In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus Christ said:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
In this particular section of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, He is teaching that:
- It is sinful to make rash and presumptions judgements on others.
- It is sinful and hypocritical to protest a person’s minor sin while dismissing our own major sins (logs are much bigger than specks).
- It is wiser to address our own sins first so that we may be more discerning and helpful in addressing another person’s sin.
With that in mind, I simply cannot support Black Lives Matter. This is not to suggest that Black lives do not matter, after all, I am a Black man. Moreover, I am not rejecting the reality of racism in a sinful world; racism is still an ugly fabric of society. However, as I explained in the previous article , Black Lives Matter’s rash and presumptuous judgement on police officers—that an overwhelming number of white police officers are intentionally killing Black people out of racism—is not only contrary to evidence, it is also foolish and shameful (Proverbs 18:13).
Nevertheless, Black Lives Matter’s presumptuous judgements and the consequent tendency for fictitious statements are not the most harmful aspect of the organization. According to the FBI, there are approximately 2,491 Black Americans murdered every year. Alarmingly, despite being outnumbered by White Americans on a 4-1 ratio, the number of Black Americans murdered every year is only approximately 500 less than that of White Americans. Furthermore, 90% (2,245) of these murdered Black Americans are victims of Black-on-Black homicides. For comparison’s sake, police officers killed 304 Black Americans in 2015—and according to The Washington Post, only 4% of these cases consisted of white police officers killing unarmed black men.
In Chicago, for example, 401 Black Americans were murdered in 2015—77% of the murders remain unsolved. Curiously, police officers killed 23 Black Americans in Illinois (Chicago’s state) in 2015. Judging by the FBI’s and The Counted’s reports, Black Americans are at least ten times more likely to be murdered by other Black Americans than they are to be killed by white police officers.
And yet, the disturbingly high number of Black-on-Black homicides pale in comparison to the number of black babies killed by their own mothers every year. As noted earlier, 2,245 black Americans are killed by other Black Americans every year. However, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, there are over 600,000 unborn Black American children killed in abortion clinics every year. In other words, there are well over 1,000 unborn Black American children suffering abortions every day. In fact, since 1973, over 15 million unborn Black American children have been killed in abortion clinics. This is obviously significantly more than the less than 15,000 Black Americans who have been killed by Police officers in that span.
In a sense, I agree with Black Lives Matter’s Alicia Garcia that “Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.” I agree that Black lives are being targeted for demise, however, they are not particularly being targeted by white police officers. Instead, they are being targeted by their own parents and black neighbours. A Black American preacher once said, “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.”
Black Lives Matter not only turns a blind eye to the alarmingly high numbers of Black-on-Black crime, they also—as a Feminist organization–endorse the abortions of over 600,000 unborn Black American children every year. If we Black Americans (and Canadians) were to remove the log in our eyes and first address the major problems within our communities—including our propensity for violent crimes and abortions—we would be more discerning and helpful in removing the speck that may be in the eyes of others, namely police officers.
If Black lives really matter to the Black Lives Matter movement, they wouldn’t turn a blind eye to Black-on-Black crime, nor would they endorse (black) abortions.
The next article in this series will be about the Atlantic Slave Trade.