Christians and Government

Wow, another post...

I have some things rolling around in my head and I am going to work through them here. Bare with me on some of these thoughts.

I'm so proud that my girls made the decision to attend the Black Lives Matter March in our city (over 20,000 people showed up!!). It is something that we talked about before they went. What were their reasons, could they verbalize them if approached by someone. Did they understand the risks involved with the ongoing pandemic. Did they understand the risk of a riot, just in case that happened and what would they do in that instance? I sent them with PPE and they brought their signs, that they spent the night before painting.

This whole situation has opened the door for some amazing conversations to take place in our house. We have always been an open family. The kids have been raised to be independent thinkers. Even if their beliefs or choices go in a way that myself, or others, don't agree with. They can stand up and speak with confidence why they believe what they believe. Their world view is bigger than their own backyard. I'm pretty proud of them.

There have been lots of discussions popping up around these marches that are happening around the entire world, in support of Black Lives Matter. Positive discussions, negative discussions, opinions etc...

As a Christian, it has really bothered me that so many can say "the government has put in these social distancing rules", "no groups of more then 5" etc... And are coming down on Christians for going against the authority of the government.  Discussions about how protests are allowed, but attending church is not.

First and foremost, I believe that church is not a building. Church is not having coffee in the lobby before or after service, church is not only in one place...WE are the church. Believers are the church. Church can be in your house, your workplace, in nature etc... We need to continue connecting with our church families, checking in on each other, supporting each other the best we can. We need to remember not to let the lonely slip through the cracks.

I also understand that people not being able to attend a service in a building yet can attend a protest, seems unjust to some. Both matters are important yet drastically different. We are currently in a pandemic, yes. Attending church means sitting side by side, for up to 2 hours. Means touching items, chairs, toilets etc...a protest is a one time event. People respected each other, everyone wore a mask and it was outside. Will there be a rise in positive numbers? Maybe. Does the risk outweigh the benefit? I personally believe so... My opinion.

Now, if I'm correct, the Bible is full of instances of people standing against the government. I grew up listening to Bible stories reenacted on cassette tapes... Yes, I said cassettes!!

One example that I can think of, off the top of head, is the story of Moses. He was born during a time of Hebrew slavery. In order to curb the potential to lose power and control, the Pharoah ordered all Hebrew male babies to be killed.

Moses family hid him, until they no longer could, then they placed him in a basket, in the river, and he grew up in royalty.

Had Moses family not gone against the governments order, how do you think the story would have ended?

This is only one story, one example.

The people who change or rewrite history aren't often the ones who sit quietly and wait... They are the ones who stand up, who speak up, who are willing to take risks... They are the ones who see others, learn from others, mourn with others and fight for others.

That's it for now... There may be more later!