"...Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them..."
Ephesians 5:11
A Mild Awakening
In the summer of 2020, we witnessed the horrid unjust murder of a Black American man, George Floyd, at the hands of policemen who've pledged to serve and protect life. Unfortunately, this incident was and is not unique. Many Black and Brown Americans can testify to the normed atrocity of police brutality and misuse of power in our neighborhoods. I start here because it was the first time in human history that nations around the globe marched in opposition to the mistreatment of Black people by law enforcement. It took a televised massacre in the 21st century for people to see that perhaps racism is still a problem today. The truth is institutionalized racism and white supremacy are not meant to be obvious problems. Both are purposefully baked into our way of thinking, daily practice, and mundane existence in society so that the common man is unable to point it out. If it were not for the footage, many would have believed the narrative that George Floyd was resisting arrest or was intimidating in a life-threatening way, thus warranting his death. The fact that this story could have sealed his coffin without justice is a function of this "invisible" beast. However, seeing is believing. So what is my point? You'll see! Let's chew on the Word of God—Ladies and gents, it's binge time! 😜
The God of Justice
Psalms 11:7
“For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.”
If you think you love justice, you've only scratched the surface. Just is God's very nature, one of His main attributes. As an infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, pure, and holy being who exists in his own league, God is the standard of perfection. And if God is the standard, He clearly has the right to set the standard for the rest of us mere mortals. He laid the very foundation of morality from which we derive our knowledge of good and evil—reward and consequence. There is no such thing as relative morality friends. Romans 2:15 describes how God has coated our conscience with a general understanding of right and wrong. I say "general" because that understanding intensifies when you receive the Holy Spirit through salvation. But anyway, I'm going somewhere, so follow me. God is good and decides what is good and what is not. The bad news is, we are not good (Ephesians 2:3). Why? Because of Adam and Eve. God had one law...not 10...not 600...but one and they broke it. So what happens when someone breaks a law? Ah! Justice! You are given a fair consequence to balance the scales if you will. Who determines what is fair? ...you've guessed it! God. Humans have since inherited evil as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve (Psalm 51:5) and have progressively strayed deeper and deeper into its abyss—oftentimes even ignoring our very conscience. What is a worthy consequence when you disobey a holy and righteous God? Eternal separation from Him aka spiritual death, physical death, and everlasting suffering from the outpour of His wrath...yea it's mad intense—yet completely justified. Don't get in your feelings—God sets the standard and rightfully so.
Now I want you to conjure the anguish you felt when you witnessed George Floyd's murder. We were so inflamed by the sin of the officers. We pounded our chests; we cried tears of blood; we ripped our throats open screaming in rage for justice because it's 2020 and this is STILL happening. That feeling that you just relived is only but a glimpse of what God feels when we sin against Him. God desires justice even more profoundly, but in God's story, we are the evildoers. Now what God does to satisfy his justice is so bizarre and infinitely beautiful that I still cannot wrap my mind around it. Instead of charging us with the sentence of eternal death, God (the Father) sends Jesus (the Son) to take on our sins—become sin—and atone for our sins by dying as THE sacrifice without blemish, thus satisfying the wrath of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, if we have faith in Jesus, He imputes His righteousness onto us, clearing our record forever and reconciling us back to our holy God. Whew! Crazy right? Why would God do such a thing? Love. Love is who God is (1 John 4:7) and that act on the cross serves as a striking and compelling depiction of the justice and love of God at work. (Romans 3: 21-26).
But the story of salvation from the wrath of God does not end there. When you put your faith in Jesus, you receive the Holy Spirit—the very Spirit of God (Acts 2:38)!! This Holy Spirit changes you (Galatians 5:19-25). You grow to desire relationship and fellowship with God as we once had it in the garden of Eden. Concurrently, the Spirit not only convicts you of your sins but also highlights the sins in the world (John 16:7-8). The Spirit of God gives Believers something like a 6th sense to see the deep depravity of humanity as well as the enabling grace to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Okay, I just painted that big picture to get you to see the colossal problem of sin. Let's funnel down to social injustice—a fruit of sin.
Unfortunately, social injustice is the sin that has become a huge controversy amongst many devout Believers, splitting entire churches into two. Nonetheless, if we do not serve a God of confusion, where then is this confusion coming from? Examine thyself—yes YOU—leave all of your biases at the door and let's unpack this point of contention together: "wokeness."
The Problem with "Wokeness"
The word "woke" can mean a MYRIAD of things depending on who is using it and the context by which it is being used. Language is important. Words matter big time. Bingers, let's take a moment to explore why a genuine Believer would actually cringe at the word "woke."
First, "wokeness" has been politicized. No mature Believer leans completely "left" or completely "right" in a secular government. It's just not possible. But when a word forces you to choose a side and take on all of its ideologies—some of which are unbiblical—you'll likely be confronted with a legitimate identity crisis.🥴 Secondly, the word goes further down the political rabbit-hole in that some believe it has Marxist roots. What's wrong with that? Well, a Believer is not interested in the working class overthrowing the government. A disenfranchised group does not stand on a higher moral ground than the "superior" group. In God's eyes, all of humanity are inherently evil. As a matter of fact, any race with the same level privilege as Whites could have caused the same level of damage. The evil is not in the skin, but in the human heart (Jeremiah 17:9).
Thirdly, "woke", in some spaces, is associated with Hinduism/Buddhism, which is obviously awkward if you aren't Hindu, right? "Woke" is said to refer to the third eye that is the gateway to "higher consciousness" which allows you to see beyond the obvious. I know, I know, many words come from different cultures...BUT the concept of "wokeness" in Hinduism/Buddhism so closely aligns with how it is often used in our society that one might avoid the word all together to set oneself apart as a faithful follower of Christ. Finally, several staunchly "woke" people either hate Christianity or completely dismember the Bible based on their flawed interpretation of the text. Some of them believe that the entire New Testament—hence the Christian faith—is a fairy-tale drafted by the Roman Empire to manipulate people into psychological and physical oppression. Consequently, those who believe in the Christian faith are not "woke" because they have believed in a false religion crafted by the oppressor. Sigh...First of all, the level of craftiness required to cook up an intricate religion of 27 books from scratch that parallels perfectly with the 39 books in the Old Testament simply does not exist. Oppressing people does not even take all that. 😑 Was Christianity weaponized? Absolutely, but I digress.
Now you tell me, why would any Christian call themselves "woke" given such a connotation???
To be Awake in Christ
So now I want you to do something extremely difficult. Throw out the word "woke" and all its cousins and only reintroduce it to your vocabulary after reading the BIBLICAL definition. You ready? You sure? Break your Bible open to Ephesians 5:8-17. Yes, I want you to read your favorite version cuz I know how y'all be. 🙃 Before proceeding, you must actually read...underline and highlight if you have to.
Based on what you JUST read, it is completely fair to say that a real Christian is biblically "woke" or awake specifically because he/she has been spiritually awakened from his/her sleep and can now see evil for what it really is. True or false? Remember, before Christ, we were all asleep as sin lulled us into deep darkness. Now that Christ has shaken us from our slumber, and jolted us from the grip of death, the Holy Spirit has made us privy to the very depth of our evil in drastic contrast to a holy, pure, and righteous God (Ephesians 2:1-7). Now the Oxford definition of "woke" is a person who is alert or aware of injustices in the world, both overt and covert. The biblical definition and the Oxford definition do not contradict if you agree that injustice is simply a byproduct of sin. Now you may ask, well how are we defining social justice? Excellent, excellent question. Let's agree on this definition: social justice is the equitable treatment of all people especially when it comes to protecting life and equitable distribution of opportunities to support one's livelihood. Are we still okay? Good. All in all, the Holy Spirit has made all true Believers hyper-aware of all manner of sin INCLUDING social injustices, so there should be no debate there. Now let's go back to the Scripture at hand. While Ephesians 5 broadly describes a commission to live in obedience to Christ, rejecting sin in your own life and rebuking sin in others, I want to dive deeper into Ephesians 5:11 for a bit.
11 "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
Here's my thing, we are not called to only expose "popular" sins such as sexual immorality, drunkenness, idolatry, etc, (Galatians 5:19-21) but also the sin of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, sex trafficking, and so forth. Now if Christians are supposed to be biblically "woke" or awake to the highest degree because the Spirit of God gives us the ability to see all sins in their rawest form, what then is the way forward?
1. Again...Expand your definition of sin.
As previously mentioned, we, Believers, are great at pointing out the sins that seem obvious (again: Galatians 5:19-21). However, we struggle to see the pervasive nature of sin. We don't realize that classism stems from selfish ambition. Or that racism is a form of hatred, discord, and dissension. I'll even say that homophobia is also rooted in hatred. I know that may come as a surprise to some of you religious folk, but we are not called to fear/hate/attack those who practice homosexuality. Jesus gave us a great example in John 8. We protect human life and present Jesus to do the transformative inner rebirth by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-21). As we mature in our faith, we must come to see sin for what it really is, regardless of the covert form it takes on.
2. View sanctification as a process and socialization as a stronghold.
When you give your life to Christ and the Holy Spirit inhabits your body, the sanctification process begins. BUT, that process does not complete until you die and receive a glorified, immortal body free from the sinful desires of the flesh (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). What does this mean? Believers are on a journey of being pruned and purified by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-6). Therefore, we still struggle with some sins even though we have a brand new posture towards sin. Here is the reality, as a Believer, your mind may still be socialized to believe the lies and archetypes that society pumps into your psyche. You can come to Christ and still have a distorted view of women, of people of color, of poor people, of immigrants, of differently-abled people, and so on. But as Romans 12:2 states, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." You have to make a conscious effort to unlearn what the world has taught you and allow the Word of God to implant a new way of thinking.
3. Divorce Legalism.
Remember, when the Pharisees criticized Jesus for hanging around sinners, but Jesus made it crystal clear that he came for the sick (Matthew 9:11-13). It does us, Believers, no good to shun unbelievers when we are called to go to where they are...not to partake in their sin, but to love and share Jesus. Instead of going out to march, pursuing justice in our workplace, mourning with mourners, or empathizing with the issues of the oppressed, many Believers have become obsessed with legalism:
Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."
The law could not and cannot save us...That is why Jesus had to die in our place. Not to do away with the law of course, but to fulfill it and TRANSFORM us to do what is most important to God: love Him and love others. The world will know that you are a follower of Jesus by the way you love (John 13:35). In fact, it was the radical kindness of God that drew us out of sin to repentance in the first place! (Romans 2:4) Don't run away from those who are hurting, but rather run towards them, baring the radiant light of Christ (Matthew 5:13-16).
4. Empathize with the Marginalized.
James says, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them" (James 4:7). I don't struggle with empathy, you say, but let's just take a look at apathy:
You are in a meeting and you know that the policy discussed will disproportionately affect the livelihood of immigrant populations; you have the power to reverse the policy's impact yet you proceed with it anyway. You tell yourself that it's not a big deal because America is for Americans, to pacify your conscience. But unless you are a Native American, you too were once foreign to this land.🙃 God told the Israelites this: "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 19:34). You suppress the good you ought to do because of the sacrifice required to do it.
Please don't get me wrong, God does not condone breaking the law of the land, but I want you to see how nuanced addressing social injustice can be. How can this hypothetical you uphold the law of the land and also thoroughly love your neighbor? Simply put, love is hard work. Love is uncomfortable. Love is learning the people we desire to love. I know it may feel like a lot, but if you are a Believer, you must know that you cannot say you love God if you do not love your neighbor and love them well (1st John 4:20). Let us follow Jesus's example when He offered eternal life to the Samaritan woman at the well, breaking racial, gender, and even religious barriers to reach her (John 4).
KB, the Christian rapper, said a version of the following powerful statement: if we only love others by addressing their physical/earthly needs, we are loving them onto destruction. DEEP!!!!! What is the point of defending the cause of the oppressed, disenfranchised, and marginalized populations in society? What is the point of seeing, exposing, and addressing social injustices around us? What profits a man to gain the whole world yet lose his very own soul?! What good is justice in this temporary life only to die and be eternally separated from God? We are to love deeply enough to serve both the temporary and eternal needs of mankind. We are to love deeply enough to present the real, one and only, Jesus Christ to the world.
For the Sake of The Gospel
Paul had it figured out man!! Let's follow him as he followed Christ:
Now reread verses 22 through 23 below.
22 ... I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Paul was so mature in his spirituality that he knew he had to learn people to love them where they are. This gentle, enduring love was the catalyst by which Paul offered Jesus Christ, the only One who provides an everlasting solution to the bigger problem of sin in our world. While it may seem overwhelming for one person to literally become all to all, we exist in a greater body of Believers. And as a collective, we are more than capable of reaching every population to win all who would receive this very good news.
Where Do I Start?
Okay at this point, you're either fired up or overwhelmed by the call of action. Listen, I get it! Get you a copy of this book, Woke Church! While it is focused on addressing racial injustice, it will give you many ideas on how to tackle any issue of social injustice that you may be passionate about! No money? No problem! Message me through the chat (at the right-hand corner) and I will purchase one for you!🤗
If you are a Binging Believer, I will leave you with these three questions:
What has God called you to do where He has you?
Who has He called you to learn & love?
Why?
"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Ephesians 5:1-2