I’m trying to discern the proper response to recent events in Ferguson.
It’s clear to me that these developments highlight systemic, long-term injustice that goes far beyond one specific incident. I absolutely believe non-violence is the only solution. Rioting and looting only intensify fear and mistrust while confirming false stereotypes. Jesus didn’t call us to love others because it’s easy. He called us to do it because it’s right.
However, it’s immoral to advocate nonviolence without acknowledging obvious injustice that persists, denied or ignored, until it inevitably sparks a self-defeating violent cry for attention. I can’t escape the feeling that so many of the calls for restraint and calm flow from a selfish desire to maintain an unjust status quo.
They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14)
The prophet condemned leaders who “put band-aids on mortal wounds.” They weren’t concerned with authentic peace. They only wanted to preserve the absence of conflict. They settled for complacency in the presence of injustice simply to maintain artificial tranquility.
In the aftermath of Ferguson, I’ve waited for church leaders to call for justice. Honestly, the incessant prayers for peace and nonviolence seem to reflect a wish for peace and quiet that preserves unjust priviledge.
Justice will rule in the wilderness
and righteousness in the fertile field.
And this righteousness will bring peace.
Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:16-17)
From what I can tell, it’s a biblical principle—justice leads to authentic peace.
There’s never an excuse for violence. But without justice, there can be no peace, only the absence of conflict enforced through power and coercion.
Unless we believe in blaming the victims, we can’t really expect those impacted by injustice to remedy the situation. “Just get over it” is the non-compassionate response of the privileged.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus reserved His harshest words for “leaders” who cared more about their own security than about justice. Perhaps that’s why Jeremiah condemned leaders who declared,
“Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”
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