I just finished reading David Blight’s award-winning biography of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass is one of the shining heroes of American history. Although born in slavery, Douglass taught himself to read, escaped from bondage, emerged as a leading figure in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, and played a critical role as an advisor to President Abraham Lincoln during the civil war. He penned several autobiographies (which should be required reading),and bequeathed a trove of speeches and letters that are monuments to eloquence. Perhaps more than any other figure of his time, Douglass embodies resistance. He refused to allow the racism of his day to define his humanity, limit his aspirations, or crush his spirit.

One of Douglass’s favorite maxims was “he who is whipped oftenest, is whipped easiest.” Growing up on a plantation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Douglass had witnessed many slaves being whipped. He was often whipped himself. But Douglass discovered that the slaves who fought back weren’t whipped as much. In fact, Douglass would eventually run away after he refused to allow an overseer to whip him without resistance.

“He who is whipped oftenest, is whipped easiest.” The easier it is to whip you, the more you will be whipped! I think that Douglass’s insight is well worth remembering. Just don’t let the world whip you! You can whip whatever is trying to whip you if you resist it. This is what the scripture meant when it advises us is James 4:7

Resist the Devil and he shall flee from you.

The word resist in Greek means to “stand against.” To resist means to take a stand, to declare opposition, to demonstrate by word and deed one’s refusal to cooperate with conditions that attempt to define your humanity, limit your aspirations, or crush your spirit. I believe that there are at least 3 levels of resistance that we can all adopt to incorporate this biblical commandment into our lives.

SYMBOLIC RESISTANCE

The first kind of resistance is symbolic resistance. A symbol is something that points to something else. It is usually a material object that points to something immaterial. Symbols are extremely important. For example, an engagement ring is a symbol of one’s intention to get married. It’s 's so important, try to marry a woman without one. Probably not going to happen.

Sometimes, we must engage in symbolic resistance. When the architects of the American Revolution threw tea in the Boston Harbor, it was act of symbolic resistance against the British Empire. The tea was a symbol of taxation without representation. When college students across the American south sat at segregated lunch counters and demanded to be served, that was symbolic resistance. The lunch counters were the symbol of segregation. When protestors burned a police station in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd, that was symbolic resistance. The police station is a symbol of unfair and unequal justice.

Symbolic resistance is important. But it is also inadequate because it only deals with outward manifestations, not inward realities. To effect lasting change, you must move on to the next level of resistance, which is

SYSTEMATIC RESISTANCE.

A system is a collection or combination of interrelated parts forming a complex whole. Setting a police station on fire does nothing to change police brutality, because police brutality is a part of the larger criminal justice system. The police; the courts; bail-bondsmen; attorneys—they all comprise what Michelle Alexander calls the prison industrial complex. To change police brutality, you must change the entire system. And you can't change the system by yourself. You need money, power, and allies—and courage most of all That’s why the Civil Rights Movement remains a global model for how systems can be changed. Because of that movement, the entire legal system of segregation in American housing, education, and business was fundamentally changed.

But even systematic resistance is not enough. Even if the system changes, there is no guarantee that the people running the system will change. Only God can change the human heart. And that's why we are called to what I think is greatest level of resistance, which is

SPIRITUAL RESISTANCE.

In Ephesians 6;12 the Bible reminds us of powerful truth:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ultimately, every oppressive situation is the manifestation of demonic power. We must realize that oppression is merely one of Satan’s costumes, and every attempt, by whatever force, in whatever place that seeks to define your. humanity, limit your aspirations, or crush your spirit is an emissary from hell. Accordingly, we must learn to see our situations with spiritual clarity, and resist using the power of faith, the power of prayer, and the power of God’s word.

“He who is whipped oftenest is whipped easiest.”

Stop letting the enemy whip you!

Stop letting the enemy whip your dreams!

Stop letting the enemy whip your children!

Stop letting the enemy whip your potential

RESIST!