Racism is real. And it touches all of us. But this is not some new thing we have to deal with just because it’s 2020. Take a look at the book of Genesis – the very dawn of human existence – and you’ll see racism. Our problem is as old as time and, because earth’s societies are so steeped in it, we find ourselves caught up in racism even before we recognize it in ourselves for what it is.
So, what is racism? It’s sin. It was never God’s plan that we should treat our brothers and sisters with anything but love. And, since God is love, when we move away from love, what we’re really doing is moving away from God. Like any good parent, God wants peace and reconciliation in His family. He loves each of us, His children, with equal measure. Think of it. He loves people we look down on – even those who have hurt us – just as much as He loves us. And, He hates that we look down on others just as much as He hates that others look down on us. But what compounds this sin issue is the fact that man is his own worst critic. It’s easy for us to recognize others’ faults, but quite another task to recognize our own.
Routinely, we hire professionals who can do things better than we can, fly a plane, for example. Then, we allow them to do what they do best; we don’t interfere. We don’t go up to the cockpit and offer advice. Today, we need to ask God in to clean up the sin in our hearts. If we want to love all people at all times with a pure heart, we have to allow God to do the purifying, without debating or offering God our advice. No one but God is perfectly qualified to complete this work.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
