As a university student, I usually feel optimistic about the development of attitudes promoting racial and gender equality in our society.
On campus, the hallways, office doors, and bathroom stalls are filled with posters encouraging us to respect diversity. In my political science classes, we learn about policies, theories, and institutions that address discrimination and inequality. If a comment steeped in ideas of white male superiority is made during class discussions, it is almost always properly addressed and critiqued by either the professor or the students.
There seems to be a consensus that racism and sexism are out, and tolerance and equality are in. And I typically feel hopeful that this reality will only grow more and more apparent.
Until I read the news.
Last Friday, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger took his own life after killing six people in Isla Vista, California as retribution for being repeatedly denied sex from women, who, in his words, “should not have the right to choose who to mate with.” Rather, “That choice should be made for them by civilized men of intelligence.”
On Tuesday, The Guardian published a report showing that increasing numbers of Britons are describing themselves as racially prejudiced, reflecting the apparent rise in racism in the UK.
On the same day, Pakistani woman Farzana Parveen — 25 years old and 3 months pregnant — was stoned to death by her father and brothers in front of a large crowd in Lahore, Pakistan for marrying her husband without their consent.
I find the ongoing presence of this kind of discrimination in the world not only tragic and disturbing, but also confusing. Aren’t we making progress? Aren’t we moving away from the attitudes and beliefs that have been responsible for so much death, violence, and rape in the past?
But I’m also reminded that at the same time I started university and began to develop this optimism, the University of British Columbia and St. Mary’s University in Halifax were making headlines for their frosh-week chants promoting rape culture.
And this reminder is accompanied by a second: This world is broken.
There is no hate-free utopia anywhere on earth. Discrimination, bigotry, and inequality are not unique to any culture or political system — they exist wherever human beings exist, because they are rooted in the sinful human heart we all share.
And that’s why no set of policies, institutions, posters, or hashtags can completely eradicate these issues. Don’t get me wrong — these are good and necessary things, and these kinds of efforts are responsible for so much of the progress we have seen.
But ultimately, what are we progressing towards? It’s not an earthly ideal — it’s God’s perfect kingdom. A place where there is no sin, there is no rape, no discrimination-based violence, no delusions that some human beings are inferior to others. And the only way for our sinful human hearts to be transformed is by looking to Jesus.
So how do we, as Christians, respond to the continuance of hate-filled attitudes and discrimination in our world?
The Bible already says something about this:
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
When we read the news and are hit with the reality of the sin and brokenness in the world, we need to look inward, and ensure there is no hate in our own hearts towards others.
We need to be part of the active steps being taken towards treating people as equals, made in God’s image with an inherent moral worth that no culture, political system or misogynist manifesto can undermine. We need to contribute to these efforts in tangible ways, whether through our careers, finances, or our day-to-day interactions with other people.
Ultimately, we need to humble ourselves and pray, believing that Jesus is the only true solution for our brokenness. And we need to trust that He will be faithful to his promise, that He will heal our land.
Photo (Flickr CC) by Diego Sevilla Ruiz.
