We’ve all heard the phrase, rules are meant to be broken – a phrase I’ve heard almost exclusively by teenagers in movies preparing to do something they have no business doing. But when we are talking about our own society, and the infrastructure of our country, (colonization, slavery, etc.), there is something to be said about the rules themselves, as well as who gets to decide what they are and more importantly, why more people – why society as a whole – are not outraged and enraged by the very existence of the rules. There is, lastly, something to be said about the ways in which the rules do not provide structure or help to maintain order, as rules ought to do, but rather illuminate, to anyone with eyes, the priorities of our nation and remind us exactly who this nation was designed to protect and serve.
But since I’m sure you’re wondering what rules I’m referring to, I’ll get to the point. However, understanding the rules below only scratches the surface of exemplifying how skewed the rules are in the favor of some, but certainly not all of us.
The rules:
- tell Black athletes, more specifically, Black basketball players, to shut up and dribble but encourage Trump-supporting athletes to be transparent about their political alliances and allow them to do so without penalty.
- tell Black people that their stories are not worth reading about or listening to unless the stories are regurgitated by someone White, someone with privilege, and/or by someone not as angry and not as connected to the story itself.
- say Black lives do not matter and that we don’t deserve justice when we are murdered in the streets, in our homes, or simply while going for a morning run.
- say that no matter how hard we fight for justice, the odds are not in our favor and the verdict will always be not guilty or inconclusive or anything that results in justice not being served.
- say Black people are 3/5ths a person only in the context of representation, but in all other contexts, they are property, savages, or criminals with no redeeming qualities.
I am not one to mince words and if we’re honest, the rules are not in favor of us, are not in favor of the amplification of Black voices, and frankly, are not in favor of the existence of Black lives. As a result of the rules, as a result of the structure, and function of our country, it feels as though there is no hope. It feels as though justice will never come. It feels as though we will be fighting until kingdom come for freedom and for an advocate, for someone to speak up for us, to advocate for us – a people who have been fighting for centuries to be seen and heard. The rules lead us to believe we have no hope, to believe we are not loved by anyone, to believe that we have no advocate, no one interested in doing what is right.
But God. He stands in direct opposition to everything the rules represent. The Word of God tells us we, through Jesus Christ, have an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). The Word of God tells us to “be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7-9). And to a people who are tired of verdicts that rule against those who seek justice and are simply tired of living in a world that has been set against them for far too long, there is a remedy for your soul and Spirit to go to. The Word of God says “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
The truth is that the fight will never be over and as one of my favorite hymns says, there’s a sweet relief in knowing the Lord will make a way somehow. My point is to remain encouraged and understand we are not fighting alone. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
The world has a working agenda against Black lives and it is easy to feel inundated by all the ways in which individuals and systems work to disenfranchise, silence, and eviscerate us. That is no small thing. In fact, it is a pretty exhausting thing, but the power of faith, the belief, and understanding that God is real, and His power supersedes any rulebook, and any effort made to destroy us is what gets me through the day and brings comfort to my Spirit. We watch the news and are on social media incessantly and are consuming media about how screwed we are and all the ways by which this country and the Earth, at large, are just going down. Open the Word of God, I implore you, and you will find all the ways that God has delivered His people from calamity, from danger, the intricate ways by which He tips the balances in our favor, and the peace we are afforded when we trust in Him. This country may not love us and act in our best interests, but God always has and always will.
