Controversy. I tend to avoid it as controversy is uncomfortable to think about or discuss. So many of us do that – we hide rather than seek to find a solution.
My dear friend, Edith (Ede) Houghton wrote about Nike selecting Colin Kaepernick as their “face” recently. Her words captured my heart and got my attention so I asked permission to share her post here, as I am convicted – and enlightened – on a way to share on this topic full of controversy that matters.
In light of the loud controversy and debate concerning Nike’s choice of Colin Kaepernick as the face for their 30th year campaign, I felt led to spend time with the Lord concerning the subject. I’m going to share my thoughts which are simply that, my thoughts as led by the Spirit as I was walking in Arkansas where segregation has not yet been truly eradicated.
One of the first thoughts I had was that it is impossible for us to understand another and their perspective until we have “walked a mile in their shoes“ or Nikes in this particular case. We simply don’t know what another person’s perspective is and to pretend that we do is dangerous as we are actually choosing to judge someone else based on our experience or lack there of and we all know that judgment is not God’s heart for us.
The truth of the matter is that although I understand abandonment and rejection, as those were persistent themes and experiences throughout the course of my life, I cannot even begin to pretend to understand what it would be like to be judged solely on the color of my skin with eyes that are geared towards perpetuating a system which benefits some while completely disregarding the worth of others – that is the essence of racism.
It is a strategy to completely divide us as humans by perpetuating fear and intolerance of others who simply look different than we do.
When the originators of slavery pondered how to protect their best interests, they intentionally chose to limit the capacity of their slaves to invest in loving their own families by creating a system whereby slaves never knew if they were going to be sold the very next day and never see their family or loved ones again. The idea was that slaves would always live in fear and refuse to risk loving deeply because of the reality of experiencing true broken hearts when ripped from their families and all they knew or were familiar with.
Satan always seeks to divide as well as interfere with our ability to receive and give love because he knows that Father God’s heart is for us to receive His unconditional love for us so that we can love our neighbor as ourselves and the world will know we are Christians by our demonstrated love for EVERYONE, even our enemies! If we as the body of Christ, hope to actually prevail despite the darkness within our society and our world, we need to learn how to set aside those things which divide us and walk in the true authority that Jesus came to give us so that we could overcome (Rev 12:11).
We need to actively go after injustice and destroy it by the way in which we love those who have not yet been loved no matter what their actions are.
We are not called to do things based upon the results, rather we are called to do what is put before us by the Lord so that the world we live in can be impacted by His love, for the Bible tells us that “love never fails.” It is time for us to set aside any preconceived notions we may have about how “it’s time for others to man up or to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and start working to improve their own lives”– rather, it’s time for us to step out in love and take a stand against injustice and racism because perpetuating these things is going to be the undoing of our society as well as the Church in general.
In order for the Church to move forward as the Bride of Christ, we need to demonstrate that we “have” something that is vital and relevant, something that means something, something that makes a difference in the grand scheme of things for each and EVERY person, and that something would be Jesus, the one who died that we might have life more abundant, the one who gave His all so that each of us could have something, the one who was willing to be in prison so that we could enter into freedom. We are to follow Him, Jesus Christ, and the only way we can do that is to renew the way in which we think about things and apprehend His thoughts and take each and everyone of our own thoughts “captive to the obedience of Jesus.”
One great way to start to do this is to ask:
Jesus, what are your thoughts on racism?
How do we as a society overcome this injustice?
[Tweet “What can I do as a person today to change things?”]I choose to stand – with and for unity in Christ Jesus. That too is a controversy today.
The challenge? Determine where we are on the topic of racism. Then seek to renew our minds with the words and the mind of Jesus Christ.
[Tweet “Jesus speaks and acts out of love, pure sweet love.”] [inlinkz_linkup id=798915 mode=1]
Appreciate your thoughtful and grace-filled words. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
Tina
As Christians I believe we are to deal peaceably with each other and represent Christ to the world. We may not agree with Colin Kaepernick and his stance to take a knee, but we are commanded to love him. I agree we don’t understand what Kaepernick has to deal with as a black man. We don’t know what is in his heart. I believe prayer for him is the best answer instead of griping over whether or not it is right for him to protest during the National Anthem. Thanks for sharing your thought-provking post on the #LMMLinkup this week.
Great point that we can’t judge someone just because we don’t agree with their choices. First, because God tells us not to judge. And second, because we don’t know what they’ve gone through to bring them to their choices. Enjoyed being your neighbor on #GraceFullTuesday today! 🙂
Thoughtful comments on a challenging subject. Thank you. laurensparks.net
We do need to leave the judging up to God. So true until we walk in another’s shoes we have no idea. Thank you for linking up with Grace & Truth Christian Link-Up.
Judging others by their outside appearance is against God’s heart who looks at us from the inside.
Slavery and racism are definitely nothing new, we need the Holy Spirit to keep us from returning to the slavery of sin, we are free from that. And yet so many are still slaves to it, some even as believers. So glad He looks at hearts.
It is utterly amazing to me how so many of the dominant culture have no inkling about what Colin Kaepernick kneels for and the realities of racism. It is almost as if they choose not to care until their lives are truly impacted which in this country may never happen. My daughter started a new position recently and one of her leaders expressed these sentiments in not so kind terms.
What to do? It is my constant prayer that this country experiences systemic change, with Christians being a vital part of this change because I for one am tired of dealing with racism – subtle and overt.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on an important subject.
Thank you for sharing this post today, Susan. A pet peeve of mine is when others refuse to believe that racism is a real thing. Some would rather believe that it does not exist; that’s it’s all in our heads. Or we deserve it.
Susan, thank you for sharing this powerful and insightful post. I cannot agree more – Satan always seeks to divide. We need to ask ourselves “Which path would cause us to grow in unity?” Unconditional love is Christ’s way.
I appreciate the thoughts shared today and was reminded of why we desperately need Jesus. Humankind is sinful and separated from God. Last year I was able to visit Israel, Italy, and Greece and was reminded the problem of man oppressing man is not new. Ancient stone structures created without the machinery we rely on were built on the backs of slaves from different ethnicities or political and religious beliefs. Jesus changes hearts which changes how we see and treat people. He heals and restores broken hearts, people, and relationships. May He heal our land. May He begin with cleansing and healing our own hearts.
A powerful discussion here today, friend! Thanks for starting it.