Racism and the heart of God

Definition that will be helpful as you read:  Racism is racial prejudice with a heart full of malice.

One of the most important things that has happened in this election is the acknowledgement of the progress that has been made in the area of race.  Now this does not mean racism is no longer a problem.  I believe that many, many votes on both sides were cast with race being the primary consideration.  A multitude of times every day race still plays a factor in actions, attitudes, and words.  I wish it was something that would just completely be a non-issue, but because of humans’ sin nature, I do not believe it is something we collectively will get over until the return of Jesus.  However, we can give thanks as great progress has been made!

Though many are not racists everyone on our planet carries racial prejudice with them like an old, dirty, t-shirt that was meant to be thrown away a hundred times but still keeps getting worn – often hidden under a shirt that is nicer to look at.  It is important to understand in your own heart how much racial prejudice you have and what you are attempting to do about it.  One of the things I am most proud about my grandfather (a hard working southern dairy farmer now passed) is how he knew the culture he grew up in was wrong, he knew his own tendencies toward racial prejudice, and he allowed the Holy Spirit to work in his heart.

I’m sure all of us have experienced racial prejudice to one degree or another.  We usually take great note of the unfavorable kind, and normally don’t even realize the favorable kind is even occuring.  If I am on the basketball court and feel that I am not given a fair opportunity because I am white, I get ticked off.  When I get pulled over and a white cop gives me a warning, I rarely think, “I wonder if he only gave me a warning because I am white?  What if I was black?  Would I have gotten a ticket then?”  No, I just take a deep breath and go.

I think people often miss the element of anti-racism/anti-prejudice teaching as they read the Scriptures.  The Good Samaritan, the woman at the well, and the need to care for widows in Acts chapter six are all examples.  If you are aware of this when you read, I am confident you will find many other instances.  May we seek to do with away with any sin of racism and racial prejudice and seek to have the heart of God on the subject.  “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7b).  Do I even need to mention, “Love your neighbor as yourself?”  Racism and racial prejudice just are not compatible with being a follower of Jesus.

We should be very thankful for the work of William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others who lined up with the heart of God on this issue. They all were sinners and had their shortcomings, but in this area they each had an important role to play.  Thank God they pressed on in the face of extreme odds and opposition.  May that be a lesson to us in this and in every area of social justice, to keep pressing forward.

A prayer:  “Dear Father in Heaven,  I thank you for your love for all the people groups.  I thank you that your Son Jesus died for each one.  Help me to see as you see and to have the heart that you have for all people.  Help me not to judge a man or a woman by the color of their skin, but rather to have discernment as to their relationship with You.  Whether the person needs the Gospel of Jesus, prayer, or love and fellowship, help me to see it that I may act and speak according to their need.  Lord please protect those who would be subject to racial violence today.  Lord please help your people to have the right heart and to love and to act in love.  In Jesus Name! Amen!”

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A pre-post election post

Regardless of whether Obama or McCain wins tonight or whether you will be happy or shed tears after the election results, please keep a few things in mind if you are a follower of Jesus.

God’s people must let nothing keep us from the priorities that God has set before us – to proclaim the Good News about Jesus.  I am encouraged that so many followers of Jesus I know really love God and love people and strive to live what they believe.  Let us endeavor more to share the love of God!  Let us endeavor more to be generous with all that God has made us stewards over!  Let us endeavor more to help the most oppressed!  Let us endeavor more to be salt and light and hope in our very dark world!

1.  We have a responsibility to pray for our leaders (I Timothy 2:1-2).

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

The Scripture does not tell us to pray for them only if we like them.  Praying for our leaders to have wisdom, discernment, justice, peace, love, and truth is commanded for us to do.  

2.  Jesus is still the only true and eternal hope!  (Luke 4:18-19, John 14:6).

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 
      because he has anointed me 
      to preach good news to the poor. 
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 
      and recovery of sight for the blind, 
   to release the oppressed, 
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Words of Jesus)

 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

3.  We must endeavor to love, live, and share the Good News about Jesus, the payment for our sins (I Timothy 2:3-7).

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.”

4.  We have a responsibility to stand up for the oppressed.  (Isaiah 1:17)

“Learn to do right! 
Seek justice, 
encourage the oppressed. 
Defend the cause of the fatherless, 
plead the case of the widow.”

5.  Regardless of who our leaders are, God is still God, and our privilege is to look forward to the day when Jesus Christ will reign (Revelation 11:15).

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'”

I am so looking forward to the day when there will be no more tears and no more pain.  In that day, we will no longer have to wonder whether our leaders know what they are doing, or if they have good or bad intentions, or if they are wise enough for the job.  Our King Jesus will reign and all will be as it should be – finally!  What a sweet and blessed hope we have in Jesus!

 

Abortion and tomorrow’s election

Psalm 139:13
“For you created my inmost being; 
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

The following article is only intended to convey my personal conviction as someone who is endeavoring to follow Jesus and to have His way of thinking permeate my way of thinking in all areas of life.  It is with compassion, tears, and love that I broach the very difficult and painful subject of abortion.  I am aware that what is written here will cause pain and controversy for some people I love very much, and this makes me write with great care.  Please also know for the past 10 years I have endeavored to keep serious political thoughts only to myself and those very close to me.  The reason for this is because political discussions and issues often get in the way of much more important conversations about the Good News of Jesus and the teachings of the Scriptures.  Politics can cause clouds that hinder people from seeing and hearing the most important truths of God’s Word.  

On this subject, speaking the truth in love is extremely important, as many believers and unbelievers are scarred by their choices made in the past and have deep wounds.  We must be sensitive to them when we speak about this subject like we would about the subject of divorce, and sensitive if the conversation comes up in a group or even a blog such as this. At the same time followers of Jesus cannot be silent on the subject as we have a responsibility to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. I have lost sleep and shed tears over this subject lately, much of it over the hardness of my own heart and the silence of my voice. My prayer is that this writing will be more helpful than it is hurtful, and that God will protect, comfort, and teach each reader according to their need. 

I see more and more christians who are touting a pro-abortion candidate as “a gift of God’s grace for our country” and “America’s Messiah”. I disagree with this because of the candidate’s stance on abortion.  His record is very consistent that he is pro-abortion.  There can be no debate about that fact. And there can be no debate about the importance of this subject in this election.

Here is a quote from Obama from the presidential debate on October 15, 2008. It is from the transcript so it is word for word.  The context is about the appointment of new Supreme Court Justices.

“And it is true that this is going to be, I think, one of the most consequential decisions of the next president. It is very likely that one of us will be making at least one and probably more than one appointments and Roe versus Wade probably hangs in the balance.”

Can a christian in good conscience know that abortion is morally wrong, know that a Presidential candidate is pro-abortion, and state, “I want him to be my president, and I will vote for him.”?

The arguments I have heard for yes are the following:

1.  There are many subjects under the umbrella of social justice and abortion is just one of them.  Since I agree with a pro-abortion candidate on the majority of them I will just have to disagree with him on that one. He still has my vote.

My objection:  There are many subjects under the umbrella of social justice and some have greater weight than others.  The subjects concerning the protection of innocent life are more important than those that pursue happiness.  Can we state that we love our neighbor as ourselves (including our unborn ones) and promote the campaign of someone who will not seek their protection?  Because one in five pregnancies ends in abortion worldwide, we cannot think of this matter as a secondary issue.  Can we afford for the most powerful person in the world to be wrong on this matter?

2.  Neither party intends to change anything about the situation so the subject of abortion doesn’t matter.

My objection:  A battle that should be fought but is not will always be lost.  I cannot state 100% that a pro-life candidate will appoint the correct Supreme court justices to overturn Roe versus Wade, but we are guaranteed that pro-abortion candidate’s nominees will keep the status quo.  A pro-abortion candidate winning insures that nothing on this subject in America will have the potential to change for a very long time.  

3.  What about all the innocent people in Iraq who have died since the war started?  Why are you picking the unborn over them?

My objection:  The death of any innocent person is awful.  We must remember that Iraq’s former dictator was responsible for the death of large numbers of his own people, the paid rape of hundreds if not thousands of women, and the mass murdering of a people group.  Regardless of what we should have done in the past we must deal with the reality that we are there at the present.  Even if the pro-abortion candidate is 100% correct on Iraq and the pro-life candidate is 100% wrong…the number of human lives at stake is not even close. According to the World Health Organization 43 million abortions occurred world-wide in 2003.

In closing, followers of Jesus should be pro-adoption, pro-education, pro-helping the poor, and pro-life.  The subject of life trumps all others, and we must protect the innocent.  I do not see anyway around the argument that if the pro-abortion candidate wins, then a vote for him in this election makes one complicit in every abortion in our country from when the new judges are appointed until Roe versus Wade is overturned*.

Christians may due to their conscience about other subjects say that they will not vote for the lessor of two evils and will abstain from voting, but I cannot agree with the thinking of christians who promote a pro-abortion candidate as a great agent for hope and change.  

Finally, I am thankful for the grace of God which is sufficient for all things.  Let us love and have our hope solely in One Person – Jesus Christ!  Please also know that I am open to calm, civil, and loving discussion about this or most any other subject.**

———–

* I do not believe that we are complicit with every act the person we vote for commits for 2 reasons: 

1.   We cannot see the future and are ignorant of the sins people will commit in the future. 

2.  I reiterate that different issues have different moral weights, and we are sometimes forced to pick between them.  If certain bad things happen because of my vote for the pro-life candidate I am not automatically complicit with them because I was forced to make my decision based on the greater moral issue. 

I do believe we are complicit when we know the actions someone will commit are morally wrong and it carries great moral weight (like slavery and abortion) and we vote for that person anyway.  Under those circumstances, I don’t see a way to avoid complicity.   

** Due to the sensitive nature of this topic.  I will be diligent and thoughtful about which comments are approved and not approved for public viewing.  If I do not approve your comment I will endeavor to send you a private email.