Skip to main content

One Way to End Racism



We are uniquely designed and created by God for a specific purpose and mission in this world. The last thing we need to be is “all the same” as if created and built on an assembly line. We need to be different. We need to recognize this difference as a necessity and not as a threat to our own uniqueness.

1 Corinthians 12:21-27 illustrates for us that we are individually designed to function in our own special way…the way we were designed. The passage states “the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’ …now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Although we are all different, we are all created for the same purpose to glorify God and to love one another as He has loved us. We may all be different, but we are all equally created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We, being same in creation, should treat each other equally with dignity, respect and love.

In today’s challenges of racism and desire to instill fairness and equality for all, we can take one step towards accomplishing this goal. One way to end racism is to look in the mirror and properly assess ourselves.

Romans 12:3 tells us, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

We must maintain a proper evaluation and balanced understanding towards ourselves and others. Yes, we have value and recognize that, but not at the expense of others. This means that we also must guard against just the opposite….of thinking too little of ourselves. It makes for a healthy (sober) evaluation to think of ourselves as not better than others while not losing our self-esteem to think we are less than others. Balance!

It was no different for the Disciples of Jesus. They failed at it a time or two as they argued amongst themselves concerning who was “the greatest.” The best thing we can do to combat elevating ourselves above others is to never waste our time making comparisons. When we compare “this” with “that” and “little” against “big” or any type of “less than – greater than” comparisons, we will always lose.

It should be a joy and cause for celebration when we can recognize the roles, abilities, gifts, talents, personalities and contributions of others because of knowing that all these wonderful things come from God and that He, alone, assesses the worth it has to Him.

The key to an honest and accurate evaluation of ourselves and knowing the basis of our self-worth is rooted deeply in our identity in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ our identity places every single one of us on equal ground. As we believe, as Free Methodists, that “We commit ourselves to respect the worth of all persons as created in the image of God” (2019 Book of Discipline, Paragraph 158).

The bottom line is for us to understand that there is no place in a believer’s life for inflated pride, superiority, or even inferiority. We must always battle our sinful nature that wars against us to make us think of ourselves as better than others or to harbor prejudice or racism in our heart and mind against those different from us.

As we continue to have discussions regarding racism and equality, let us remember our Free Methodist denomination’s statement that “We are committed to give meaning and significance to every person by God’s help. Remembering our tendency to be prejudicial, as Christians we must grow in awareness of the rights and needs of others.” (2019 Book of Discipline, The Christian Journey, Paragraph 3221). May we continue to keep a healthy (sober) evaluation of ourselves and others that are equal in Jesus Christ.





Popular posts from this blog

Tetelestai!

Just before Jesus gives up His spirit on the cross, He utters a very powerful word. The word that He cries out is “ tetelestai” (tih-tellis-tie). When literally translated, this word means, “It is finished.” It can also refer to something completed or accomplished. The word occurs in  John 19:28  and 19:30 and these are the only two places in all of the New Testament where it is found. In the John19:28 passage, it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now  completed , in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘ It is finished ,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”   Did you know that the word  tetelestai  was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full? The Greek-English lexicon (by Moulton and Milligan) sa...
Read more

The 50-Days of Easter

Jesus rose from the dead. Period! He is alive. We are “easter people” and live daily as proof that He is risen from the dead. He did walk out of the grave. He conquered death. Jesus not only came back to life, but He stayed on earth to be seen by many witness.   1 Corinthians 15:5-8 , “ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.”   After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth before He ascended back to His rightful place (1 Peter 3:22), and then there were ten more days after that before the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47).   Jesus accomplished many things in this time between His resurrection and return to Heaven. One of the most important was actually a command to us. We refer to this impor...
Read more

Not Rejected

I think we could spend hours, if not days, in just the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. If there is one thing that is made clear in this writing is that God is passionately pursuing us and bidding us to have a relationship with Him that is restored by His Son, Jesus.   There is one verse, in particular, that stands out to me. John 6:37 , “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” Those that come to Jesus will never be rejected. If you come to Jesus, just as you are now, he will not turn you away. He gladly welcomes you to come to him.   It is not God’s design or plan that we live separated from Him. He makes the way for that relationship to happen. He initiated the plan. He paid the price. He gives freely. He gives us free-will to choose or reject that offer of reconciliation through Jesus, His Son.   God makes His intent clear:  Ezekiel 33:11 , “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the ...
Read more