Yes, I love Derek Chauvin... but I Also Love Justice

I followed Trayvon Martin’s case closely. I remember watching it from work in between tasks. I still remember how it felt when I learned that Zimmerman was not guilty: I felt betrayed; I was surprised; I was sad; I was angry more than anything else. In a sense, I was also traumatized. I never followed another trial or charge of a police officer against a Black person until George Floyd. I’ve never met him personally, but for a while, every time I thought of him crying out for his life and his mama, my eyes would grow moist.

I admit that I’ve had some grave concerns about my feelings towards the murder, the trial, and some of my heart’s responses. The Bible instructs me to love everyone(Matthew 5:44-47). It instructs to rise above mistreatment and be the bigger person, which, was the opposite of what I wanted to do. I was angry. I was offended. I was also frustrated with anyone who expressed anything other than what happened to George was wrong.

The word of God is my manual for living. It tells me how to respond to the issues of life in a way that always has my best interest at heart. God is multifaceted. He is so much more than what a lot think of him: a great and big God who either blesses, punishes, or sends people to heaven or hell. He should be revered and feared, but he should also be loved and adored. The same God that instructs me to love and rise above mistreatment also instructs me to seek justice. God loves justice.

So, where does that leave me? It leaves me to recognize that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (certainly includes me). It leaves me to recognize that we all have a soul; to consider that Derek Chauvin is loved by God and worthy of forgiveness just as much as anyone else. Do I rejoice because Derek Chauvin is incarcerated? Not so much-- but I do rejoice in justice.