Look, I know I'm not in the best position to speak about everything happening in America, and for some good reason (in my opinion). First of all, I'm Nigerian. From Africa. And though I've seen episodes of police brutality, I haven't experienced racism (well, there was this time, on Facebook...). And then, I only hear stuff on news, it's kinda different when you're there to experience it first hand. Like it's your daily experience.
Well, in 2016, Trip Lee released his album The Waiting Room (one of his best in my opinion), and there's this song there that gave me a little taste of the typical Black American experience. I'm talking about Lord Have Mercy by Trip Lee.
In the second verse, Trip said;
"He made me a black man, with all black clothes
Black coffee, blacking out on all my flows
But why is black a problem here for all my bros?
And why they tryna put a tag on all our toes?
Black fists on the pick sticking out my 'fro
He made me black and put his image on my soul
They thought our fight was finished in 1964
New specifics, same heart, same issues unfold."
Will Jesus be standing with the protesters if He were here in flesh? Will he be angry about this and start a movement to do something? Of course! All the time, he was always standing up for the social outcasts and stuff. And the whole Bible (especially Isaiah) speaks heavy on justice and fairness and equity. But what about the violence? Would he have condoned it? Last time I checked, Peter would have started a riot when Jesus was arrested, but Jesus prevented it. And what about all the times, his disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven on folks who rejected him? Did he say "No, you guys don't know how to do it right. I'll show you how it's done" and bring on the heavenly Heat Blast on the town?
Right here in Nigeria, we have our issues with police brutality. Something I've witnessed first hand (I said witnessed. Not experienced. It was on my way back from school, and another time, on my way to school. Those things still give me shivers). And extrajudicial killings. That happens a lot. In fact, I remember one time, it was my little brother's birthday, and I went to get a present for him. On my way back, I saw this police van. The officers jumped down from it and ran into a bank with guns drawn. I assumed there was a bank robbery or something. But then this one stood by the roadside and as I type this, I can almost feel the fear that something might go wrong and they may probably do the mass arrests they are so famous for (but it turned out this one was kinda friendly) and I'll be in trouble.
When Lecrae started campaigning with the Black Lives Matter, I remember reading an article that said something stupid like "christians are not of this world" or something like that. And I can't believe I thought they had a point. You know, I'm beginning to think that when you say you're a christain rapper, or maybe a christian artist, the world expects you to not contribute to its issues. Or maybe it's the christian community (or maybe this post is coming too late and I'm saying stupid things here) but I think we're way beyond that stage. We're in the stage of WWJD (here we go again). The What Would Jesus Do stage. That's what sets us apart you know. The difference. After all, the world wouldn't act the way Jesus would act. Jesus would know where to strike balance. How to be angry and protest, and yet sin not. How to use this opportunity to showcase God's love. You know, I bet every officer who has shown brutality and bias to black people, hasn't believed the gospel. Just like every SARS Officer who showcases how brutal he can be, hasn't believed the gospel as well. I see this protest and stuff, as a great and effectual door. An open door for tremendous harvest in the US, or maybe world wide in fact. People only act with the amount of knowledge they have, and the last time I checked, the gospel is a massive difference maker.
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