Thoughts of a Black Christian in a Tumultuous Time

Me at the Philadelphia High School For Girls -

The evidence of progress, albeit, slow

This week has been tumultuous. And I sense it has been a pivotal week in so many lives. The week began with riots and the scripture about wars and rumors of wars repeatedly flashed in my mind. I've heard statements like “you are all Americans, aren't you supposed to be better than this”, “we can't wait until our own house is on fire; we must act now”, and “it's insensitive to diminish black lives matter by saying all lives matter”. It has been a verbal debate filled week, a heart recognition week, and a “dig in deeper, hold on tighter to my beliefs” week. I’ve seen and heard about all kinds of reactions. I've kept my mind focused on the positive — the images of light — to help me deal with the images and the season of darkness.

Accept that progress may be slow

My workplace bravely chose to have nontraditional conversations in support of recognizing racial injustice in the US. As part of these conversations, I've confessed my own assessment as I grew up “black in America”. I had accepted that progress would be slow.

My family were farmers. They made nothing from the land they lived on and worked. And they resolved to live a life of “this is all there is” in a southern state as they struggled to raise their children. But wasn't that a step up from being a slave?

My mother experienced a time when she couldn't sit in a restaurant to eat or go through the front door of an establishment, but she was in school and graduated from high school. Wasn't that a step up from no school and no education?

As I grew up, I watched the presence of African Americans increase in the entertainment industry, in politics, and in corporate environments. It inspired me to see the “one or two of us” pave the way. And besides, my parents told me I had no choice; I was going to college even if they could not pay for it. Therefore, I completed high school, graduated from a well-known mostly Caucasian university in Philadelphia, and then joined the ranks of corporate America as the “one or two of us”. But wasn't that a step up from jobs with backbreaking work, long hours, and far distances on a bus for less than menial pay? 

Progress is slow, but it was happening as I saw an increase in interracial marriages. And although I have no children, I hoped my nieces, nephew, and godchildren’s children would  see the next step in the evolution of progress.

I make my stand here

Now in my 50s, I stand by my faith as I watch the insanity of ignoring the love of Christ. Racism executes its rights in churches, which profess God and Jesus and support the scriptures about turning the other cheek, loving your enemy, loving your brother because you can’t love God and hate your brother, and so much more that God taught through Christ; and it is good…until we realize it means you have to recognize all this when your Christian brother and sister are black.

I must make a stand that for me Christ is not a religion but a relationship. I must continue reporting Christ as my all in all even as I watch other Christians combine religion and politics and use religion as the agenda for self-goals, including one of racial cleansing. It hurts, but I have and want to stand by my relationship with Christ no matter how much soiled laundry is attached to his name.

Conflict over differences and wanting more for self is not new

And now I remind myself of this. We have been in conflict over differences since the creation of mankind. This is true. Before the creation of a capitalistic US society was even a thought in anyone’s mind, wars of internal strife and unrest were fought because people were different. Often, these wars were fought because a group wanted more for themselves. One group wanted more land, more wealth, more power, more position. And isn’t this the essence of selfishness?

Reminder to my fellow Christ Followers

I’d like to remind my Christian brothers and sisters that selfishness is what brought Eve an Adam down. They selfishly wanted to be like God. Selfishness is at the core of the seven things God abhors, which are the proud look, the lying tongue, the hands that shed innocent blood, the heart that creates wicked plans, feet which are swift to run to evil, the false witness who speaks lies, and the one who… sows… discord… among brethren. Also, selfishness is the core of all that is in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

We have spread Christianity throughout the world in some horrible ways (think the Crusades), but the message of Christ has had a profound impact on many people, delivering from addictions, providing healing, and promoting love among many. Therefore, we should not be contributing to racial divide in this country. We have this great message, and we were educated about the disease of selfishness. So, shouldn’t we be leading and modelling racial resolution?

At the end of the day, it is about a heart condition

I like that my job had the discussions we did this week, and I hope for more peaceful demonstrations which cause these conversations to happen at the local, state, and federal levels. Of course, voting is my action, but voting leaves someone in office for 2 to 4 years to spread good and bad. Change must happen at government levels because government level changes is how we moved from the plantation to the corporate, entertainment, and political arenas. But we have so much further to go. Because while change is happening legally because of my, it is all about the heart condition. The heart condition of people like my neighbor must change to not see me as black and attach every negative stereotype and news story they have heard to me. Until that neighbor changes their heart condition or dies, and prayerfully, his / her children refuse the rhetoric of their parents, progress will continue to be slow.

What encourages me is the number of Caucasian fellow Americans who had a revelation of what it means to be black in America. There has been numerous messages and books on this subject for years, but the reality is now real for them. My hope is that the confines of COVID-19, which I consider to be the source of the unrest, the revealing of true selves, and the opening of eyes, is not the only impetus for their heart change and reactions. I hope for more as we slowly return to a new normal. I hope for an extra clip in this speed of progress.

It should start with us, the Jesus Followers

And it should start with we, who call ourselves Jesus followers, in this country, both black and white. Because the last I read, Paul said that there is no distinction between Jews and Greeks. For the Israelite community this meant anyone not like us — not a Jew, was a Gentile — an outsider. This would make all us Christians, Gentiles, outsiders, with the privilege of embracing God’s Jewish gift, Christ.  Paul hated that they were sticking to this rhetoric of us versus them, because he knew --  Christ is for all and Christ is unity. (Romans 10:11-13)