Racism, down to the knitty gritty root of it, is a belief that worth is based on race. I have a hard time believing when people say they have never had a racist thought, because even Jesus was tempted in everything.
Between the ages of six and eleven, I lived in a southern Texas town of about 36k. I didn't know that about sixty years prior a black man had been lynched in our courthouse and then set afire. My two best friends were black. To me, there was no difference between us...except that they had cooler hair.
Fast forward ten plus years and I was living in south Dallas, going to bible school and working at a cajun seafood joint. For the first time, I was exposed to the term 'ghetto'. This described a location and a category of people. For the first time I was looked at with hate because of my skin color, and also because I couldn't understand ebonics. This really hurt my feelings, because I wanted to be judged on an individual basis and not on their experience. Funny how that sentiment has probably been felt by many peoples.
I had to struggle with feelings of antipathy towards them too. Waiting tables is a very interesting job, if just for what it teaches you about people and their money habits. It was so easy to stereotype, mostly because each people group tipped a certain way. Only a small percentage broke the mold. Every day I worked I listened to the waitstaff dog people groups. And women.
Fortunately I woke up every morning and went to chapel, had an hour for worship and then went to class. This really helped to align my thoughts. Every day I went to work intending to love the people I waited on. But it was hard, because whatever category the person fit in to, affected my livelihood.
I'm tired of the Church thinking that racism isn't an issue, or that because a person doesn't act racist that he or she has never had an ugly thought. Perhaps when we start really believing that each one of us is made into the image of God, then our thoughts will be beautiful and our culture will change. The issue is not the hatred, it's not knowing who we are. When we don't know who we are, we denigrate others to elevate ourselves. God created each race of people with gifts and abilities unique to them. Each has a way of viewing the world, and a perspective of the Creator that is invaluable.
I went to a prayer walk last week with people that were Portuguese, Black, White, Indian, and Brazilian. The prayers and song that came out of our group was so beautiful. I love my own skin color...my ethnicity is English, Irish, Scotch, Dutch, French and Cherokee, so it's hard to think of myself as white. But that is what I appear. I love who God made me, because I see the brilliance of all those cultures coming together in me, an American. So I can't imagine a Bride that is just white. Or black. Or brown. Taking color out of the Bride would be criminal, because it denies the creativity of the Creator. It denies that He looks like what He creates.
So...seeing the problem is very Old Testament. Prophet comes in, says repent because you're bad and either God is happy or hellfire and brimstone. This is not the Old Testament; we are on the other side of the Cross. Seeing the problem is not enough, we have to see Heaven and bring it here. Heaven is identity. Heaven is color. I want to pull Heaven down and change my culture, and it starts in my own head.
Pardon this oldie, but this is from my teen years and I loved it then. :)
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