A Message From Prison, pt. 3
by on Jan 20th, 2010 at 12:01 am
Today, we’ll finish off Martin Luther King’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." I hope that you have gained some wisdom from reading and reflecting upon it. Again, in case you want to read the entire letter, here is a link for you.
The next quote picks up where the quote from yesterday finished. In King’s mind, there was both a need for the gospel of Jesus to transform the soul and the instructions of Christ to change the way we treated each other as human beings. Christians are strategically placed within societies to bring healing to their communities, and Martin Luther King was upset that the white pastors missed that idea even as they criticized him for doing their job.
In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious. irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, or Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.
Attacking the Church seems to be a popular thing to do if you are a Christian. We have been treating the Church like politicians treat “Big Government,” “Big Oil,” “Big Bankers,” or “Big Business.” We attack a large entity in order to avoid actually calling out individuals, and while I can respect critiques that come from Christians who have devoted themselves to serving God and His people, I am less impressed with Christians whose invectives are not accompanied with personal sacrifice on behalf of God’s bride. In this letter, King makes the effort to remind these pastors that his critiques against the church are love-motivated and from someone who is giving himself to preserving the Church:
In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise?
His final call to Christians is still relevant for today. Are we actually changing the moral temperature in our homes, communities, and society at-large? Are we willing to do this even if it costs us our personal comfort, economic security, or professional futures?
There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators"' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.
Finally, Martin Luther King, Jr. closes his letter with a reminder that he is interested in seeing justice done above winning acclaim or making himself look good. He is willing to be corrected and hoping that he has not embellished his arguments to make the point:
If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.
Ultimately, and I know that this will sound terrible, Martin Luther King, Jr. should never have become famous. He should never have had to lead a civil rights movement, and we should never have had a reason to mark his memory with a special holiday. If Godly men would have stood up in their own towns and risked ridicule to defend the dignity of every person, if “Christian” judges, lawyers, politicians, clergyman, police officers, and businessmen in Jim Crow America would have exercised courage and treated people fairly, the need for civil rights marches would never have surfaced. Thus, Martin Luther King would have never had to go down to Birmingham, among other places.
While we might easily judge the sins of our fathers, we must not be blind to the sins of our own generation. You and I will have to exercise courage in administering justice, especially as we gain positions of influence and power. We will only do this if we truly surrender our ambitions and safety to King Jesus.