The Randalls are avid soccer (football for real fans) supporters. We love watching the English Premier League, Champions League and the Euros. However, nothing compares to the World Cup every four years.

The 2022 World Cup is unique for many reasons, such as it being held in November-December instead of the traditional summer months. Qatar won the bid in 2010 to host this year’s World Cup, even though Qatar’s hot and dry climate is not ideal for an outdoor sporting event.

Soon after the announcement was made by FIFA, the international governing body of “the beautiful game,” allegations of corruption began to surface.

According to CNN, “There were allegations – vote-swapping, and links to trade deals at the highest levels of government. Qatar was cleared of corruption by FIFA, but as recently as 2020, US prosecutors accused three former senior FIFA officials of receiving bribes for voting in favor of Qatar.”

When construction of the stadiums that would host the matches began in 2014, confirmed and unconfirmed deaths of migrant workers surfaced. Living conditions for the migrant workers were declared “appalling” by Amnesty International.

Sponsors such as Adidas, AB InBev, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s all expressed support for the migrant workers. Still, all the businesses remained sponsors of the World Cup, offering only a rhetorical admonition.

In addition to the migrant controversy, Qatar has a terrible record when it comes to the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Homosexuality remains a crime in Qatar. Human Rights Watch reported, “Qatar Preventive Security Department forces, under the Interior Ministry, had arbitrarily arrested six Qatari LGBTQ+ people and subjected them to ill-treatment, including severe beatings and sexual harassment, in detention.”

Finally, Qatar’s record on women’s rights is less than stellar. Amnesty International warned World Cup travelers about the country’s treatment of women prior to the tournament: “Women continue to face discrimination in law and practice in Qatar. Under the guardianship system, women require the permission of their male guardian, usually their husband, father, brother, grandfather or uncle, to marry, study abroad on government scholarships, work in many government jobs, travel abroad (if under the age of 25), and access reproductive healthcare.”

With all of the evidence present – and still more surfacing – it’s easy for Westerners to point the finger at Qatar and denounce their treatment of migrants, LGBTQ+ people and women. Unfortunately, when we point a finger, there are always three more pointing back.

Jesus offered some of his most damning remarks for powerful and privileged leaders: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’s seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it, but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others” (Matthew 23:2-5).

In the church, we often like to expose the transgressions of others while hiding our sins. We find it easy to condemn the misdeeds of others yet close our eyes when we look in the mirror. In America, we are especially good at this.

The truth remains that the church in America continues to perpetuate hypocrisy. From the hallowed words, “All men are created equal” and “for all we are one in Christ Jesus,” the church and the nation has frequently said Indigenous people, Black people, women, the poor, LGBTQ+ people and anyone else the powerful determine a threat should not be included in this equality and unity.

While the church and country have made significant strides over the years, we still have a long way to go to reach full inclusivity, equality and justice.

Malcolm X offered this analysis, “And when I speak, I don’t speak as a Democrat. Or a Republican. Nor an American. I speak as a victim of America’s so-called democracy. You and I have never seen democracy – all we’ve seen is hypocrisy. When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America not through the eyes of someone who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism. We see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism. We don’t see any American dream. We’ve experienced only the American nightmare.”

If we want to expect more from other countries, then we need to start doing better ourselves.

The church must lead the way in welcoming migrants and treating them with dignity, respect and compassion. Maybe the church needs to remember the words of Jesus: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 23:35).

The church must open its doors and arms to the LGBTQ+ community, repenting of discriminatory practices and instilling a theology of inclusivity and equality. When the church’s “love” demeans and denounces, then its love is nothing more than a disguise for bigotry and hate.

As Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

The church must elevate women to the place God intended, co-equals to their male counterparts. Women not only deserve a place in the room, but they also have the God-given right to that place. And when they get it, we will all be better off because of their presence.

The late and brilliant Ruth Bader Ginsberg once said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”

The church needs to lead – but we also need to be a better example for the rest of the world. The corruption behind the World Cup this year is heartbreaking and infuriating, but we would be amiss to think this atrocious behavior happened in a vacuum.

Therefore, let us put away our hypocrisy and embrace the inclusive and just gospel of Jesus, which begins and ends with love.