Stop the Think Tanks!! 2 Years Later...
It is February 25, 2019 as I write this. How do we come together? Race relations are the worst they have been in my life. Truth has left the building and morality is so blurred that we cannot see right and wrong clearly. The fall of our society has been swift. The swiftness is what has me fearful. I do not want to get into a discussion on politics but a discussion of the heart.
Our moral compass is broken. I believe race, religion, climate, and many social issues today come down to morality.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
When Jesus was confronted with the morality question of His Day He answered by quoting Scripture, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The morality issue is not about our actions, rather it is about our heart. If our heart is out of alignment with these two commands, we cannot see right and wrong. How do I know if I am loving God with all of my heart, soul, and mind? It is when I stop negotiating right and wrong. If I love God with my entire being, then I will know right and wrong.
Today, it has become the way of the culture to kill babies. This nothing new. We see this same struggle in the Old Testament (Exodus 1:15-21). Two midwives were told when the Israelite women were in labor and if it were a son they were to abort the pregnancy. They did not obey Pharaoh. Though abortion is legal in the United States, it does not make it right. There are many issues at work here. If the baby is thought of as not human, it makes it ok to abort the pregnancy. If you can’t hear the baby scream, then it feels no pain. The heart issue then becomes how we advocate for women and children in these situations.
If you have read the Bible you are probably familiar with Sodom and Gomorrah. But most do not know the whole story. Sexual sin was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. God’s anger boiled at Sodom and Gomorrah because of what the prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 16:49-50, “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen. I see Sodom and Gomorrah in today’s church. Go back and read those two verses again. As followers of Christ we should be involved in ministries in our community such as crisis pregnancy centers, latch key programs, poverty prevention programs, poverty assistance programs, community centers, and senior centers. We must be pro-life from conception to the grave.
Abortion is inherently racist in America. Margaret Sanger sent a letter in which she doesn’t want it to get out that she wanted to “exterminate the negro population”. Notice her work is set in the south not in the north. In today’s culture we miss racism because we have no clue what racism is. A video a couple years ago by a youth pastor trying to show systemic racism was powerful. It is like everything else, there is more to the story. I watched this video with interest as I am trying to understand racism on a much deeper level. I would not win the race but I would have done well probably falling four or five steps behind. Then I watched it again from my parent’s perspectives. My parents would have lost this race badly. My dad, a high school dropout. Would have only been able to take 2 steps forward my mom was much better off, she could take about 4 steps forward. The system is amoral. So what do we do about racism? James 2:8-9 leads me to racism as lawbreaking or sin. Romans 12:3 warns us not to think of ourselves to highly. So there is some kind of disconnect between the races. The best I can do is make sure my heart is right. Where I see racism I must call it out. Where there is racism being improperly applied I must call it out. When we have false accusations being portrayed as absolute truths how are we to know what is really going on. Let’s be real about racism so we can understand on a deeper level. That is my desire and I hope it is your desire also.
With all of these challenges in our world how do we come together? The heart issue is unity. We can come together and completely resolve these challenges. Where hope takes the place of fear. Where love truly overcomes hate. Where life conquers sin. There are many other issues that we see. Immigration, sexuality, and class status to name a few. This blog is hopefully a start to resolving the issue. No more think tanks please!! We are called to action. # actions we can take
1. Get out in the world
So many times we want to hide in our own world that we don’t see the whole world. Get in the culture of different lifestyles to understand their plight. What do they experience? How is it different than mine? How is it similar? When we can answer some of these questions we can start to make a difference.
2. Start with Similarities
As we see the similarities in our cultures we understand the plight we are both on. We can then resolve the challenges together. I few go together we can accomplish more. We all have different experiences but sometime they can work together to bring resolution.
3. Understand the Differences
It takes a listening ear and an open heart to understand the differences. I don’t understand racism on a level as those who experience it. As a middle aged white male, I do not have it as easy as media would have you believe. I am not rich because I am white. I live paycheck to paycheck. I was raised in the inner city. I worked hard for my education. I every job I have had I feel like I have to work harder than the next. Help me understand you.
I am tired of all of the fighting. I want to see us come together again. We are the brightest smartest people in the world and right now we are destroying ourselves. There is no outside enemy that has any power over us. Jesus is our strength. He experienced all of this. He has given power over our enemies even if our enemy is ourselves. Please!!! No more think tanks!!
Our moral compass is broken. I believe race, religion, climate, and many social issues today come down to morality.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
When Jesus was confronted with the morality question of His Day He answered by quoting Scripture, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The morality issue is not about our actions, rather it is about our heart. If our heart is out of alignment with these two commands, we cannot see right and wrong. How do I know if I am loving God with all of my heart, soul, and mind? It is when I stop negotiating right and wrong. If I love God with my entire being, then I will know right and wrong.
Today, it has become the way of the culture to kill babies. This nothing new. We see this same struggle in the Old Testament (Exodus 1:15-21). Two midwives were told when the Israelite women were in labor and if it were a son they were to abort the pregnancy. They did not obey Pharaoh. Though abortion is legal in the United States, it does not make it right. There are many issues at work here. If the baby is thought of as not human, it makes it ok to abort the pregnancy. If you can’t hear the baby scream, then it feels no pain. The heart issue then becomes how we advocate for women and children in these situations.
If you have read the Bible you are probably familiar with Sodom and Gomorrah. But most do not know the whole story. Sexual sin was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. God’s anger boiled at Sodom and Gomorrah because of what the prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 16:49-50, “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen. I see Sodom and Gomorrah in today’s church. Go back and read those two verses again. As followers of Christ we should be involved in ministries in our community such as crisis pregnancy centers, latch key programs, poverty prevention programs, poverty assistance programs, community centers, and senior centers. We must be pro-life from conception to the grave.
Abortion is inherently racist in America. Margaret Sanger sent a letter in which she doesn’t want it to get out that she wanted to “exterminate the negro population”. Notice her work is set in the south not in the north. In today’s culture we miss racism because we have no clue what racism is. A video a couple years ago by a youth pastor trying to show systemic racism was powerful. It is like everything else, there is more to the story. I watched this video with interest as I am trying to understand racism on a much deeper level. I would not win the race but I would have done well probably falling four or five steps behind. Then I watched it again from my parent’s perspectives. My parents would have lost this race badly. My dad, a high school dropout. Would have only been able to take 2 steps forward my mom was much better off, she could take about 4 steps forward. The system is amoral. So what do we do about racism? James 2:8-9 leads me to racism as lawbreaking or sin. Romans 12:3 warns us not to think of ourselves to highly. So there is some kind of disconnect between the races. The best I can do is make sure my heart is right. Where I see racism I must call it out. Where there is racism being improperly applied I must call it out. When we have false accusations being portrayed as absolute truths how are we to know what is really going on. Let’s be real about racism so we can understand on a deeper level. That is my desire and I hope it is your desire also.
With all of these challenges in our world how do we come together? The heart issue is unity. We can come together and completely resolve these challenges. Where hope takes the place of fear. Where love truly overcomes hate. Where life conquers sin. There are many other issues that we see. Immigration, sexuality, and class status to name a few. This blog is hopefully a start to resolving the issue. No more think tanks please!! We are called to action. # actions we can take
1. Get out in the world
So many times we want to hide in our own world that we don’t see the whole world. Get in the culture of different lifestyles to understand their plight. What do they experience? How is it different than mine? How is it similar? When we can answer some of these questions we can start to make a difference.
2. Start with Similarities
As we see the similarities in our cultures we understand the plight we are both on. We can then resolve the challenges together. I few go together we can accomplish more. We all have different experiences but sometime they can work together to bring resolution.
3. Understand the Differences
It takes a listening ear and an open heart to understand the differences. I don’t understand racism on a level as those who experience it. As a middle aged white male, I do not have it as easy as media would have you believe. I am not rich because I am white. I live paycheck to paycheck. I was raised in the inner city. I worked hard for my education. I every job I have had I feel like I have to work harder than the next. Help me understand you.
I am tired of all of the fighting. I want to see us come together again. We are the brightest smartest people in the world and right now we are destroying ourselves. There is no outside enemy that has any power over us. Jesus is our strength. He experienced all of this. He has given power over our enemies even if our enemy is ourselves. Please!!! No more think tanks!!
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