Most memes, by their very nature, are overly simplistic. They try to make a point without a thorough breakdown of that point. Sometimes they succeed; oftentimes, they cannot stand under the weight of the issue they are trying to address.
Such is the case regarding memes in response to the current violence, looting, and destruction seen in cities across America, which is itself a response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, as well as other racist incidents. The most prevalent memes regarding this make a contrast between the way Martin Luther King, Jr. and his allies protested and the way those today are protesting. Here are two examples:
The memes seem to suggest that if you protest peacefully, people will hear what you have to say. If you go about it the right way, people will support you. If you don’t loot stores, burn buildings, or attack people, things will turn out well for you. You may be someone who “changed the world.” The memes fall flat because they are rooted in the idea that this generation is not like previous generations that squashed peaceful protests.
Before I start explaining why I believe this is the case, let me state upfront that I’m against violent riots of all kinds—the kinds that started this country, the kinds after sporting events, and the kinds after the murder of black Americans. Satan comes to kill (i.e. attack), steal (i.e. loot), and destroy (i.e. burn buildings), and no one should be doing his bidding. People should not riot because it displeases God, not because Dr. King was successful in protesting peacefully, and certainly not because this generation would respond properly to peaceful protests.
Woe to You!
Most humans have a defect in how they view themselves; they think they are better than they are. We think we have progressed far more as a society than we have. We believe we are more civilized and sophisticated than previous generations, when—in fact—we may be worse.
This was the case regarding the religious leaders during Jesus’s life on earth. They believed they were better than their ancestors, but Jesus exposed their delusion when He issued seven woes against them. In the seventh woe, Jesus said, 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers” (Matthew 23:29-32). The religious leaders were honoring the “prophets” and the “righteous” that their forefathers had killed, and they believed they wouldn’t have done the same. According to Jesus, they not only acknowledged their murderous heritage, but they also would continue it by murdering Him—the Messiah to whom the prophets were pointing—as well as future prophets. They would have never imagined that they would be capable of murdering their promised Messiah. They would “fill up the measure of [their] fathers” by doing exactly as their fathers did—and worse.
Hypocrites!
On the surface, the religious leaders seemed totally different from their forefathers. They looked like saints compared to their ancestors. Their predecessors worshiped Baal and set up Asherah poles; they worshiped the God of Israel. Their fathers followed the ways of the nations around them; they strictly followed the Law, even while being occupied by Rome. Their forefathers sacrificed their kids in the fire to idols; the Pharisees offered regularly sacrifices to God. Their ancestors completely neglected the Law of God; the religious leaders memorized entire books of the Law. Why would Jesus accuse them of being like and worse than their fathers? They seemed to be light-years better than them.
The key word here is “hypocrites” (v. 29). Their forefathers were serial idolaters, murderers, sexually immoral, etc., but they weren’t putting on a show. They weren’t acting like they were being faithful to God. They proudly displayed their adultery against God. They freely oppressed and neglected the less privileged in society. They openly beat and killed the prophets. They were in no way trying to hide their rebellion against God.
While the scribes and Pharisees looked different on the outside, Jesus saw through them. In the sixth woe, Jesus likened them to “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness”(Matt. 23:27-28). They were idolaters, murderers, adulterers, and oppressors just like their father; they had just learned to put on a different face in front of others. If their idols of tradition, pride, and power were defaced, they would kill just like their fathers.
Children of Our Fathers
When we read these stories, we rarely read them as if we’re like the Pharisees. Our hearts are too deceitful for that. But take a moment to consider that this may be true of us as well. We may think we’re radically different than previous generations, when—truth is—we’re not.
The racist murderers of the previous generations were not putting on a show. They were not trying to hide their hatred. They’d call someone the “N word” to their face on a regular basis. They’d lynch a black man and take a picture with the body with nothing covering their faces. They’d yell at, spit on, and assault school kids integrating schools without fear of recognition or reprisal. They didn’t wait until night to terrorize. They’d do it in broad daylight. They didn’t pretend like they were trying to listen to the plight of black people. They were only trying to crush them, even when they protested peacefully. Yet, we knew exactly who they were, even when they wore hoods. They were not hypocrites.
This generation is like the religious leaders in that they’ve covered up their racism. While the fathers may have just killed the black man without explanation, the children will say “I feared for my life” or “he was resisting.” The other children will support their siblings by saying, “Well, he wasn’t a choir boy,” to find a way to justify the killing. While the fathers would call a black man a “boy” or the “N word” to his face, the children will post it on social media or use it when they’re around their closest friends. It’ll seem like they are not racist until the screenshot or video leaks. The fathers would physically fight against school integration; the children will put their kids in private schools instead. The fathers would burn crosses on lawns to intimidate black families that dared to move into their neighborhoods; the children would flee to the suburbs. The children will find a way to justify that their actions are not racist. Yet, when their racism is exposed in a video, in a screenshot, or in an audio clip, the apology tells us they were only deceiving themselves. Cries of “this is not me” or “I don’t know what got into me” or “I’m not a racist person” only reveal the level of their deception. Is not the family resemblance evident? The spiritual DNA test came back, and they are your fathers!
Are you not at least the children of the white Birmingham pastors, who lectured Dr. King on the right way to go about change? Are you not the descendants of the recipients of “The Letter from a Birmingham Jail”? Do you not give lip service to the need for change, while suggesting that the nature of even peaceful protests is “unwise and untimely,” like your fathers did with Dr. King? Are you not blaming the effects of the protests on “outside agitators,”—as your Birmingham fathers referred to Dr. King—instead of acknowledging the racist acts and attitudes as the first domino? Read their statement to Dr. King and truly ask, “Would I not have proudly signed it also?”
Recent history testifies that this is the case. Colin Kaepernick and other football players peacefully protested by kneeling for the national anthem, yet they were cursed by the President of the United States. Many children of their fathers cheered or remained silent during this character assassination. You did not listen to what he was protesting, even though it was peaceful, because he was defacing your idols of flag and country. When four minority congresswomen dared to criticize the President, they were challenged to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” which is a common, racist way of saying, “Be grateful and be quiet.” Three of them were natural-born citizens of the U.S. Once again, many children of their fathers cheered, remained silent, denied the racist tone, or—used their favorite scapegoat—the mainstream media. You did not listen to what they had to say. You curse and complain about traffic when protesters peacefully march down the streets on which you travel. It does not matter the nature of the protest, because they are not bowing down to your idols of nation, comfort, and prosperity. You will find a way to kill the messenger for messing with your idols without acknowledging the message.
And that is what happened to Dr. King. He and his contemporaries protested peacefully, and they were attacked both physically and verbally. They did not loot anything, yet vicious dogs were unleashed on them. They did not burn anything, yet fire hoses were released on them at full pressure. They did not attack anyone, yet night sticks pounded into their flesh. They were beaten beyond recognition. He and many others who aligned with him were assassinated whether they protested peacefully or simply tried to register black people to vote. If he had “changed the world,” would we constantly be where we are as a nation right now? Is he not just a “prophet” whose “tomb” you have built up and “monuments” you have decorated in order to say, “if we had lived in the days of MLK, we would not have taken part with them in the shedding of his blood?”
“Woe to you, Americans of all colors and creeds, you hypocrites! For you celebrate MLK Day and Black History Month, you visit Civil Rights’ museums and monuments, and you quote “I Have a Dream” and other speeches while saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would have listened to their cries for justice, we would have supported their peaceful protests, and we would not have shed their blood.’ Thus you witness against yourself that you are children of those who murdered people peacefully seeking justice. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.”
Children of the Father
Jesus continued in those verses and said, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell” (v. 33)? I am not saying that everyone who shared those memes is going to hell. I am saying that we all should seriously examine ourselves to make sure we won’t be eternally condemned—along with those who attack, loot, and burn. I am saying that the remedy for the Pharisees and scribes is the same remedy for us as their children. We need to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). We must confess our hypocrisy and our idolatry. We must confess the murder we commit with our lips and the silence of our lips regarding injustices. We must confess our refusal to listen and act. We must turn from our sins and turn in faith to Jesus. Then, and only then, can we bear fruit by listening to cries of injustice, acting on behalf of those who experience it, and—most importantly—shining the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
We do not have to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are better or more civilized than previous generations. Every person since the Fall is a child of their father Adam. We have his spiritual DNA that causes us to rebel against God. We do not have to try on our father’s makeshift clothing of fleeing and finger-pointing to hide our guilt and shame. Jesus will cover us with His righteous robes if we repent and turn to Him.
Jesus came to cover the guilt and shame of our racism, our looting, our arson, and our murder. He came as the only Son of the Father, that we may be sons and daughters of the Father through repentance and faith in Him. He came as the Prince of Peace, that we may have peace with God and with one another. Though He was completely innocent, He suffered the injustice of being beaten and crucified for our sins. Yet He rose from the grave on the third day, that we may be free from the power of all sin, including racism and revenge, and live as children of the light. We live with the hope that one day, when Jesus returns, He will make all things new. There will be no more racism, no more murder, no more violence, no more tears, no more pain, and we will be with our Father forever. This is the hope the world needs.
Brothers and sisters, people do not need reminders on how to protest lawfully and peacefully. People do not even need an example in Dr. King. They need Jesus. We need Jesus.
Kenneth L. King 