It takes about .05 seconds of looking at our world to realize it’s broken.
The physical world is broken by illness and destructive forces of nature. Humanity is broken with wars, violence, poverty, injustice, and corruption. If we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit our own souls are also broken. We are driven by pride, greed, lust, selfishness, and bitterness.
For centuries, humanity has grappled with the cause of the brokenness that assaults us all.
There are many worldviews and they all must address the question of “why brokenness?”
Christianity’s answer lies in the doctrine of sin. The world, and we ourselves, are broken because of rebellion against God. Sin has broken our souls beyond what we can repair and that brokenness has spread into the world. Sin has brought death and that death is felt in all areas of life and existence. Restoration of relationship with God is the healing of these harms.
Another worldview, which goes by several names, offers an increasingly accepted answer. The Marxist/Secular Humanist tradition looks for the root of brokenness and finds it in society’s system. Brokenness stems from the oppressive systems that society builds and tolerates. Dismantling of these systems is the healing of these harms, according to the humanist.
According to the Christian worldview, systems are broken because of people. Humanists contend that people are broken because of systems. Christians believe the root of brokenness is sin. Humanists believe it’s systemic injustice.
This idea continues to find a place in the cultural conversation that we are currently having.
Racism, for example, is not viewed as a primarily personal sin, but rather a corporate one. “Systemic racism” is painted as the blight of our culture. According to this framework, the solution is to change the system, to legislate diversity, and to deliver justice and equality en masse.
Gender inequality is treated with the same “systemic”, collective approach. We paint with broad brushes and tackle big problems while ignoring the brokenness of our own hearts.
System injustice certainly exists. Our systems are not perfect and innocent. They are just as broken as the rest of the world, but we must remember who it was that built the systems in the first place.
The New Legalism
The idea that personal transformation is unnecessary for social renewal has led to well-intentioned but ultimately worthless systemic solutions.
Public justice must be fought for. We can’t ignore systemic injustices that lead to poverty and oppression. But we must fight with the right weapons and from the right foundation.
Some of the oldest military wisdom can be applied here. Sun Tzu boldly declared in The Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
As we fight back against the brokenness and injustice of the world, we must know our enemy. If we fight systems, we may enjoy some fool’s victories. Ephesians 6:12 makes it clear that we don’t fight against mere flesh and blood. We fight a spiritual enemy.
Our enemy is sin and the father of deception. They may be expressed in public ways, but it is a deeply personal battle.
Systemic and societal solutions will leave the real problem undisturbed. It will be like slapping new paint on a structurally-unsound building and expecting it to stand in a hurricane. Behavior modification won’t save us from sin and it certainly won’t save us from corrupt systems.
The Left’s New Legalism seeks to build a utopia on equality and justice. But this utopia is about as stable as our newly-painted shack in the hurricane. We can mandate racial and gender ratios to make sure everyone’s included. We can do our best to get every voice heard. Diversity and inclusion are good things. We need all of God’s children to speak and bring His glory into the world in their own special way. God celebrates diversity. He has chosen to gather people from all tribes and tongues to spend eternity with him.
But we can’t earn our own systemic redemption and break free from brokenness through mandates and more regulations.
Inner transformation leads to outward change. A soul that has been redeemed by Jesus will hate injustice and will work toward the healing of public harms as well as personal ones.
This reinforces what I have come to realize over and over again. Our cultural problems find their solution in the Gospel. It’s not that we shouldn’t institute public reforms, but rather they should be instituted from a firm Gospel foundation that addresses the real enemy.