Everybody matters
You’d have to have been living under a rock somewhere deep in the bush to be unaware of all the dramas that are currently affecting the world. Last year (2019) was a difficult year; the world was impacted by many issues. Here in Australia we had ongoing drought, floods and devastating bushfires on an unprecedented scale.
2020 so far has been just as bad if not worse – the Coronavirus pandemic has swept across the world killing hundreds of thousands of people, as well as doing severe damage economically and emotionally to millions more.
As if that wasn’t enough…
On May 25th 2020 a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd died in the US city of Minneapolis after a police officer (who was white) knelt on his neck for almost 9 minutes whilst Mr Floyd lay face down in handcuffs. This terrible incident was filmed from several different angles by various horrified onlookers who watched on, powerless to intervene. Naturally this footage has gone viral globally.
For a world that had already suffered through a great deal of difficulty, this appears to have been the straw that broke our collective backs. We have seen an incredible amount of people standing up, speaking out and coming together in what it is assumed were meant to be peaceful, but powerful protests.
Unfortunately there have been some people who have used this cause as a platform to wreak havoc, to destroy property and incite violence against random individuals worldwide. This is so sad because not only is the world already on its knees, but the strength and purity of the intended message has been diluted and in some cases overshadowed.
Our world has many problems – racism, discrimination and injustice are three major ones without doubt; but they are only three of possibly 10, 20 or 50+ major world issues that could be easily identified right now!
Don’t get me wrong – I totally agree that these are critically important issues and that the mistreatment of anyone based on race, colour, post code or bank balance is totally immoral. But for a moment let’s look wider: yes there is racism, discrimination and injustice, but there is also sexism, domestic violence, child abuse, starvation, inequality, disease, (as we well know) climate change and natural disasters. These issues can affect us all regardless of what country we were born in, where we currently live, what colour our skin is, what sort of clothes we wear, or even what type of person you are!
Yes there's a race issue – but at the same time there's a 'human' race issue as well.
In Galatians, the New Living Translation of the Bible says, “…all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27-28, NLT)
The Bible clearly indicates that everybody matters and that we are all equal as God's children – if you’re interested in finding out more, pick up a Bible and check it out – or if you need help, feel free to get in touch with us.