Brie Gowen

Savor the Essence of Life

What Bothers Me About Black Lives Matter

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I tend to sit back and watch the explosions of anger around me, not jumping in quickly to make my point, but rather taking time to pray and reflect on what might be God’s heart for an issue. It’s often easier to remain silent, not to poke the bear, or risk coming off the wrong way. But then sometimes you just have to speak what’s on your heart. Like now. 

I watch the world around me and I see something about the people in it. They’ve always been that way, but lately it seems to be a lot worse. Everyone has lots of feelings and they’re not afraid to use them. When I watch most interactions and especially loud voices in this world I see selfishness. Just being honest. I see it in the customers I serve owning a small business, and I see it with the patient population I serve as a nurse. We’re a society that says “my needs are most important.” We’re very quick to say “this is what you’ve done to me, I’m hurting, and I want retribution.”

Look, I won’t try in this post to fully be able to empathize with the plight of others. I can try, but in the end I haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes. Sure I’ve been dirt poor and reliant on government assistance. I’ve been judged wrongly for the color of my skin and where I was raised. I’ve been told I was a racist simply because I’m a Southern, white woman, and not due to any action or word from my mouth. But that’s not what this is about. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. To say I have experienced trouble or inequality would make me no better than what bothers me the most. It’s not about me, but it’s also not about you.

It isn’t Black Lives Matter. It’s not White Lives Matter. It’s not even Blue Lives Matter. It’s actually that we all think so highly of ourselves that we ALL want to matter, when in actually we don’t. Christ Matters, and that should be the driving force of every interaction we have on a day to day basis. I personally want to count it all as loss. Maybe try harder to lead folks to the cross. 

Philippians 3:8

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.

Here’s what I’m not saying. I’m not trying to lessen what the African American community has been through. I have spoken very humbly on this matter before, and I am completely willing to admit there’s such a thing as White Privilege. I will also humbly and sincerely apologize for heinous crimes I didn’t personally commit, but that my ancestors did. But I want you to understand why I apologize. I say I’m sorry because I know it grieves the Lord, and I know history wasn’t something He was in favor of befalling His people, but here’s the problem. We’re not getting any better. 
We’re ALL being selfish in one way or another, and in our wrath (and I rightfully call it wrath from things I’ve read and seen) we lose sight of Jesus while we spew our anger. It becomes about us versus them, when in all reality it should just be about Him. 

We make Jesus less and we make ourselves more. We justify our hate with pointed fingers, as if someone else’s wrong action somehow makes ours right. We shout and shout to make our own voices heard, and we miss the fact that our actions are quite absurd. We put our personal cause on a pedestal leaving no room for the cross, and we chant “make it right” without ever admitting that we are ALL wrong. 

So here’s what happens when we let our selfish, sinful natures take the driver’s seat. We don’t see clearly, we only see through a veil of rage. It’s not about bad cops, good cops, or if someone deserved to be shot. I mean, it is, and I’m not trying to downplay the very real problems this country has, but it’s also not. It’s actually about the fact that none of us deserve saving, no, not one. I don’t care what the color of your skin is or if you’re holding a gun. We all deserve death, yet Jesus came for us ALL. When we forget that it grieves His heart. 

When we decide that our own agenda trumps it all we are wrong. When we let anger become fueled by the devil to separate God’s house we are fools. When we speak hate and selfishly shout “how are you gonna make this right” I just can’t help but see Jesus, with His arms stretched out wide, sadly whisper, “I have.”

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

Here’s my take, for whatever it is worth. I think we need to stop focusing on whose life matters and start focusing on the only single life that ever mattered. It was a life that came to earth sinless, yet died for us all. And when we scream loudly how much WE matter, perhaps our actions are suggesting He does not. Because when we place so much focus on how we have been wronged, and even more on how someone else needs to make it right, we tear apart relationships that Christ died to bring together. If that’s what “mattering” does then I want no part of it. 

I think instead I’ll carry my cross, and perhaps I’ll show the love of Jesus to those I meet along the way. After all, isn’t that what we’re here for? We’re not here to be right, be vindicated, or even be equal (although that would sure be nice). No, we’re actually here to lead folks to Jesus, and so far I’m seeing us foul that up something fierce. 

That’s what bothers me most. 

God’s Word on Black Lives Matter

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I have been distressed lately when I thumb through my Facebook newsfeed, as I’ve gathered many of my friends are too. Not only has there been tragedy on all fronts, but also violence, bigotry, and hate. There’s been propaganda, bending of the truth for one’s own agenda, and a little too much of folks speaking without thinking which never bodes well. I get the anger, I get the feelings of frustration, and I even get the need to voice the emotional outpouring that results, but I think we can all agree that sometimes it gets to be too much.

Too much rage.

Too much hate.

Too many fingers pointing.

And far too much division.

So I asked the Lord a moment ago “God, what’s your word say about all this?”

And here’s the verse that came to me.

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

I think it’s easy to have disagreement on such hot topics and emotionally fueled debates, and it’s easy to hurt feelings without even realizing what you have done. Perhaps I’ve done it myself in the past week. But what do you suppose the Lord’s stance would be on all of this?

What would God say about Black Lives Matter?

He’d probably say, “yes, they do.”

Galatians 3:26-29 ESV

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

He’d say, “all my children matter,” and much like the frustration I feel when my daughters won’t get along, I’m sure the Lord also lets out a big exasperated sigh.

The thing is when I say to you all lives matter it’s not a poke at the black community saying you don’t. It’s not turning a blind, privileged eye from the cruelties your ancestors received or even to the injustice you face in modern day times. As a white woman I can’t say what it’s like to be black any more than I can say what it must be like to be a man. God made me me, and I just try to live and love like I think He wants me to do.

So back to gathering together; the verse that first came to my mind. Do you think we serve God’s purposes best when we are divided on an issue, or do you think we are more powerful when we stand as one? I’m always of the mind that we aren’t fighting a flesh and blood war in the world, but rather one of principalities and darkness we cannot see. And I can only imagine Satan smiling smugly when he sees how we deal with racial divides. He’s cackling cruelly at how easily we fall into his trap. Sigh.

God’s word on all this would be love. That’s His word on everything! Plain and simple. We try to overcomplicate issues that God makes quite easy. The other morning Jesus brought something to my mind and it went like this.

Usually when our feelings get hurt we want to retaliate in anger. 

We want to get our point across!!
But God wants us to get His love across.

Again, it’s not to make light of a situation. Death of anyone is beyond hurt feelings, and this is serious business. But maybe instead of getting seriously angry we need to get seriously loving. Maybe we need to get seriously praying. Some shake their heads as if a prayerful stance is nothing, like it’s smoke and mirrors in the face of life-altering events, but I tell you that knee-business, true intercession, is the best thing you can be doing right now. Because where two or more are gathered together in mind and spirit proclaiming God’s sovereignty over all this mess then huge walls are being broken down in the spiritual realm.
We don’t need to be protesting. We need to be falling on our faces in humbled petition for God to heal our land. We don’t need to be rioting and killing police, we need to be joining together as God’s people, no matter our color of skin. The only windows that need busted out are figuratively speaking when we pack God’s house out to maximum capacity with folks praising the Lord that He loves us all so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sins.

If that piece of history doesn’t convince you that your life matters then no amount of picket signs or rambling Facebook posts ever will. You shouldn’t have to protest that your life matters; just open up to the New Testmant and thank Jesus that it does.

I’m sorry humans are real dirtbags sometimes. Often times. I apologize that this world is full of injustice, sin, and general wrongdoing. It isn’t fair. It isn’t right. And although I haven’t walked in everyone’s particular shoes, as a Christ follower I know He told me in His word it wouldn’t be fair.

But He also said this, praise the Lord. He said that one day, in eternity, there would be no pain when we stood with Him by the Father. If we can just make it until then, and love one another then our example of how God unifies His children may bring others to know Christ. Glory! That’s what I want more than anything, y’all, and so should you.

Who’s right and who’s wrong about racial tension won’t matter on judgement day. What will matter most is believing He died for you, that He died for your neighbor, that you treated all mankind with love, and brought most of them to Heaven with you.

Racial injustice isn’t what God wants, and I am so grateful we are evolving and changing for the better on this subject. We’ve got a long way to go, but we have come so far. We do need to keep going for equality, but we can’t do that at the cost of God’s calling on ALL OUR LIVES. We are all called to carry ourselves in love. That’s easy to forget and hard to do, but it’s God’s word on any subject.

So put down your anger. Put down your need to be right and be heard. Jesus hears you. Let’s join together instead in Christ name and be a light for the rest of the world to see.