I keep seeing a meme pop up with a picture of George Floyd and the statement: “The media and the left have made George Floyd into a martyr. But who was he really?” The meme then lists a lengthy rap sheet on Floyd and the fact that he had fentanyl and meth in his system at the time of his death.
Here is what I want to say in this paragraph. I want to show you that there is evidence that George Floyd was actually someone whose life turned around in 2013 and he spent quite a bit of time at his church in Resurrection House. I want to tell you how Floyd worked as a man of peace in the community and became a father figure to younger community members. I want to tell all of you that, but that is all beside the point.
Let’s consider that meme for a second. What’s it hoping to accomplish? I think it’s meant to get you to say, “Oh, that’s more of the story. He wasn’t a martyr he was just a….
Fill in the blank.
“Just a…”
That’s one of the foundational problems with our nation, right now. When we threw out the belief that man was created in the image of God we gave ourselves permission to debase humanity. I’m not shocked when I see unbelievers making “just a…” statements. It fits their worldview. It’s not much of a jump from “humanity is just another class of animal” to “this particular human is just a drugged out career criminal”.
We, Christians, have the answer to this devaluing of human life. We do believe that all lives matter. And because of this, we are uniquely positioned to shout from the rooftops that black lives matter. Can I really step on toes and say that the same mindset which allows for an abortion is the same mindset which says George Floyd was just a…? The answer to both injustices is to really believe that humanity was created in the image of God. Nobody—no matter how marred that image has become–is “just an” anything.
And so I’m absolutely astonished, and frankly a bit discouraged, when I see fellow believers in Jesus sharing a meme like this George Floyd one. It undercuts not only the gospel but even basic biblical anthropology. And it shows that we’re far more shaped and motivated by the cult of party than we are a biblical worldview.
But I’m not done. Those of us who are appalled by some of the racist responses to George Floyd’s death have to be careful that we deepen our character and that we maintain this biblical worldview. Otherwise we’ll engage in the exact same error. “This person is just a racist”. Cancel culture isn’t a Christian response—no matter who you are cancelling. Humanity has far more God-given dignity than this and the Spirit of God has far more power.
Listen to the Scriptures:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Such were some of you….
This means that in Christ our identity is fundamentally changed. This side of another persons eternity we can certainly never claim that someone is just a ____. And even then, the great tragedy of “will not inherit the kingdom of God” is that they were created for rest, rule, and relationship. Sin has a tendency to so mar us that we can become that very thing. Idolatry shapes us in such a way that we do ultimately become what we worship. But this side of eternity we are never beyond the scope of redemption.
Yes, George Floyd died with fentanyl and meth in his blood system and if he was in Christ (as he appears to have been) then his identity and record is still firmly fixed there. He was just in Christ. And there will be some who die with seeds and even full grown plants of racism in our hearts. But if our heart is in Christ, then our identity is fixed there. Such a one is “just in Christ”.
So it would be really great if the gospel we say will fix all of this was actually the driving force behind what we say and do and the memes we share. It’d be phenomenal if this powerful gospel would in fact stir up in us repentance of our hatred.
Who was George Floyd….really?
He was a human being created in the image of God, who it appears found life in Christ.
