An old movie I recently watched featured a scene where the two protagonists were fleeing a group of villainous ne’er-do-wells. They reached a point in their flight when they encountered a rickety rope bridge stretching across a vast chasm. Of course, this was their only means of escape so they reluctantly began a perilous journey across.

It occurred to me that, too often, we look upon our faith journeys in a similar fashion. The Bible tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing₁. So, to those who are perishing (lacking faith) our journey of faith appears very similar to the rickety rope bridge in our cinematic example. If it does not inspire trust in them, why does it affect us differently? The answer is simple. Those who are perishing are unaware of that truth, whereas the understanding of our untenable existence without Christ drives those of us with understanding onto the bridge out of a sense of desperation. As in the cinematic example, each footfall builds faith. As we progress, we find that we are no longer looking down, but are rather looking forward and up. I imagine it was a similar experience for the Children of Israel as they crossed the Red Sea. Their first steps were hesitant, tentative, fearful; but the understanding of the certain death that awaited them if they did not cross spurred them onward.

Some of us are at different points in our journey. We may be reluctantly extending a single toe, unsure if God’s promises will support us; others are journeying resolutely, gaining both confidence and speed with each step; while still others among us are frozen mid-span, unwilling to go forward or back. For those who are hesitating or frozen in fear, I would remind you to focus not on the journey, the bridge, the seabed; but rather to focus on the destination. For us, that destination is a personal relationship with a loving Savior who knows us more intimately than anyone in this world and forgives and accepts us. You won’t know that experience if you do not keep moving. Jesus is calling… DON’T LOOK DOWN!  

₁ 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

I spent the better part of the day recently working on a music box. When I say “better part”, it is not because I spent the majority of the day so occupied, but rather that of those activities that filled my day, this was the comparatively better part. Musical movements are remarkably simple in principle. A winding key stores energy in a spring, a governor regulates the release of this energy to a rotating cylinder, and individual pins on the cylinder connect with individual tines of varying length on a comb, producing a melody. Simple, though a remarkable degree of precision is required in the functioning of each element to produce a pleasant melody, rather than an inharmonious cacophony. The movement that held my attention today, even prior to my efforts, played beautifully… with the exception of one discordant note.

Now, it would have been easy enough to ignore since the problematic note occurred only once during the rendering of two very pleasant melodies, but it was a flaw that could be corrected. As I worked on the box, it occurred to me how remiss we often are in rectifying the discordant notes in our own lives. As Christians, we can so easily make allowances for our shortcomings with a dismissive “God isn’t done with me yet” or “His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses”. These statements, true though they are, often allow us to excuse us from making any effort to rectify those flaws which are well within our ability to address. Personally, I have difficulty with relationships. There are people in my life whom I dearly love, but I defer to them to do the work of maintaining open lines of communication. I expect that they understand it is hard for me and in so understanding they are obligated to reach out and connect. As in a musical movement, I am expecting them to twist the winding key and inject energy into the relationship. As I wait for them, the relationship languishes motionless and silent.

With my fondness for things mechanical, I have repeatedly explained (lectured?) to my family that the worst thing you can do to any mechanism is not to use it. That musical movement that plays so beautifully may struggle to overcome the inertia if left unused for months or years. How sad that I did not grasp that the same truth exists in the mechanics of relationships. Years ago a friend with whom I shared a mutual enthusiasm for vintage radios showed me his collection. High shelves lined almost every room of his home with an amazing collection of radios from the 1920’s and ‘30’s. Each one had been carefully restored and gleamed in polished cabinets with exotic inlays and intricate designs. He proudly told me that every one of them played. However, the truth was that every one of them played at the time it was placed on the shelf. He had a collection of fully restored radios, but he could only make that claim if he was careful never to plug them in again and test them.  He had an incredible collection of radios, but possessed none that he could listen to and enjoy, as any attempt to do so would shatter his illusion.

So, as with musical movements and radios, relationships do not sit static while you live your life. Each relationship strikes a certain note in your heart and to ignore them is to sentence yourself to a silent and lonely life. God has set the tune, and I am going to work to restore and repair the missing and discordant notes of the song that is my life.

I was struck by a recent study in the Book of Daniel wherein God demonstrated his power over the kingdoms of the earth. As we in the United States are presented with a presidential election, it is striking that in this moment we are not faced with a selection among the best and the brightest, but rather two men who their respective parties have deemed electable. The most successful (meaning electable) politicians in our society are often those that are most willing to compromise every moral and ethical principal in pursuit of power. Their parties assessment of electability means that they are deemed not to be the best person, but rather the best able to sway a sufficient number of the 56% of our voting age population who are expected to vote and who are residing in the appropriate locations to enable them to win the election. But in the current race strangely, and sadly, each candidate is campaigning for the other. One candidate’s message is “Vote for me! I’m less repugnant than the other guy!”; while the message of the other is “Vote for me! I don’t have dementia!”. Every time either of these men take the stage, they drive voters to their opposite, either by their overt repugnancy or their apparent cognitive decline. Who will win? Well, the repugnant candidate doesn’t listen to his handlers, so he won’t step back from the stage. His opponent hasn’t the capacity to ignore his handlers, so he is largely being hidden from public view. However, his absence testifies to his decline.

The Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin is reputed to have said “Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything”. In secular society, that thought rings true because of the conviction that the affairs of mankind are decided by mankind. However, those who know God know it to be false. Daniel 4:17 recounts the revelation from God to King Nebuchadnezzar “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men”. It reasserts God’s authority as stated in Daniel 2:21 “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:” In our present day we should do well to remember that God is Sovereign over all nations. A proof of this will come for us in less than two weeks as God sets up over us “the basest of men”.  I won’t speculate as to who will win. But I know that there is only one vote that counts, and His has already been cast is not dependent on the U.S. Postal Service for delivery. His will be done. Hallelujah!

I was already old when He called me. Too old, my wife Zipporah said; but you don’t say “no” to God – or at least you don’t finish with “no”. Now, Egypt was but a faint echo. Zipporah more distant, more remote. I brought the people out to this barren place. For forty years I prayed for deliverance, for forgiveness… but God’s “no” possesses a firmness I could not muster those many years ago. I would not cross over.

I started this trek early, before the dew and while the stars still clung to the sky. Standing on the mountain, I looked out over the valley. The hot wind off of the desert chafed on my skin, heated by the mid-morning sun. Soon the day’s fiery heat would bear down on me with a fierce blast. Once more into the furnace to fire away the abandonment, disappointment, and resentment that each passing day stoked within me. I strained to catch a note in the air. Perhaps a fragrance, the mere hint of a land, long promised, but denied to me. I was rewarded only with dry, lifeless, dust; dust that would soon claim me as its own.

I imagine the foregoing as how Moses must have felt at the end of his life. We think of a long life as a blessing, but it may not seem as such to someone who has spent so many of those years waiting. My mother, throughout my childhood, waited expectantly for the rapture and read a library of books identifying the Antichrist. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t King Juan Carlos of Spain. So it is now, with many Christians convinced that we are in the last days. However, every generation since the resurrection has been convinced that Jesus’ return was imminent. And it was imminent. And it is imminent. My mother, who died of cancer several years ago, has seen it. My father-in-law and mother-in-law, both having passed from this world, have seen it. Moses experienced the promised land, and his eyes are still not dimmed₁. Such is God’s timing. All things will be fulfilled, and all things have been fulfilled.

₁ Deuteronomy 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

I’ve always been fascinated with time, and more specifically, the concept of time travel.  That we live our lives, free to move within the first three dimensions of space, but are held captive in the fourth dimension of time, seems so frustrating. God is proof that movement is possible in the fourth dimension, for how else could He reveal to the prophets the secrets of the future. How could He write the Book of Life prior to most if not all of those listed having been born? So often we acknowledge that He is everywhere, but forget that He is every time as well. We are promised eternal life, but we are limited by the constraints of this world to imagine what that looks like. Eternal life heretofore has meant to me that we won’t die. Even that miracle, though, had limited appeal to me if it meant being captive in time and trudging onward from one moment to the next without end. They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but mercifully it ends with a single step as well. A Far Side mug I once had featured an angel sitting on a cloud with a harp, commenting to himself that he wished he had brought a magazine. Eternity can be a long time without a purpose – like living the children’s song Michael Finnegan, constantly having to begin again.

I’m coming to understand, though, that eternal life does not mean life without end, experiencing it moment after moment for eternity. No, I believe it means a life not only without end, but without imprisonment in the moment. I’ve often imagined the time tracks of our lives as a river, each of us floating at a constant rate. When we approach milestones in our lives, the ultra-sensitive among us can sometimes sense their impending approach by the small circular ripples they create with their splash. Historic moments that shock or traumatize an entire culture or nation create greater splashes with stronger ripples circling out from their epicenter. Eternal life means no longer bobbing down the river, but being able to stand on the riverbank; being able to experience the river without getting wet. Even as memory fades of some events and people from my past, I am confident that I will someday be able to see them all clearly once again without embarrassment or shame. Solomon tells us that to every thing there is a season₁ and seeks to explain the nature of time when he writes “that which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been”₂.

Life holds so much promise – God’s promise of eternal life is so much greater. Not only life, but purpose. More than we can imagine, until we come into that promise and then we fully understand.

1 Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

₂ Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

We live in peculiar times. I watched an online service yesterday from a church that I sporadically attended pre-Covid and was struck by what the government has done. I would have said “our” government, but how long has it been since anyone could claim a stake in the system in charge? We used to brag about having a “government by consent of the governed”; but the curtain was pulled back on that fraud with the Civil War. So long as the governed consent, well and good. Changing your mind, though, was not an option. Change your mind, and the full weight of the federal government will be mobilized and brought to bear to kill you and your families until you cry “Uncle!” In this case, Uncle Sam. Some of us, though, still clung to the illusion. The illusion that even though our states were emasculated, we still had individual rights – rights guaranteed by the constitution. Note again that I did not say “our” Constitution, as none of us living had any voice in its contents. Perhaps it would be better if every generation we revisited it once more and ratified it once again? No matter. Enshrined in the Constitution are certain rights that we possess as individuals. We have been given to think of them as “unalienable” based on the wording of the Declaration of Independence, but that document is but a sentimental memento of our distant past possessing no force of law.
The first amendment of the Bill of Rights as enshrined in our Constitution states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Although the text specifically refers to “Congress”, the 14th Amendment is interpreted to make all the provisions of the Federal Constitution applicable and superior to any state constitutions. So, when we read that, we conclude that we are may worship freely without interference from government. Who would defend these rights? Why the courts, of course. So, when governors of various states declared an emergency and said that unessential businesses must close, there was a predictable reaction from some corners when churches were classified as unessential, especially when liquor stores selling alcohol and lottery tickets were deemed essential. You could gather to buy vodka, but not to praise God. This issue was taken all the way to the Supreme Court where, sadly, the alienation from our unalienable rights was affirmed. So apparently any of our rights can be taken away if the government declares an emergency and the courts look the other way. With the simplicity of a child saying “Simon says…” we can have all of our freedoms taken away as simply as declaring an emergency. Some governors have learned and embraced this and are now declaring emergencies regarding other subjects, such as racism. As they explore the rights they can suspend in this context, any defenders of free speech, freedom to assemble, and freedom of the press must be concerned. Surely, though, an emergency would have to be of limited duration without legislative action being necessary… No. It lasts as long as the government says it does. So, we now have governors in many states regulating churches – how they may open, how many may gather, and the form the worship service must take. Unthinkable a year ago, but now accepted by supposed ministers of God. This is how I came to watch an online service yesterday. The pastor was singing by himself in an empty auditorium (I would have formerly said “sanctuary”, but it no longer fits that definition). The off-key vocalizing was followed by a message delivered with passion in an empty room. Not a sermon on the mount, but a sermon on a molehill. No miracle of loaves and fishes required, a couple slices of bread and some tuna fish will be sufficient for those attending.
I had to wonder why he bothered? But then I considered the salaries of staff and overhead for the facilities. This corporate Christianity, this ecclesiastical exercise was being performed in the hope of keeping the contributions coming but, like the music, it struck a sour note. It was being performed by leaders who had greater faith in government than faith in God. A pastor I once knew posed the question to his class as to why there was greater healing at work in third world countries than in western nations. His conclusion was that they had a necessary greater reliance on God. He noted that in western nations we have health insurance, but in third world countries they had only blessed assurance. It left me to wonder where our mighty men of God are today? Are they laboring only in foreign lands? In our nation, how does one serve God, if they first bow their knee to government? How can you reconcile the surrender when people in other countries risk death and imprisonment to gather, but you are afraid of a virus and you do not trust God’s will in the matter? You cannot stand up for your faith if you have bowed down to unbelievers. It is only a matter of time before the government indirectly supports a new translation of the bible that is racially and gender sensitive. Don’t be surprised if a voluntary surrender of offending texts is sponsored soon in a neighborhood near you. After all, it’s an emergency.

When I was a child I used to enjoy playing with my toys and would soon consume our living room with toy cars, building blocks, and other toys as I fashioned my own world of imagination. However, dominating that room from its place above the fireplace was a large golden sunburst clock. As the time drew near for dinner. Even as I played, I would remain conscious of that clock and start gathering my toys to ensure that they were put away by the time my dad arrived home at precisely 4:15 every afternoon. I knew I would play again, but my attention needed to shift to other obligations. 

This has been on my mind since my doctor recently told me that I had stage 3 cancer. Although my earthly father is no longer around, it reminded me that my heavenly Father may come at any time. Our mortality is never in any question, though it often requires a surprise or shock to jar us out of our stuporous walk through this world. That diagnosis reminded me, once again, of that golden clock on that long-ago wall. It’s time for me to put away my toys and attend to other things. This doesn’t mean that I shan’t play again, but it means that I must for the moment straighten my things and focus on other issues. I am reminded of the passage in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth when he compared the changes that come with physical maturity to those that come with spiritual growth. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things.”₁ The overarching thought in the chapter is that only love endures and the purity of that love enhances its endurance. All of those things and preoccupations that separate me from perfecting my love is of no consequence. Time to clean up and get ready for Dad to get home.

₁ I Corinthians 13:11

For the longest time, a verse from Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessaloniki has kept coming to mind. It is the verse that reads “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”₁ It finally occurred to me that the Holy Spirit was trying to impress upon me that this verse holds the key to having an abiding faith in God. It is easy to believe that the Bible was written by men of faith, harder though to accept that it was written by God through men of faith. Perhaps this is why so many who attempt a scientific study of how the Bible came to be, often end up losing their faith in their pursuit of knowledge and, in the end, are left with neither faith nor knowledge. I recently confessed to having the deepest and most abiding faith in Jesus and the prophets of the Old Testament. Jonah, Job, Noah… these were problematic for me. More problematic was that Jesus cited them in His teaching.

I realize that I have been like a shopper in a health food store. In quest of a better quality of life, I wander the aisles looking for this supplement, that compound, that will make my body perform more effectively. With choices guided by the most recent article I’ve seen, or the recommendations of friends, I selectively pick and choose from the shelves and walk away with a full basket and empty wallet. So I have been with the Bible, strolling among the books and picking out that which I’ll accept as truth and leaving behind that which I doubt. Although this has not threatened my salvation (I accept and claim Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for my sins and have eternal life through God’s gift of His Son), it has hindered my witness. Do I recommend the Bible as the Mostly Good Book? How do I answer the questions of unbelievers? Do I say “Well, I don’t believe that either”. In my pride, do I disavow books or teachings because I don’t want to seem ignorant? Because I know that doing any of those things would be wrong, it inhibits me from sharing, except with fellow believers. If you suggest to non-believers that the Bible is to be taken with a grain of salt, they will never be able to accept it as the word of God, rather than the work of men.  “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”₂

I came to a conclusion about the health food store. I no longer read about what’s new and wonderful but rather now limit myself to a multivitamin that has more ingredients than I know or understand, but I trust the brand. I’ve reached the same conclusion regarding the Bible. Like a multivitamin I open wide and swallow it whole. Although I will continue to study the Bible, it is with the sure and certain knowledge that I will never on this plane of existence have a complete understanding. Is it all true? I trust the brand. When an unbeliever raises questions I feel confident in citing the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy that all scripture is inspired and is useful for instruction ₃. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”₄  My incomplete knowledge now will be replaced by a complete understanding then. I look forward to that revelation.

₁ 1 Thessalonians 2:13

₂ 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NAS)

₃ 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

₄ 1 Corinthians 13:12

We have all heard the biblical accounts of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. Some have argued that Judas was fulfilling God’s will, since Jesus had to be sacrificed to atone for our sins. No Judas, no salvation. Although that argument has validity, the same argument could be made for Pharaoh in the time of Moses. No hard heart, no dramatic exodus. Even if we accept the actions of both as necessary for God’s purpose, it does not redeem either from their choices.

I consider this in my own life, insofar as those who have played a role and who have in my perception done me wrong. I may chide myself for having been simple, or having been naïve, or even prideful in not believing that anyone could so knowingly harm me; but in the end I am grateful. Much as Paul noted the harm done to him by Alexander the Coppersmith1, so am I furthered on my path of discovery and revelation by those who did work me ill.

My first instinct has been to forgive them. The Lord commands such. However, I have come to realize that forgiveness should be a measure and an action within the inner chambers of my own heart; not an action that should ignore the trespass and injury I have suffered. For the latter, there must be some measure of repentance. Though I might argue justification for striking someone based on their actions, I am by no means justified unless it is in keeping with God’s direction. In certain circumstances, especially in the Old Testament, we might be commanded and justified to hack someone to death before the Lord2, today we are commended to learn from the experience. President Kennedy was famously quoted as saying “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” The moral of this precept is that your heart should change, but don’t assume any change in the heart of those who have wronged you.

What, though, if the person who has wronged you repents? Let God judge their heart, and if the Holy Spirit so leads you, then accept their repentance. However, don’t let your desire for their repentance blind you to what may be merely their own self-interest. Similarly, the leading of the Holy Spirit should not be mistaken for the desire of your own heart. I have been tempted to imagine myself deserving of betrayal as a means to justify the actions of the person who betrayed me, and thereby to absolve them of any need for repentance. Yet Jesus never gave Judas a pass by saying “I had it coming”, or “he only did what had to be done”. I have learned to be grateful for the outcome, but I must restrain myself from blessing the person(s) that brought me here.

Review the story in Exodus, and see if Moses ever expressed any gratitude to Pharaoh for his role in the saga.

1 2nd Timothy 4:4 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2 1st Samuel 15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

This is outside my typical area of commentary, and I confess to being less inspired by Holy Spirit than by the seeming irrationality of the situation. A judge once told me that I had a gift for the obvious, so bear with me if I pause to exercise that gift.
The world is unraveling and we are watching long-held beliefs be challenged and, often, disavowed. We are told again that there is systemic racism. Somehow, though, this alleged systemic racism exists without regard to the racial composition of the leadership of the organization or system, and further that this racism targets and disadvantages only one race, blacks. We are given the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks as exemplars of this systemic racism. I do not know the black experience, because I am not black. There are those who would disqualify any observation I might make or opinion I might hold outright based on that admission. However, the converse is also true insofar as those who are not white do not know the white experience. I am aware enough, however, to understand that the experience and treatment of any group, whether ethnic, racial, gender, etc. is predicated on the geographic and cultural milieu in which that group exists. What defines us as part of that or any other group? The preconceptions, or stereotypes if you will, that others use as a mental shorthand when first encountering us. I had an experience, not that long ago, of going into an auto parts store. I had been working on a car that morning and found myself in sudden and urgent need of a particular component. To set the scene, I am a white male in my early sixties. I was attired in well-worn jeans and a t-shirt that both bore the grime and stains of my morning’s activities. Typically, I present myself showered, shaved and neatly dressed, but not on this occasion.
The customer service I received at this store on this day was, I thought, atrocious. Particularly when viewed in contrast with another gentleman being assisted. Though similar to me in the basics, he was neatly dressed, well-groomed, and had arrived at the store in a fully-restored classic car which he had parked in a clearly visible location in the parking lot. I left that store offended, believing that I had been treated shabbily and disrespectfully. Of course, although I didn’t realize it in the moment, my treatment was based on having been mis-stereotyped. Rather than having been treated as the stereotypical white person, I had been stripped of the benefits of that white privilege (more accurately stated as white stereotype) and been instead treated according to a more negative stereotype. In the community where I live there is an enduring drug abuse epidemic resulting in a stereotype of dirty, unkempt, people who are motivated by addiction and are willing to violate laws in pursuit of satisfying that addiction. I suspect that I was initially categorized into this group.
How do you address this stereotyping? In that instance, it would have been simple for me to shower, shave, and change clothes before going out, and thus avoid mischaracterization. However, what if my appearance that day had been my norm, and what if I lacked the ability to change my appearance? There then would be only two options – change the stereotype or convince those who held it to stop applying it. The first option, to change the stereotype, would involve convincing the drug-abusing community to start modeling different behaviors so that people would think better of them upon initial encounter. Sadly, that is not a possibility since the drug-abusing community does not think of themselves as a community and, if they possessed the discipline to model different behaviors, would likely no longer be drug abusers. The second option, to convince those who held the stereotype to disregard it, is similarly doomed. As a clerk in a store, one’s focus must be on loss prevention and ensuring a pleasant shopping experience. If your experience and training suggest that drug addicts tend to steal to support their habits and frequently due to the influence of mind-altering substances may appear intimidating to other customers, then you will be more alert to those who appear to be possible drug abusers and may view them with a more suspicious eye. As a clerk, you don’t have the time on the job to interact and form an accurate assessment of each customer, so you use a mental shorthand predicated on your experience. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck – forgive me for supposing that you may indeed be a duck; and don’t be shocked to be treated like a duck, despite your loud quacks in protest. Insisting that the clerk not act based on stereotypes means the business would sustain greater losses and less income. It would mean insisting that he/she act contrary to self-interest and the interests of their employer. Starbucks instructed all of its locations to allow the homeless to use their bathrooms and tables, regardless of whether a purchase was made. That awareness has caused me to avoid locations where there is a large homeless problem – I have no desire to spend time in a homeless encampment, even if they do serve irresistible frappuccinos. It’s only logical and predicated on survival and self-interest.
Now, imagine that the stereotype is based solely on the color of your skin. Suppose further that a negative stereotype has been established by others of the same skin color. You’re a successful, Christian businessman with a law degree, a six-figure income, and a home in the suburbs. However, you share the same skin color and gender as the majority of persons arrested and incarcerated in your community. You may find that any encounter with police starts with a jaundiced eye from the officer, because you do not fit into the norm of his or her encounters. This is regardless of the race of the police officer. Their programming, through experience, initially sees you as a potential arrest, a potential criminal, a potential threat. This speaks to how we react in situations. The old adage that when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail plays out here, and the police officer is a member of the local “hammer department”. It takes a moment to realize that there is no problem, there is no nail, and no hammer is needed; however, in that brief moment of that initial encounter, so very many things can go wrong. This is why black parents brief their children as they come of age as to how to react when encountering a police officer. I suspect that these briefings are more general than imagined though, as I recall my dad giving me a talk on the same subject.
I recall one time when my car wouldn’t start when I was ready to leave for work. I called the auto club and was told to expect a tow driver in about 15 minutes. About 15 minutes later, my roommate appeared at the front door and, for a brief moment, it didn’t register to me that he was my roommate. Instead I momentarily concluded that he was the tow driver! Due to stress and having programmed my expectations, it took a moment to register that it was indeed my roommate. Note though that I would have been completely unaware of my subconscious self-programming had the tow driver appeared at the door instead of my roommate. Similarly, life experience tends to cause us to subconsciously self-program and react accordingly. This is true of all people regardless of race. Remember that President Obama once characterized his grandmother as “a typical white person” for having once expressed to him her fear of black men who passed by her on the street. Just as she possessed a stereotype regarding black men, President Obama revealed himself in that moment as possessing a stereotype regarding white people. Which one is less wrong? Which one is more right? Neither. The innate programming of each individual’s experience formed both stereotypes and illustrates how little difference there is between us.
Is education the answer? Is greater screening of police recruits the answer? Sadly, no. Those would be easy fixes, but the problem is hard-wired into each of us. Police departments are purposed to enforce the law. Without police departments, there would be no law enforcement. Most of us support the police because we lack the individual strength and resolve to stand up for ourselves. Are there problems? Of course. No one should be murdered like George Floyd. But his death was at the hands of one rogue cop who had no business being behind a badge. Was it racially motivated? Only God knows his heart. It doesn’t help the case of those who protest on behalf of social justice and against social order that their martyrs to the cause, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, were each individuals who were engaged in criminal behavior and who were resisting arrest at the time of their deaths. If racial stereotypes did not exist, what would have been the outcome? All would still likely be dead, as the predicate for each encounter had been the commission of a crime. The only clearly racially influenced death of an innocent man recently has been Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed not by police, but rather by armed vigilantes. Note, too, that the image of the police officer as racist and wishing to harm innocent blacks is itself a stereotype – a stereotype being reinforced by a media emphasis on police encounters that may (often through inaccurate or incomplete reporting) fit the pattern.
What is appalling to many is the concept of racial profiling – acting on the basis of stereotypes, to justify initial encounters. Racial profiling is no longer acceptable. The problem is, though, that it was, in fact, effective. The Transportation Security Administration is forbidden to use racial profiling. This does not mean that if you appear to be a middle-eastern male in his early twenties travelling alone or with similar peers that you will not be selected for closer screening, it merely means that they will also have to closely screen one or two 90 year old grannies to offset your screening and to make it appear statistically random. Racial profiling has been embedded in supposed random sampling and the sample has been adjusted accordingly to perpetuate the illusion. Stereotypes are changed through experience, not through edict.
The harms or benefits of stereotypes are predicated on your geographic or cultural location. In Cambodia, “intellectuals” were once stereotyped as those who wore eyeglasses. When the ruling Khmer Rouge decided to exterminate the intellectual class, they had only to look for the “four-eyed” among them. Whereas the white stereotype may be a net positive in the U.S. for those in that group, it lacks any benefit in many foreign lands such as the Middle East. Similarly, the Christian stereotype convinces non-believers that we are passive and non-confrontational, that very stereotype convinces them that they may safely and without consequence blaspheme our Lord, mock our faith, and deface our churches. In contrast the Muslim stereotype convinces non-believers that their faith is not to be trifled with or even commented upon.
So how do we overcome our hard-wiring? If you believe in evolution, you can conclude that anyone who lacked this hard-wiring was culled from the population eons ago. Being slow to draw conclusions and assess dangers is not a biologically successful trait. If you believe in God (here I am Lord!), then the answer lies in a closer relationship with Him and a willingness to turn the other cheek. We won’t be changed until we are all changed after His return. In the meantime, my prayer is that we can look at one another with a measure of grace. I don’t understand your burden, and you don’t understand mine. Gratefully, though, we are able to shelter under the wings of a loving God who understands both of us and has provided the Holy Spirit to guide us into a fuller understanding.