Greg Belfrage
You may have seen the latest videos trending of militants threatening restaurant patrons in Washington, D.C.. If you haven’t, I’ve posted a few below.
A mob ordered patrons to raise their fists in solidarity to Black Lives Matter.
Some refused.
I often see news events through a personal lens and couldn’t help but wonder what I would have done. Would I have complied or refused?
I posed that question to listeners on the air this morning and received some fascinating responses.
It’s not a surprise to me that people here would respond differently than those in Washington, D.C..
Steve wondered how long it would be before someone produced a gun.
Steve’s a long-time listener. I think he often knows my thoughts before I articulate them because that’s exactly what I was thinking.
Enter Linda, a first time caller. She believes we’re seeing a battle against evil.
Linda said, “I would make the sign of the cross, bow my head in prayer and recite this prayer aloud.”
“Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
I questioned her about it. Linda was clear that she’d put her fate in God’s hands.
It was such a powerful moment of honest testimony. Linda really gave me cause to ponder the strength (or weakness) of my own faith.
We received a call from John about 25 minutes later.
I don’t wish to disrespect John in any way because I totally understand his thinking.
But John was puzzled why Linda wouldn’t fight to defend herself.
John made it clear he had faith, but he wouldn’t hesitate to use a firearm to protect himself.
He wasn’t criticizing Linda but he was just aghast that she wouldn’t protect herself.
I reminded John that Christ made no move to protect himself. He could have called down spiritual armies to defend himself against crucifixion. But he didn’t. He put his life in his Father’s hands.
Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get John to understand that the issue wasn’t about belief in God…it was about faith.
As I was pondering the conversation after the show, things got clearer for me.
Christ told us in Matthew 17:20, “For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
I’ve got to believe Linda has no need for a firearm. The strength of Linda’s faith would be more than enough to save her from harm.
As for me? I’m still working on that mustard seed.
1) In a scene that played out several times Monday, a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights confronted White diners outside D.C. restaurants, chanting “White silence is violence!” and demanding White diners show their solidarity. #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/fJbPM76vb0
— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) August 25, 2020
Protesters says people who don’t raise there fist is a white supremact #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests #KenoshaUprising pic.twitter.com/UBGfJmb1aV
— RawsMedia™ (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020
