Nothing has been more refreshing and frustrating to my faith than recognizing that the problem of racism isn't just a problem in the world, but that it is alive and well within the church. Well there is one thing that is more frustrating; the black racist who hates his own people. Many of my friends have sent videos of Candace Owens and Officer Tatum my way, and in the video they not only regurgitate talking points of Fox News, but they speak slanderously about the black community. I would love to address that and I will later, but this piece here will deal with the consistent dodging that I have seen in my white brothers and sisters in the church.
If I was an enemy of God and His people I would hide evil in theological language and ensure it was seen as "good". I would then enshrine it in the law of God and bind the consciences of His people in such a way that anyone who disagreed with the added law would be seen as an enemy of God. In other words I would make sure that division in the Church happened according to "God's word". It is hard to fellowship with those who should be treated as a sinner according to Matthew 18. If you are reading this and you are not a Christian then let me explain. To be treated as a sinner means that Christians should love you by sharing the Gospel of Jesus, and even our possessions, but you are not to be admitted into church membership and enjoy the privileges of what that entails. That being said, some white evangelicals have made abortion the third great commandment of God, and it is in this law that many have found refuge from actually doing the good work of serving the oppressed in our society.
I recently was appalled when a fellow Christian decided to essentially say they were voting for Donald Trump because he was going to save all those babies, ESPECIALLY BLACK BABIES WHO ARE THE MAIN BABIES BEING ABORTED. The post they responding to had nothing to do with babies or race. It was not a post about who people should vote for. It was simply a critique of the current POTUS's behavior, which I have learned infuriates some white evangelicals so much that they will say anything to cover over the multitude of his sins. Love is most certainly the way to live, and grace should be extended to the most wretched of souls, but we cannot resort to deflections and lies to defend a president who has proven to be an arrogant and divisive leader. Don't miss the tactic employed by this person; they inflated the numbers of aborted black babies in order to convince me (a black man) that Donald and conservatism is some how the savior of black people. After verbally dismissing the statement as racist and appalling my character was attacked. It is sin today to point out the sin of racism.
Unfortunately that did not surprise me, nor did a conversation on a seminary campus by four white boys. As I enjoyed lunch with a brother I couldn't help to overhear the conversation about race next to me. A local pastor introduced me to one of the young men before and I learned that this young man wants to become a foreign missionary, and if my memory serves me correctly he mentioned several desired locations, including Africa. The conversation in a nutshell was that racism exist towards black people, but not through any injustice toward those who have been born. Racism according to these young men was to be found in leftist politics, and more specifically in the 80% of black babies who are being systematically aborted. The passion in which he spoke leads me to believe that he heard this from somewhere, perhaps a prominent theologian like James White who has made alarming statements about the black community. Wherever he got the number is very wrong and it implies the same thing that the other person in the former example made: Black people are more prone to evil and can only be saved by white "patriots" or white evangelicals. I dread thinking of the spiritual harm that young men like this can do as missionaries or pastors because they see black people as morally inferior.
I won't spend time speaking about how Roe vs. Wade was decided by a primarily republican court, or how one of the two who opposed it was a democrat, instead I just want to say to all who may read this: You don't get to sit in your comfortable neighborhood or university and throw stones at people who vote differently. You don't get a pass by pointing out the speck in someone else's eye while ignoring the large plank in your own eye. You surely shouldn't condemn people who are actually doing the work on the ground with non-Christian movements like BLM. And you most certainly won't receive a pass in my presence by assuming that black people, my people, are somehow a more evil race.
Black mothers took care of their masters babies and even nursed these babies. Many of these mothers nursed these babies and their biracial half siblings produced by the rape of the master of the plantation. Black mothers have raised their own as single parents because of the systemic injustice that lands black men behind bars for non-violent crimes, and in many cases for no crime at all. Black mothers and grandmothers have raised the kids in their entire communities as their own for decades, and held the family together through prayer and sacrifice (Watch the movie Soul Food). Many black mothers haven't been able to properly mourn for their dead sons and daughters because they had to remain strong for others during the most unthinkable tragedy. Black mothers have worked two or more jobs because their husbands are passed over in the marketplace for promotion or denied fair pay. Many work many jobs because the father of their children are deceased, or locked away in prison for a few grams of marijuana; the same substance that many white men are profiting from today legally. Before you fix your mouth to denigrate black women, or men, you should look in the mirror and recognize your humanity and never forget the contributions black people, and black women specifically, have made to these here United States.
If this is your heart towards black people, then you need more black friends. You don't need the Candace Owen types who will speak slanderously toward the community. You don't need those who are the exception and live in your middle to upper-class neighborhoods, who have learned to speak your language, and who value the comfort of the suburbs above all things. You need to draw near to those who are struggling and Jesus is our model for how we do this. He is true God from true God and John says that He became a man and took up residence among humanity. Even though He is the rightful King who deserves to live in the palace, he chose being born in a poor family and prioritized the marginalized in His ministry. Most of all, if you are a Christian, you should know that having a feeling of moral superiority disqualifies you from speaking on the issues. Before you seek to deflect through terms like "sanctity of life" or "being made in the image of God" you should make sure you are valuing the image of God in those who are alive that you can actually help. It is easy to feel like a warrior talking big online about an issue that you have little power to solve at the polls, but voluntarily struggling with those who are within our reach to help is not only doable, it's our responsibility. Even if the statistics people love to quote were true it wouldn’t absolve you of responsibility to move towards darkness with a message of hope reflected by your life. God said 1000% of humanity is plagued by sin and death and sent heaven’s most valuable possession to redeem humanity.
Family, your brand of theology or politics isn't going to save black babies, but your prayers and your presence may be used of God to do just that if it pleases Him. The Son of God is called Jesus because God alone will save people from their sin, and this Jesus identified with us at our lowest in order to empathize with our weakness. I enjoy thinking about the deep things of God and sorting out the fine points of my theology, but it is presence that breeds empathy and allows us to put that theology into practice. Before you attempts to save the world by hiding behind a superhero costume with a cross on the chest, recognize that Jesus has done it and you only need to obey what He has told you: Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.
Comments
Post a Comment