When this woman walked out of a room, MLK followed
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ChatGPTLove your enemies, do good to those who hate you.—Luke 6:27
Fannie Lou Hamer had just given birth, but the only cry in the room was her own. Twice now, she had watched her body grow along with her hope, only for her labor pains to usher in death rather than life. And then there were the miscarriages—losses that came so early she never even felt the joy of kicks in her womb.
Those losses—coupled with her extreme poverty and slave-like work as a sharecropper in Mississippi in the early 1900s—ensured that Hamer moved through her days in a fog.
Until a doctor gave her hope: With surgery, the doctor assured her, all of her infertility problems could go away.
Hamer eagerly signed off on the procedure. But after the surgery, Hamer discovered the unthinkable: The doctor had removed her uterus in a complete hysterectomy done without her knowledge or consent. Hamer's dreams of having her own children were now utterly and truly dead.
Believe it or not, this was arguably not the most tragic thing to happen to Fannie Lou Hamer—who would go on to become one of the most significant civil rights activists in the 20th century, largely responsible for giving African Americans the right to vote.
But here's what's remarkable: Whether it was the surgeon, the police who beat her in prison, or the politicians who threatened her life, Hamer is never recorded as speaking a single word of hate against her perpetrators.
One time when U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey proposed an egregiously unjust compromise, Hamer replied, "Senator Humphrey, I'm gonna pray to Jesus for you." And then she walked out the door as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. followed behind her.
Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." Hamer shows us an example of what that looks like and reminds us that we mere Christians glorify God by doing justice without hating the unjust.
The world often tells us that doing justice requires that we also publicly shame and "cancel" the unjust.
But God calls his people to a different way (Micah 6:8 and Matthew 5:43-44).
So, how can you and I practically do justice without hating the unjust today?
First, take a risk to speak out against injustice.As God's ambassador in your workplace, you are called to speak out against injustices respectfully (see Ephesians 5:11).
Second, refuse to take revenge against the unjustknowing that vengeance is God's alone (Romans 12:19).
Finally, pray for the unjustper Jesus's example knowing that you, like Christ, will be glorifying your Father in heaven as you do (see Luke 23:34).
 | Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his bestselling books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (The Call to Mastery), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters. Learn More » |
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