The Lie Beneath the Law
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression.” — Isaiah 10:1
The fall of every empire begins with a legal document. A decree, an amendment, a ruling that trades justice for control. The language sounds righteous, but the intent is clear: protect the powerful, punish the vulnerable, preserve the illusion of order. This is how law becomes idolatry.
In her latest article,1 attorney and activist, Sherrilyn Ifill, names what so many refuse to see: that the scaffolding of white supremacy—once partially dismantled by Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement—is being rebuilt in full daylight. The constitutional infrastructure meant to expand the moral circle of belonging is being dismantled by those who never believed in that expansion to begin with.2
The same soul-sickness that once sanctified slavery and segregation has found new life in a culture addicted to hierarchy. The old lie—some lives are worth more than others—has simply changed its costume.
The Hebrew prophets warned of this moment. “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,” Isaiah cried, “who write oppressive statutes to turn aside the needy from justice.” The law, in their time as in ours, had become a tool of domination rather than protection. They understood that legality is not the same as morality, and that a nation can die with its laws intact.
If justice is what love looks like in public, then white supremacy is sin codified — an idolatry that worships power over communion, control over covenant. Every system that enshrines fear as policy desecrates the image of God in human form.
We cannot meet this moment with the old comforts of neutrality. To claim that the current crisis is about economics, or “cultural anxiety,” or partisan gamesmanship, or “wokeness,” is to hide from the truth: it feels like a war, but it’s really a reckoning, a struggle for the soul of our shared life, for the imagination that can still see every human being as kin.3
The work of our time is twofold: to resist the machinery of injustice and to refuse the spiritual corruption that fuels it. Resistance without reformation of the soul becomes vengeance; contemplation without resistance becomes complicity. We are called to both.
Perhaps this is the moment for a new Reconstruction—not merely of laws, but of love. The civil rights movement was never just about access; it was about belonging. It was about recognizing that democracy is not an institution but a covenant, a shared promise to honor the image of God in one another.
The question now is whether we will keep that promise.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you mistaken order for justice, or civility for courage?
How does white supremacy—explicit or subtle—still shape the spaces you move through? What does faithful resistance look like in those spaces?
Who around you is expanding the moral imagination of belonging? How might you join or support their work?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For a Nation at the Edge
Holy One, You who breathe freedom into dust and call it good, teach us again how to see. Where law has become a weapon, let conscience rise as a counterforce. Where power hides behind piety, let prophets speak with clarity and care. Unmake in us the habits of fear and remake us for courage. When we are tempted to turn away, place in us the ache of empathy. When we grow weary of justice, let us rest not in indifference but in community. Hold this nation, all nations, in your fierce mercy. Do not let us forget that every child of earth bears your image, and that the wound of one is the wound of all. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Reclaiming the Covenant
Each day this week, read the preamble of the 14th Amendment slowly, aloud:
“No State shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Then, pause. Let those words settle into your body—not as historical text, but as living covenant.
Ask yourself: Who is being denied protection today?
Say their names. Picture their faces.
Finally, name one small, concrete action of solidarity you can take in response—a call, a donation, a public witness, a word of truth spoken where silence is easier.
Democracy is a spiritual practice. Practice it as prayer.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
January 6, 13, 20, 2026 - Protest and Action Chaplaincy Training with Rev. Anna Galladay. This live, online training offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. Learn more here.
January 15, 2026, 7-8pm EST - FREE Online Webinar: When the Internet Hurts: The Hidden Online Dangers Facing Our Teens and How Faith Communities Can Respond, Join me in conversation with Sharon Winkler, survivor parent and nationally respected youth online-safety advocate. Sharon’s son, Alex, died at age 17 after experiencing cyberbullying and algorithmically targeted pro-suicide content. Since then, Sharon has dedicated her life to helping parents, educators, and faith leaders recognize online dangers and build safer communities for young people. Register here.
February 11th and 25, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.
July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This new section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr. is the Professor Emeritus of Church and Community at Emory University (and was my seminary professor a long time ago). He has a new book out that I’m excited about: Hope Is Here! Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community.
James Finley is one of our great teachers of the mystics. His podcast, hosted by the Center for Action and Contemplation, is a deep-dive into the mystical teachings of saints like St. Teresa of Avila, Brother Lawrence, St. John of the Cross, and Julian of Norwich, just to name a few. Check it out here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
There is a long history of this pattern woven into the heart of both the West and the Church. The Doctrine of Discovery is an important example of how white elites use decrees and laws to subject others to their will:
Fun and informative video about the origins of white supremacy:
Thank you. I am new to your meditations and reading today's post resonates for me with Luke Kemp's recent study, Goliath's Curse. We most certainly are in collapse. May we rise in community preserving the commons and shrinking the divide between the few (very few) and the many (very many). Love has everything to do with it.
"The civil rights movement was never just about access; it was about belonging. It was about recognizing that democracy is not an institution but a covenant, a shared promise to honor the image of God in one another. " Thank you for this thoughtful comment about the civil rights movement. At 18 I walked with Dr. King in the Selma to Montgomery march and indeed I felt I belonged! It changed my life and set me on the course that at 80 years old, I am still walking. On that march I got a true understanding of honoring the image of God in others.