Article online:
Authorities are investigating a reported assault that took
place on a university campus. A female student told police that she was grabbed by her
waist as she exited her vehicle and that her attacker made a "racially
charged statement." The victim, who police said is African-American, freed
herself and ran away. The suspect is described as a white male…
Church Bulletin:
The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God
created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every
person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and
Christian love.
I read both of these articles in the same week and felt compelled to see what God had to say about racism in His Word. Most people in this day and age know what racism is, especially those of us who live in the South. I have never experienced racism personally but it has occurred within my own family. I won't go into details but children were put up for adoption because they were bi-racial. That haunted me even though I was just a child myself when it occurred and I had nothing to do with it. I prayed for those children throughout the years, thought of them often and wondered where they were and if they were safe and loved. God answered my prayers when I was reconnected to one of my family members through Facebook. She is a beautiful, wonderful woman of God who I am truly blessed to call family. Racism is a blindness and hatred motivated by fear and misunderstanding. Actually, I looked up the definition of racism and it is "hatred or intolerance of another race or other races."
Most white people believe we live in an age of equal rights and that no racism occurs in our society but that is not true. To judge someone by their skin color or country of origin is about as intelligent as judging someone because of their eye color.
1. God does not discriminate.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by
giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate
between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Acts 15:8 (God does not discriminate between Jew or Gentile.)
Show proper respect to everyone, love the family
of believers, fear God... 1 Peter 2:17
The statement that God does not show favoritism is repeated throughout the New Testament. If God does not show favoritism, how can we justify it? God commands us to love our neighbor as our self. That statement does not leave room for racism. Every race descended from three men, Noah's sons. We are part of one race - the human race - and God loves each of us as much as He loves the other. He is no respecter of persons. God created each of us to be unique individuals who have a special task to complete while living on planet Earth. God wants us to love everyone and He makes no exceptions.
2. Do not tolerate racism.
There are some things I will not tolerate and racism is at the top of the list. I have heard family members make statements that turned my stomach and I tried talking to them about it, but hatred comes forth from our heart and there is only One who can change another person's heart. Most people are afraid of the unknown and different races seem unknown to a lot of people who live small lives.
Moses' second wife was from Cush and his brother and sister had a problem with her. Remember what happened to Mariam when she opposed her brother...her skin turned white as snow with leprosy. Numbers 12:1, 10 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.
3. Children should be taught to love.
I want my daughter to grow up in a world with less racism. Children are taught racism. I hope to teach my daughter to appreciate everyone and know that we are each unique and precious to God. Racism is just another tool used by Satan to cause hatred. Do not let him blind you to the ignorance of racism.
4. God is a God of love
As a child, a teacher gave me "The Diary of Anne Frank" to read and it showed me what ultimate racism and hatred leads to...genocide. That 6 million Jews could be gassed and cremated in the same century I lived was appalling and altered my perception of the world forever. I introduce this subject to my Sunday school class as often as possible, for instance when we were learning about Esther, and I also explain it to my daughter. I do not go into graphic details but I tell them what happened and why. I know many Holocaust survivors have said if we forget the past we are doomed to repeat it.
I have been blessed with different perspectives from friends of different races and see the beauty in each one. When we get to heaven, there will be no racism and it will seem like such a petty waste of time. Why don't we have that attitude while we're still here so that we can spread the love of Christ through our love of others.
2. Do not tolerate racism.
There are some things I will not tolerate and racism is at the top of the list. I have heard family members make statements that turned my stomach and I tried talking to them about it, but hatred comes forth from our heart and there is only One who can change another person's heart. Most people are afraid of the unknown and different races seem unknown to a lot of people who live small lives.
Moses' second wife was from Cush and his brother and sister had a problem with her. Remember what happened to Mariam when she opposed her brother...her skin turned white as snow with leprosy. Numbers 12:1, 10 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.
3. Children should be taught to love.
I want my daughter to grow up in a world with less racism. Children are taught racism. I hope to teach my daughter to appreciate everyone and know that we are each unique and precious to God. Racism is just another tool used by Satan to cause hatred. Do not let him blind you to the ignorance of racism.
4. God is a God of love
As a child, a teacher gave me "The Diary of Anne Frank" to read and it showed me what ultimate racism and hatred leads to...genocide. That 6 million Jews could be gassed and cremated in the same century I lived was appalling and altered my perception of the world forever. I introduce this subject to my Sunday school class as often as possible, for instance when we were learning about Esther, and I also explain it to my daughter. I do not go into graphic details but I tell them what happened and why. I know many Holocaust survivors have said if we forget the past we are doomed to repeat it.
I have been blessed with different perspectives from friends of different races and see the beauty in each one. When we get to heaven, there will be no racism and it will seem like such a petty waste of time. Why don't we have that attitude while we're still here so that we can spread the love of Christ through our love of others.
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