Racism: Let's be rational instead of reactionary

“Racism isn’t a bad habit; it’s not a mistake; it’s a sin. The answer is not sociology; it’s theology.”  Tony Evans

  As we were driving to Tennessee, the first reports of the police shooting of Philandro Castille in the Twin Cities began to seep out. As we were on vacation, we had not heard the report of the shooting of another black man by police officers, Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge until after we heard about the tragic death of Philandro Castille. All of this was then followed by the assassinations of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

  Unfortunately, because we have access to news 24/7 and can instantly share our opinions, an ocean of emotional ignorance is frequently dumped on the public stage. Much of what’s shared are knee jerk reactions. Solutions are swiftly proposed with little thought or consideration.

  Let me state this unequivocally: No one on this planet has the solution to violent crime, racism or any other social injustice. Not POTUS, not any of the Presidential candidates, not any political party, group or individual. These are all sin issues our world has grappled with since Cain murdered Abel. We can hopefully limit these atrocities, but they’re unsolvable by fallen human beings, who themselves have sinful, violent hearts. 

  Recently, Jane and I watched Selma. Those events took place over fifty years ago and we are no closer to solving those terrible issues today than we were in 1965. Much of the time in our attempt to correct one social malady, we cause a host of new ones. So let me share some observations for you to consider and conclude with some action steps we as Christians can take in our sin-filled, racially fragmented culture to help us be peacemakers, and the salt and light we’re mandated to be by King Jesus.

  In our media engorged world we’ve forgotten a foundational premise – innocent until proven guilty. A few miles up the road from where Jane and I recently vacationed is a bump on the highway called “Hanging Limb.” Reportedly, it received its name because a black man was hung there.  

  Our justice system, while flawed, essentially works, yet, we’ve devolved into media lynchers without due process. None of us would want to face that if we were the accused, yet we’re often willing participants in the “lynching” of others…and we don’t have all the facts.

  The basis of justice is “innocent until proven guilty.” A short video can’t show all the facts. We must hear both sides, not just one. Proverbs 18:13, “He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him.” Too many jump to conclusions based on fragments of information.

  This is further complicated by serious flaws in our justice system. 1) The snail pace of our judicial system. It shouldn’t take a year or more for a case to be tried. Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” 2) The guilty should not be acquitted because of frivolous technicalities. Our legal system has devolved into miniscule technicalities, rather than what’s morally right or wrong. Add to that, the problem of unequal representation in that those who can afford an expensive lawyer have a better chance of being acquitted. 3) The attitude of the average citizen toward jury duty. Serving on a jury should be an honor, not a curse. Wouldn’t each of us want to be tried before a jury of our peers, not poor saps who couldn’t find a way to wiggle out of their civic responsibility?

  Many crying out “black lives matter” are hypocrites. While it’s true all lives matter, there are serious issues in the black community, particularly in impoverished neighborhoods not found in suburbia. No one would protest “all diseases matter” at a fundraiser for a friend dying of a cancer.

  Yet, it’s repugnantly hypocritical to protest “black lives matter” if you’re pro-choice. Minority women constitute about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the U.S. but have approximately 36% of the abortions. Black women are more than 5 times as likely as white ones to have an abortion. Nearly 2000 black babies are aborted every day in America. Essentially, if Milwaukee were all black, the entire city would be executed annually.

  And what about other blacks murdered in their own neighborhoods? Where’s the outcry for these lost lives? Some 4,500 black men are killed by their “neighbors” annually. As black pastor, Thabiti Anyabwile, notes “People commit crimes in their own neighborhoods against their neighbors. The statistics don’t reveal a ‘race’ thing; it’s largely a zip code thing.” Why doesn’t this make headlines? Where are the protest marches?

  Add to that, the racial breakdown of those shot by police in 2015 went like this: the largest number, 494, were white; 258 were black; 172 were Hispanic with the remaining 66 were either “other” or unknown. The notion cops are gunning down innocent black people is one of today’s biggest and deadliest lies.

  There will always be bad cops. Power and authority corrupt. Like any profession (including ministers), there will always be those who take advantage of their power and authority. Most professions have the luxury to double-check a major decision. A police officer is asked to make a split second decision to use or not use deadly force. Sometimes he or she is going to be wrong. Most of us, faced with the same situation, would also make the wrong choice.

  We’ve become a nation of armchair quarterbacks of everyone in leadership and authority. Rather than assuming the worst, we’d be wiser to give those in leadership the benefit of the doubt, unless they’ve demonstrated they’re unworthy of our trust.

  The Cross is this world’s only hope. Throughout history only believers who have lived out their Christianity have calmed the storms of racism. Racism is a sin! Jesus died for all people groups. I love Revelation 7:9 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” We must judge it first in our own hearts and must not tolerate it in the Church.

  We must pray. If we talked about social issues as much as we pray about them, most of us wouldn’t have much to say. Pray specifically we’ll soon be able to start a Hispanic ministry, the largest ethnic group in our area. 

  Then, whether it’s at work, your neighborhood or just shopping in an urban area, remember you represent King Jesus. We’re His ambassadors.

  It means I’m to be gracious, treating everyone with respect, reaching out to them with His love...no matter what ethnic background they come from. For me, it means I try to smile and greet others in public (it causes a few shocked looks). I try to be observant and find ways to say kind things to others. I work at initiating conversations. The Gospel is too critical for me to stay silent in my safe cocoon. So I want to be the customer who was the highlight of their day, the stranger with a smile who was friendly, the one who said something encouraging. 

  While I can’t change the world, I can make a difference in mine…and so can you!

Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books at prices lower than even Amazon. Check out our family's online used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com or visit our store at the Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 North Milwaukee Street in Waterford, WI --  262.534.3500. 

ALL children's lives matter

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” 

  Plato

  One of the benefits of reading is it can give you a perspective you might never have. A book I read recently did that for me: Dancing with Max by Emily Colson. It’s one of the most moving books I’ve read in a long time.

  You may recognize the name, Colson. Emily is the late Chuck Colson’s only daughter. It was printed in 2010, two years before Chuck went Home to be with the Lord. Chuck wrote both the prologue and epilogue.

  While I can often read a novel in a day or so, biographies typically take me time to work through. I literally couldn’t put this biography down. Often I found myself weeping as Emily shared her story and that of her autistic son, Max. It’s a sad yet wonderful story, all at the same time. It was a blessing in that it gave me insights of what it must be like to parent an autistic child.

  Like me, I’m sure you’re thankful celebrities and athletes like Tim Tebow have such powerful testimonies. Yet, in our celebrity enamored world, it’s easy, even in the Church to forget Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians (I know I do), “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

  One of the most important lessons we forget is God loves everyone, Jesus died for everyone and the Church is for everyone. We’re truly to be the antithesis of the world which teaches that the beautiful, talented, intelligent, wealthy, athletic and popular have greater value. The Church is to be a safe place of grace for everyone, particularly the disenfranchised.

  No one seems to know why but the number of children diagnosed with autism or related disorders has grown at what many call an alarming rate. In the 1970s and 1980s, one out of every 2,000 children had autism. Today, the CDC estimates, one in 150 eight-year-olds in the U.S. fits the autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. If we are going to be the Church God has called us to be, we must find ways to love, minister and be a blessing to those others disdain and reject. What can we do as a church family and as individual believers to minister to special needs families?

  Be very sensitive to the amount of stress a special needs child puts on a marriage and family. Even in a church our size, we have two critical health situations. While these are not special needs children, they are critical care children. One family has a two year old granddaughter in need of a heart transplant. The other has a five year old grandson with a brain tumor who’s had surgery and is continuing chemo. And we have other families with special needs children – health, emotional, educational limitations, etc. at different levels, and we will have more.

  A crisis with a child puts incredible stress on a marriage. It did with Emily Colson. Even before they had a diagnosis of autism, the strain became too much and her husband filed for divorce.

  Most young couples struggle financially. Add to that the stress of a crisis with their child. Then, their child needs extra time and attention, yet they must work, just to stay ahead. To pay the extra bills, one or both may need to take a second job BUT their child still needs them, more than other children typically need their parents. Because of the needs of the child, attention which should be focused on each other and the marriage, often is consumed by the child and the crisis.

  How can we help? First, pray…really pray for them. Let them know you are praying for them…over and over again. Then, do it.

  Then, encourage them. One of Emily’s spiritually mature friends, Patti, called Max a “gift.” God used that to change Emily’s whole perspective. Max wasn’t some curse or a burden, this special autistic boy was a “gift” from God. And isn’t that what Scripture teaches? “Children are a gift from the Lord” (Psalms 127:3, NLT). The Bible doesn’t qualify it and say “perfect” children or “normal” children. Psalms 139:13-16 reminds us that each of us are designed by God. And that special child is not just a gift for those parents or that family, that child is a gift to us, to our church.

  Look too for ways to help them. Just the usual stuff of going to the grocery store can be a major crisis with a special needs child. Perhaps offer to watch the child while they do needed errands. Or, do the errands for them. Caring for a special needs child can be a 24/7 commitment. Just watching their child can be the sanity respite they desperately need.

  Be aware ministering to special needs children and their families help you and I grow spiritually. That’s what happened to Max’s grandfather, Chuck Colson. Max coming into his life helped Chuck grow in grace.

  Previously, Chuck had been a lawyer and on President Nixon’s staff. After going to prison and coming to Christ, he began a ministry to inmates, Prison Fellowship. But Chuck moved faster than the speed of light and kept his schedule overflowing. Max slowed him down…a lot. You just can’t rush a special needs child. It taught Chuck compassion and patience and was used by God to cultivate spiritual fruit in his life. God can use it to do the same for us.

  I worry about Christians who don’t want to serve, particularly with children. I worry their souls are shriveling. More than that, I fear what the Lord may do, because He loves us so much, because our spiritual growth is so vital to Him…what He will do to get us to grow.

  Some of the saddest comments I hear folk say, “I’ve done my turn with kids…I’m not a kid’s person…I don’t have the patience.” They’re very ignorant of their Bibles. Our Savior said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). The very best way to become more childlike is to be with experts – children. Amazingly, it was the spiritually stunted disciples who didn’t have time for children – Jesus always did. I don’t know about you but I want be like Jesus. I want to be a person who has His love, compassion and patience, even for the disenfranchised. Don’t you?

 

Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books at prices lower than even Amazon. Check out our family's online used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com or visit our store at the Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 North Milwaukee Street in Waterford, WI --  262.534.3500. 

You can't have your wedding cake and eat it, too

“Christians are supposed to be conspicuously holy, not for our own reputation but for God’s. We are to be the light of the world, so that when people see our good deeds they will glorify God.”   Mark Dever

  Have you used the Buy/Sell/Trade Sites on Facebook? You can find some real deals. Last Tuesday, June 28^th, was Jane’s birthday and yesterday, July 2^nd, was our 33^rd Anniversary. All that partying and gift-giving gets expensive. So I’m scanning these sites and stumbled on an elderly couple celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. They’d planned a big celebration, purchased a huge cake BUT way overbought. Only a few friends were able to make it. So they’re stuck with all this cake with just a few slices missing. They’re on a fixed income and need money, so they listed this “used anniversary cake” for a song. I got a deal! They assured me, too, no one licked the knife and none of their friends have any communicable diseases…that they know of. So celebrate with us. It’s our anniversary weekend and we got a deal on this barely used cake. Join us in the coffee café for a piece of hardly used anniversary cake. You can barely see their names, Earline & Ralph, with the extra frosting covering them.

  If we announced there was “used” cake today, other than a few junior high boys who will eat anything, there wouldn’t be a long line for cake. Why is it we’re so concerned with purity when it comes to food, yet so casual about it when it comes to sexual intimacy?

  Before you read further, concluding I just stepped out of the Dark Ages, this particular column is only for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, for those who have a personal relationship with Him, want to be obedient and please Him. They’re concerned about holiness. If you don’t know Jesus, while having sex outside of marriage has serious sociological and emotional ramifications, those concerns are minor compared to your greatest need of salvation. Those in God’s family are very concerned about pleasing Him and desire His blessing on their life and marriage.

  Because our culture is so oversexualized, our identity is no longer found in that we’re human beings made in God’s image. Instead, we’re primarily identified by our sex organs. Sexual behavior is our most talked about, joked about and considered our most valuable trait. Some 90% of sexual relations in the media are between unmarried individuals. Sex outside of marriage is promoted as healthy, natural and normal. That’s not what the Bible teaches. It’s instead a naturalistic worldview, not God’s viewpoint.

  God designed sex. Sexual intimacy is to be pleasurable and practiced often within marriage. During pre-marital counseling, I’ll ask couples: How do you spell sex? F-U-N! Sadly, too many have embraced a godless world’s viewpoint when it comes to sexuality. They’ll say things like “the Bible never says it’s wrong, I’ve studied it.” Or, the ultimate spiritual one upmanship, “We prayed about it.” Often, there’s little or no shame, even if they move in together. The greater tragedy is when Christian parents or grandparents give them their blessing. One colleague in ministry, prior to marriage, was encouraged by his future wife’s parents to move in with each other. It was the unmarried Christian couple who said, “No.” Rarely does anyone stop to consider that this is disobedience to God or the long term cost to the couple. Frankly, I think most parents would be more upset if their kids stole a candy bar, than they are with their children’s immoral behavior. No one seems to put together our epidemic emotional and mental health issues, exorbitant divorce rate, or rising violent and sexual crime rate with contemporary society’s laissez-faire attitude toward sexual intimacy.

  Please don’t take my word for it, examine for yourself what God’s Word says. Here are several passages which make it unequivocally clear any sexual relationship outside of marriage is wrong: Acts 15:20, 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:13, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3 and Hebrews 13:4 to name a few.

  Sex is a gift from God to be pursued and enjoyed within the proper parameters of marriage. Playing in the sandbox may feel good, but it can’t compare to a day at the beach. In the same way, sex outside of marriage feels good, but that doesn’t mean it is good. Please pursue a greater pleasure. So why should anyone wait until marriage?

   Your relationship will be built on love that’s real, substantial, and stable. Love isn’t a feeling, it’s a choice. Many mistake feelings of pleasure for love. When you differentiate between love and sex, you love a person, not because of how you feel or what they do for you. You become spiritually, mentally and emotionally connected first. Sex within marriage is much more fulfilling and secure. It’s not about self or performance but love for your partner, meeting their needs and having yours met.  

  Waiting for sex helps control lust.  It greatly strengthens your trust in each other. The foundation of a healthy marriage is trust. When you resist sexual temptation with someone you love today, it helps build fences to not become sexually involved with someone who attracts you later. All of us find ourselves attracted to someone else from time to time.

  You become better communicators. What’s a continual problem in most marriages? Communication. When you wait, you build a communication foundation first. A married couple should be best friends, know each other better than anyone else, trust each other with inside information, trust even when flaws in our lives are exposed. It’s an intimacy sex alone can never achieve. Better communication even means more productive “fighting.” Issues are easier to resolve. We’re safe, comfortable and open with each other, and can express our emotions and needs better.

  You’re fighting for (and earning) that 1^st piece of wedding cake and amazing sex for your future marriage. Imagine your first night together after waiting, fighting temptation, growing in faith, knowing the deep emotional and spiritual love you have, and finally getting to have guilt-free and blessed by God sexual intimacy! It’s powerful and incomparable! It lowers feelings of self-consciousness, knowing how deeply you are loved!

  God designed sex for marriage and is the Designer we’re accountable to for all of our behavior, including sexuality. Marriage is the only covenant relationship where sexual expression is supposed to flourish. Scripture limits sex to within marriage only because sex is an expression of the lifetime covenantal union between husband and wife. When a relationship is merely a “test drive” both parties ask themselves stuff like, “Am I good enough?” or “Am I settling when I should be looking for someone better?” 

  Perhaps though you’ve already blown it. With our gracious God, it’s never too late to make the decision to pursue purity. Christ died for our sins. His grace is sufficient. All you must do is repent and commit, leaving old ways behind and following Jesus’ plan for your life (Ephesians 4:22-24). Then, you’ll find lasting and enduring joy. God Himself promises this!


Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books at prices lower than even Amazon. Check out our family's online used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com or visit our store at the Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 North Milwaukee Street in Waterford, WI --  262.534.3500.