Recently, a man was arrested and confessed to attacking multiple spas where multiple people were injured, and 8 were killed including 6 Asian women. Upon arrest, the suspect also confessed that he suffers from sex addiction and these locations were a temptation to him and that he wanted to eliminate them. He denied that the attacks were motivated by race.
My thoughts on this.
In the chaotic swirl of life in a divided world, divided by race and gender, instead of trying to discern motivations and assign blame this helps me reaffirm some commitments and beliefs, including how to live those out.
Firstly, sin is real and it needs Jesus Christ to solve. This includes working with other people to help you find solutions. I believe we are responsible for our own choices, and the consequences of our sins are for us to bear. While society at large, and individuals specifically, may contribute to our committing of sinful acts, we do not solve our sin by killing other people. We bear personal responsibility to identify our own issues, hand those over to Jesus in confession and seeking healing by making healthy choices. These healthy choices include getting help and allowing God to work in us. It is not a solution to pass blame on to others for what you are tempted by and certainly wrong to destroy, harm, or kill others as a means to deal with our own temptation. If you are suffering with any addiction, please get help. Go to a recovery program, call a friend, contact a pastor, make an appointment with a therapist or other support program.
Secondly, the victimization and dehumanizing of women is a real issue in our world and we need to do better at addressing it and stopping it. I believe men and women are EQUALLY created in the image of God. However, far too many women are victimized and dehumanized on a daily basis. They are the victims of assaults (verbal, physical, emotional and psychological) and this needs to stop. Women have for centuries been relegated to positions of lower status and it is done at the expense of the image in which they have been created. Women are not responsible for the thoughts and action of men. Men are responsible for their own thoughts and actions and need to own them. Women are not the objects of sex, fetishes, desires, unwanted advances and many other actions. They are not OBJECTS period. They are created as equal partners in the work God gave humanity and we all need to work to allow men and women to find a way to work together in the world that is created, sustained and owned by God.
Thirdly, the reality that the majority of women who died were all of specific type of ethnicity speaks to a simple truth in our country. Racism continues to be an issue at the heart of our country, if not world. I believe that each person, from every nation, tribe, people and language are equal before God in dignity, worth, and love. God created each one in His own image. Furthermore, while equal, we are different and those differences are important. Our differences speak to a unique perspective and experience in God’s story of redeeming us all, which is why need to see and value our differences too.
The rise of Anti-Asian racism in our country is real, especially in the last year due to the COVID pandemic (in part as a result of the continued assigning of COVID to Asian people like calling the virus the "China Virus"). It is not just a reality on our screens and in my news feeds. Families I personally know speak to this increase in discrimination, bigotry and racism. We cannot deny the racism in our midst. As I am learning in my own efforts about racial unity, first we acknowledge the problem, then we listen to others as we, together, seek solutions. I am committed to finding racial unity in my own life and fighting against racism as best I can. This means raising the dignity of all people, all cultures and all ethnicities to equal status. The necessary effect of this effort is to raise awareness of, and ascribe value to those cultures, ethnicities and peoples that have been discriminated against, no matter the reason. While the shooter may deny racism was a motivation, the reality is that these locations were targeted while others of different ethnicities were not. That is a racial, gender and sin issue.
How do I respond to this? I commit to solving my sin condition in healthy ways and helping others to do so too. I commit to elevating women to be of equal status to men. I commit to pursuing racial unity for all peoples, which means working harder for those who have been relegated to lower status. It means I work harder to include and show value to women and people of color. So I stand with black, indigenous people of color, with Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and with women as we fight together for equality and unity.
The above post formed the basis for a similar statement by Faith Community Church. The Faith Community Church statement was edited by Mike Laurence, the lead pastor there, and my personal friend. He encouraged me to post the longer version as a blog post.
No comments:
Post a Comment