself.