There has been a large debate on what constitutes a peaceful protest.
But what does protest even mean?
Protest - express an objection to what someone has said or done
Protest simply means to express an objection to something. You can live in a constant state of protest. It can be expressed verbally and non-verbally. Passively or actively. It can be event specific or just there in daily action. And can be non-violent or violent.
With the death of George Floyd many are protesting and there are debates about what protesting should look like, the right way to protest and what a peaceful protest looks like.
However, there are a few misconceptions around the concept of a "peaceful" protest.
- Protest is peaceful.
- Non-violent equals peaceful.
- Protest must be a big, physical demonstration in order to be heard
- Protests have an expiration date
The definition of peaceful is to be free of disturbance. That's the antonym of protest. The point of protest is to disturb, to disrupt. The better term is non-violent protest.
Jesus's whole presence on Earth was a non-violent protest. It was anything but peaceful to those in power. It was a protest to the established religion. A protest to the established government. A protest to the treatment of the marginalized, forgotten and oppressed. His very essence was an objection to the status quo and the chasm that had been created between the people and God.
He is the blueprint to what you can do in the face of injustice. It is to be non-violent in your protest but disturb the peace of your oppressor. If the peace of the oppressor is not disturbed you aren't being effective.
We protest because our inner peace is disturbed and we want to see a change and ANYTHING that goes against God's greatest commandments should disturb your peace.
Love God and Love people as yourself.
As a Christian we are called to pursue righteousness and when pursuing righteous...
That means to Call out injustice when you see it.
Jesus, when he went into the temple, wasn't peaceful. When the Pharisees were robbing the people in the template He called it out. He was greatly angered by what was happened and he called it out. He flipped the table of the money changers but was not violent. When you see persecution don't rationalize it, call it out.
That means Working within the system to change the system.
Jesus was a revolutionary and yet He never broke any laws. That did not mean He wouldn't be perceived as a threat by the establishment. Whenever you challenge the status quo you gain a target on your back from those whose power you threaten. We can become lawyers, teachers, doctors, CEOs, accountants, journalists, marketing professionals and just by doing our jobs in an ethical, equitable way we can effect change. That is our protest
That means Exercising Grace and Speaking Truth to Power
When Jesus encountered the woman in adultery and they wanted to stone her to death Jesus asked them if they were without sin. The truth was they weren't. They ALL have done the wrong thing in some way, shape or form. The Bible says it plain, we all have sinned and deserve death. Therefore we have no right to determine that someone deserves to die. In that moment, Jesus - who had the power to make that life or death decision- chose grace and spoke truth.
Pursuing righteousness is a constant state of protest because striving to do the right thing as directed by God, who loves justice, will challenge people and systems. And that's the point. It's meant to challenge in order to bring about change.
The Unlikely Missionary
DHW
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