I was talking with one of my White friends the other day.  She shared a story of her boys when they were young. Her boys loved to play outside with Nerf guns running throughout the neighborhood. This was a game they played often. On this particular day, the boys had a few friends over. One of the young boys was African-American. They decided to go outside and play their favorite game, Nerf wars. Within a short period of time, the police showed up because of a call from someone in the neighborhood. This neighbor made the call because of the young black boy running around with a gun, a Nerf gun, like the other boys. It was quite a task for my friend to explain what happened to this child’s mother, her African-American friend. So why did this happen? Plain and simple, it was prejudice.

Racial prejudice is wrong, and we all have to try to do our best to change it. But it will never change unless we first learn what real love is and that love recognizes that every person is worthy because he or she is created in the image of God. As a Christian, I am taught to follow Christ. In the New Testament, Jesus preached love. In the gospel of John, he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34)

(Philippians 2:3) Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves

Jesus crossed racial, political, and gender boundaries to love equally, individually, and without prejudice. We often see in the Bible where Jesus stands up for the people who could not stand up for themselves, standing with people whom others would not stand near or speaking up for those that could not speak for themselves. Jesus teaches us that sometimes you have to sit and listen to others in order to understand them and know their hearts and from where they come. Through listening to others, we learn more about them and can support their feelings and understand their actions in a better way. He talked about the love of God, and He lived the love of God. Jesus’ life showed us love and love in action. That’s why actions often speak louder than words.

So let’s pause for a few minutes and listen to those on the receiving end of racial injustice. We shouldn’t reject their stories because they don’t match our own experiences, or dismiss their words because we don’t understand what they’re going through.   We shouldn’t respond with, “I have a right to my own opinion.” While it’s true that we have our own opinions, we should test those opinions with God’s word, with what is moral and just. Ask yourself if it is an opinion that is based on love, or if it’s about selfishness or not wanting to change and have things your own way. 

We cringed at the video of George Floyd that has been seen across the world.   But racial injustice doesn’t always look like a man dying. Everyone should be able to agree that the action of the officer charged with his death was wrong, disgusting, and immoral. But chipping away at the very soul and rights of another human being day after day, year after year, decade after decade is also wrong, disgusting and immoral.  Do we disregard the fact that African American mothers have to tell their sons to act differently than their White friends because there’s a high likelihood that one group will be seen as a threat while the other will not, regardless of their character or behavior?

All of us must think about our lives, thoughts, prejudices, and the change we need to make individually.

God bless you, my friends! Together we can, and we will change the direction, arm in arm, as one.