"So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."

These were the words Jesus spoke about the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:16.  In the previous verse he said, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot."  He didn't say "I wish you were hot, but at least you're halfway there and not still cold."  Yeah, yeah, yeah...we've heard it all before.  We know that God calls us to be on fire for him.  That He would rather us be against him than to just pay lip service without anything to back it up.  Even if we don't always measure up, we know this is true.  But recently I was challenged with lukewarmness in another way.

This summer we went through a book called Being White with our life group at church.  In it is an excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He wrote this to a group of clergymen about their response to the civil rights movement.

I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.  I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the white Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate...who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom....Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.  Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection....
Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much.  I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action.

As I read this, Christ's words from Revelation shot into my mind.  It's not just about our lukewarmness toward God, or our feelings about him.  It is about all areas of life...everything is an opportunity to be like Christ.  During the civil rights movement, most white Christians were lukewarm.  This, according to Dr. King, was much more hurtful than those who acted out in racism against them.  Why?  Because being lukewarm leads to nothing.  It is silence.  Then the loudest voices that remain are those that are cold...that are in active opposition.  This was not okay with MLK and it is not okay with God.

The civil rights movement may be over, be we are a long way from seeing injustice disappear.  That is why I found this letter so convicting.  It's not enough to be aware of injustice.  It's not even enough to hate it.  I have to take action against it.  I have to be hot.  To be just another apathetic white christian that is afraid to talk about racism, that thinks I'm okay because I'm not the racist bigot that all those other people are...that is to be the worst enemy of justice.  And that's hard to hear. 

I'm still trying to figure out what form this action will take, but I am seeking God's leading in this area.  I know He has put me in a position in our ministry to fight for the marginalized and to help them have a voice.  I'm praying that I will grow in Christ-likeness in this area as much as any other.  I hope this challenges you, too, to see the ways God may be calling you to "get off the fence." I highly recommend both the book and the entire letter by King, which can be found here.