Monday is the day we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. I’ve often listened to his “I Have a Dream” speech. Until now, I’d never read the text of his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963). I was deeply moved.
His words speak to our current state of affairs.
“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.”
Alas, feelings now seem to matter more than facts. We’ve lost the art of negotiation. And self-purification? There’s little analysis of our own motives, many assumptions about the other side’s. I hear loud calls to action, silence on serious reflection.
“One may want to ask: ‘How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?’ The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust . . . A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law . . . One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty . . . Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.”
Are we willing to stake our stand on the higher ground of God’s moral law?
“In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
Dr. King’s legacy: self-purification, devotion to God’s moral law and willing sacrifice. All worth protecting.
It’s all about You, God. Not me, not my party, not even my country. Your love, Your justice, Your truth–in Jesus’ name.
