Country United or Divided
I was traveling with my 15 year old daughter this week and we discussed the recent issues involving the police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling along with the shooting of the Dallas Police officers. I did not claim to have all the answers but gave my humble thoughts on the subject and I wanted to share our conversation.
Do not expect the answers to come from politicians. No legislation will solve the issues we are facing. The problem must be solved at the local level to succeed. We need the communities and churches to come together for the good of the people and country. I couldn’t help but think of Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham prison in 1963 (one year before I was born). http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/undecided/630416-019.pdf
The letter deeply moved me and gave me insight on what a remarkable and great man MLK was. The letter details his disappointment in the white moderates and the church leaders. From his letter… “The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status-quo…Is organized religion too inextricably bound to status-quo to save our nation and the world?”
Fast forward 53 years and are we repeating past mistakes? Why are so many of our churches divided when it comes to race? We work together, go to school together but often we worship divided by color of skin. So many of us worship the same God and the same scriptures but why after this many years after the end of segregation do we choose to worship under different roofs? I ask our community and church leaders to unite and come together to join congregations for some selected Sundays of worship. Can you imagine the power and impact of God’s children of all colors singing his praise together? It could be a real awakening for the churches. Think of the impact of united congregations calling for a change to abortion that kills millions of innocent babies (black and white). I hope there are plenty of churches that have mixed congregations and I praise them for they are leaders in the community.
We can’t only worship together. We must stand together with strength when we see injustice from government and police and not accept status-quo. We must point out racial inequality or hatred of our brothers and sisters. We must calm the fuels of violence against any race, religion, or sexual orientation. We have to unite and support our good police that are trying to improve the communities we live in. We can’t turn a blind eye or remove ourselves from involvement because of mistrust. We are all children of Christ and must stand together.
The little things go a long way as well to help in the community. Hold a door for each other. Say hello and good morning with a smile on our face. Make conversation and don’t be a stranger. Example: I was coming home from work last month and saw a young black man walking down the road in 95 degree heat. There were no homes nearby so I knew he had a long walk ahead of him. I pulled over and asked him if he was okay. He had a new job at local factory and was walking home from work. I asked him if he wanted a ride and we had good conversation on the ride to his home. He is a temporary employee and trying to get hired on full time. He thanked me several times for giving him a ride. I don’t tell you this for praise but to let you know the little things we do can have positive impact on the others in our community.
I want to close with the words of MLK in the letter he wrote to pastors while sitting in that Birmingham prison. “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating.”
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