It seems like the “gnats” we strain out are things that irk white Christian majorities, but the “camels” we leave in place are large-scale injustices or suffering among minority races, religions and sexualities. Maybe we should leave the gnats alone, if that’s what it takes to get our eyes focused on the “weightier matters.”

From the very beginning, we’ve had trouble incorporating the “other” into our quests for freedom. We did not suddenly figure this out in my lifetime. It’s simply not true that minorities, the poor and women have experienced this country in the same way that I have.

The words “justice” and “social justice” have long drawn the ire of segments of American Christianity, particularly white evangelical leaders. They have consistently said that it is unbiblical, un-Christian, and yes, un-American. Baptist News Global reported on May 18 that…

Perhaps you know a way to love people while saying that it’s only the church’s job to care for them while others work against their interests. Perhaps you know a way to love someone in the here and now while only caring about the afterlife. Perhaps you know how to believe in mercy not universally applied, or compassion that keeps its distance. But I’m afraid I don’t.

Allegiance to Jesus’ kind of Kingdom will inevitably cause division with those who have different priorities. Peacemakers get in the way of warmongers. Justice hinders the power-brokers. Mercy impedes revenge.

There is one simple and relatively reliable way to distinguish real persecution or marginalization: personal examples.

If a person can provide multiple, real life, personal examples of how they or their community have fallen victim to abuse, harassment or exclusion, based on who they are and with little recourse and choice, then it’s likely the real deal. If generalities are all a person can give in response, or if they return to a few isolated incidents that are not systemic, then it is likely manufactured (and likely stoked by certain media outlets).

From Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority to William Barber II’s Moral Mondays, the last few decades in American life have seen a bolder and different kind of pairing of between the religious and the political, on all points of the spectrum.

In these troubled times, we now pay tribute to our savior. It is in you we find our safety and security. It is to you we run when we are threatened; when our enemies come against our children and our families, we turn to you.

Especially when there’s cultural debate around a particular issue, people get trolled, families split apart, and pastors get fired when you start asking how we can take Jesus seriously.