Black Lives Matter: Reexaming what it means to be a human sacrifice

Black people don’t play with biblical interpretation. 

You don’t play with the “Word of God.” It’s the same yesterday, today and forevermore. That’s the lesson I was taught from my earliest memories of Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. I was taught to trust a literal interpretation of the text. That meant avoiding exegesis not based on what the “Word” says. 

So, when the Bible says, “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship” (NIV version), the literal interpretation evokes a willingness to die beyond a theological metaphor. It demands a willingness to die. By that I mean eulogy followed by graveside service and fried chicken dinner back at the church. 

It’s troubling how Black people demand death as a witness of faith. A perusal of the Black social justice movements, within the context of the Black religious experiences, reveals how Black bodies are used as a “living sacrifice. This expectation transcends age and gender. History shows how Black men, women and children have been used as human sacrifices to promote change. 

We witness it in pictures and videos of Black children walking to schools under the protection of law enforcement. We’ve examined the faces of elementary, middle, high school and college aged youth proudly marching to school while enduring the jeers of enraged white mobs.  

We’ve seen the pictures of Black men, women and children battling to escape police dogs and the evil baptism of water sprayed from fire hoses. We’ve heard sermons declaring the benefits of nonviolent resistance. We own it as a declaration of faith – a badge of honor – inspired by stories of biblical martyrs. With the Bible in our souls, dying for a cause is more than a strategic plan, it epitomizes true faith. 

What is the damage to the souls of Black folks? What price is paid in living a faith that measures devotion by a willingness to sacrifice this life for the freedom of others? 

In this sense, part of what comes with white privilege is the freedom not to die. White privilege is the freedom to not fight to live. Fighting for most white people, is an option. It’s a decision made to advocate for others. Not true with Black people. What are the consequences related to living, or not fully living, with the burden of being a human sacrifice? 

Look at videos and pictures of protestors throughout history. Examine the pain on the faces of the children. Watch them as they witness the rage of white people. Watch as they march in hope of being seen beyond their pigmentation. Watch as they fight back the tears – with each step - determined to discover what it means to be seen. 

This is why we cry Black Lives Matter. It’s a pledge to be seen when others refuse to see. It’s a declaration of pride wrapped in an unyielding will to be. Being embraces meaning beyond the slurs of a racist mob. 

Black Lives Matter inspires a will to live. No more dying. No more human sacrifices to fuel white shame. Black Lives Matter declares enough is enough. Sorrow remains, but we don’t have to die to convince white people we deserve to live. 

The Bible is packed with stories of Christians who sacrifices their lives to spread the Gospel. They died for the team. They became saints for those who followed. 

Grab your children. Stand tall and determined. 

I’m not a human sacrifice.  

Listen up! Black Lives Matter!