Wake Up!

 

Scripture: Romans 13:11-12 (NRSV)

. . . you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹² the night is far gone, the day is near.

Devotion:

            It is truly time to wake up as a church. We have slept too long in a life of ease and complacency. There are dark clouds rising and they are menacing the very freedom we have in Christ. Today, we continue to look into what being “woke” really means. We will look at something called Critical Race Theory or CRT and examine why the Christian church should be all about defeating this tool that comes from the Devil himself.

            CRT is a way of looking at reality in which all people can be divided into two groups. They are the oppressor and the oppressed. There are many ways one can be labeled an oppressor. In race for example white people are all oppressors. It does not matter whether you are actually actively oppressing people of color or not you are still the villain. There is nothing you can really do to change your status as oppressor. Likewise for gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and more categories of oppressors are added frequently. I for example am a white, male, heterosexual, male gendered person. Therefore, I am the oppressor in all these categories per CRT.

            The oppressed are in the same situation; to be a person of color, female, lesbian, non-binary. Means you are doomed to be oppressed all of your life. There is nothing that you can do to change your status.

            Why should this system be repulsive to those who call themselves Christian. The answer lies in what I have just said. There is no way of escaping your categories. No matter what you do you will always be either the oppressor or the oppressed. The system provides no way of saving you from your alleged “sins”. You are doomed to live a life determined by things outside your control without the hope of ever being redeemed. There are at least two major problems with this outlook from a Christian perspective.

            One is that it judges people and places them in groups from which they cannot escape. There is no room for individuals in this system. It is a system designed to set people at odds with each other and to constantly remind them of the fact that they are other from those around them. The way of the cross brings each individual to a place of choice either for the cross or against it. The individual is free to choose which destiny they wish for themselves. And as long as they are alive and breathing, they can change their mind and destiny.

            The second issue that the Church should have with CRT is that it eliminates the possibility of being redeemed. You are locked into your role and can do nothing to change it. Jesus offers the way of salvation and restoration to right standing before God. The Christian has hope for a brighter future for themselves in Christ.

Prayer:

            Lord, deliver your church from these perilous times. Our salvation is indeed nearer than when we first believed. Help us to lead lives that exemplify your love, forgiveness, mercy to the world. Show the world your redemption and salvation through the people you have saved for yourself. Let the church lead the way when it comes to showing forth the love of Christ. In Jesus name we ask it. Amen.