The Power of Words and How the Church Can “Speak To” the Nation’s Racial Divide
The week before Halloween, what was probably meant to be a lighthearted morning talk show segment turned into national headline news and resulted in the host, Megyn Kelly, losing her job. The segment was about Halloween costumes. But, Kelly’s defense of blackface costumes struck a sensitive cord with many and the news station she worked for felt they had to let her go because of it. While there may be a wide spectrum of views on just how offensive her comments were, it highlights an important issue for Christians in today’s culture. How should the church, especially the non-minority members, “speak to” the nation’s racial divide?
First, it’s important to remember that words have repercussions. The Bible has much to say about the power of words and how we are accountable for what we speak. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Matthew 12:36 says that we will be held accountable for “every careless word” spoken. And the list could go on. There is just as much said about the negative impact of careless, hurtful, and rash words as there is about the positive impact of gracious, kind, and wise words.
As the Megyn Kelly account reflects, sometimes we can say things without meaning harm, and yet still cause harm. This is very true regarding racially charged words. Words can have so many emotions attached to them for some people and literally just be a string of letters for another. As Christians, however, we must be conscientious about our words, even if they do not have meaning to us. It is our duty to educate ourselves and not remain in ignorance. As Richard Perkins writes that ignorance removes us from the needs of our fellow humans, something that we as Christians cannot do (307). Unfortunately, a Christian research group, Barna Group, did a study in 2016 that showed that white, conservative, Evangelicals tend to be less likely to believe that race is an issue in our society, and hence be less likely to do anything about it. The vice president of the organization, Brooke Hempell, put it this way, “those supposedly most equipped for reconciliation do not see the need for it” (“Black Lives Matter…”).
Once we are aware that something we are saying may be offensive to someone of another race, then, as Christians, it’s clear we just should not say it nor should we defend someone else in saying it. When Paul writes to the Corinthian church, he speaks about the issue of eating meat offered to idols. But the points he makes are ones that can be extracted and applied to many situations. I think they apply very well to the issue of what we speak in regards to race. Paul basically says that even if it is true that eating meat offered to idols has no meaning to someone, it’s not worth doing it if it has meaning to another person (1 Cor. 8:1- 9). The main issue he is speaking to is putting others before yourself. Even the arguments that arise about wearing the Confederate flag, for instance, I think could be dealt with using this mentality. It would be an amazing testimony of the unity and love that Christianity teaches if a southern Christian, who may genuinely see the Confederate flag as nothing more than a piece of their heritage, would say, “I’m going to lay this down because I care more about my brothers and sisters and the way it makes them feel than my ‘right’ to wear this flag.” As Christians, we should be moved to educate ourselves on why something that may not be offensive to us, might be offensive to someone else. And, with our knowledge we should gain empathy, understanding, and be able to show support for the issues people of races other than our own might be facing. As Galatians 6:2 says, that it is our responsibility as Christians to take on each other’s problems and struggles as our own. This is part of Christianity, living beyond our own lives, our own issues and reaching out and actually trying to become acquainted with the pain and burdens of others.
Once we are clear on how the church must be sensitive to the views and perspectives of the diverse population and members of the Body of Christ, we should look into the possibilities of the church making a real, tangible positive impact. In his article, “Racial Division: A Real Problem, A Real Opportunity”, Dhati Lewis speaks of the responsibility of the church to take action, to move beyond just trying not to rock the boat. He says rightly in this article that God asks of the church to be ministers of reconciliation. Lewis uses the issue in Acts 6 as a comparable problem that existed in the New Testament church. The Grecian Christians felt slighted because their widows were being overlooked in the ministry, while the Hebrew widows were not (ESV, Acts 6:1). And, then Lewis notes, that in verses 2 through 6, the leaders step up and come up with a tangible solution and then the “word of God continued to increase” (Acts 6:7).
What will be the church’s contribution to today’s racial inequalities? We must be willing to speak up for our brothers and sisters that are overlooked or pushed aside. We must be willing to speak out against racism, as it is clearly anti-biblical and a notion that is in stark contrast to the heart of God. Lewis says that he believes there is still a fear in much of the church to call racism sin, but that it must be something we are willing to do. He gives an account of his engagement time to his wife, who is white, he is black, and how both black and white Christians advised him against entering into an interracial marriage. The racism he heard in the church wasn’t addressed, and he realizes mostly just came out of ignorance.
The true Word of God, however, brings unity. 1 Corinthians 12:13 speaks of all believers being given the very same Spirit. It’s really a crazy thought to think that all Believers pray to the same God, are filled with the same Holy Spirit, and that we all owe our lives to the same Jesus. There really could be nothing more unifying than this. This is the truth and message of unity that the church should be teaching. This passage speaks of the diversity of gifts given to believers, which should help us see that indeed our differences are also a gift from God, they lend themselves to a fuller, more productive Body (1 Cor. 12:4–31). But, the unifying power of the spirit is stronger than our differences and allows them to make a greater whole when we all come together.
In his chapter on “Majority-Minority Relations”, Richard Perkins suggests that there are at least two actions Christians should take when trying to initiate an effort to speak into the racial divide in our country. First, we should educate ourselves about the ways that racism plays out in our social institutions and systems (Perkins 307). He essentially highlights the need to really study and understand the driving forces behind the racial divide before getting involved in trying to solve it. The racial divide in America is has a deep history and in multifaceted. The official end to slavery in 1865 was followed by many years of complicated and severe racial tensions. The better educated we can be on these tensions, progressions, and setbacks, the better equipped we will be to be part of the solution.
The second point he makes is more about how we take action. Perkins notes that the dealing with the racial divide is something that must be tackled together (308). Such a large problem requires a large movement. He ends with saying that Christians should be willing to jump in and get involved in secular organizations that are well-equipped to make change (308). When our voices are heard among the crowds that are speaking for unity and equality, we stand as a great testimony.
It’s amazing how much power is in our words. Our tongue is one of the smallest organs in our body that doesn’t have bones, but it can do a lot of damage. It can break people’s bones, hearts, and lives. We as believers need to take control over our tongue and be intentional about how we speak, because our words matter. Our words can bring healing to wounds, unity in division, light in darkness, and life to places where death has reigned for centuries. For the Christian, keeping silent on the issue of the racial divide in our country is not an option.
Works Cited
“Black Lives Matter and Racial Tension in America.” Barna Group, 2016.https://www.barna.com/research/black-lives-matter-and-racial-tension-in-america/
Lewis, Dhati. “Racial Division: A Real Problem, A Real Opportunity.” Send Institute. https://www.sendinstitute.org/racial-division-real-problem-real-opportunity/
Perkins, Richard. “Minority-Majority Relations.” Christian Perspectives on Sociology. Edited by Stephen A. Grunlan & Milton Reimer. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001.
The Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1982.
