"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let’s face it, there’s a lot of injustice happening in our world.
Black people in America were rocked by the verdict on the death of a young black teenager named Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed by a Hispanic/White man named George Zimmerman because he “looked suspicious” when walking home in a gated (rich) community in the state of Florida with a bag of Skittles and iced tea in his hands, wearing a hoodie. Who knew a hoodie could look sinister? Apparently if you’re a black male in America and you’re wearing a hoodie, walking in through a rich housing development minding your own business (in fact he was going to a relative’s house) then you are suspect. Zimmerman was found not guilty and Black people in America who could relate to these situations, were immersed in despair.
See, for Black people in America, it’s MORE than a black boy who was killed by a White man. It’s about the history of oppression, hatred and injustice that still hurt people in America today. It’s about feeling that your voice will never be heard and if ever is heard, it will be disregarded. It’s about being "sick and tired of being SICK and TIRED" and yet forced to stay sick and tired because people in power do not care about helping you change your situation for the better. It’s about the silence. Yes, the silence. Black people in America are often forced to suffer in silence for fear of being heard and by being heard, offending people who have the power to make your life miserable.
I wish we all would remember that we are ALL from the SAME two first parents—Adam and Eve--who were the first human beings created by God at the beginning of time on planet Earth (read the Bible book of Genesis for proof). I wish that we would remember that and then DRAW from it, in turn being motivated to treat others the way we wish to be treated and then being resolved that NO ONE is BETTER than ANYONE because in God’s eyes, we are ALL created EQUAL. And not only are we equal, but we are LOVED, yes, LOVED by GOD and I do believe that the good Lord wants us to get along with each other.
Unfortunately, since we live in a sin-filled world, true harmony with all humans will not happen entirely until Jesus Christ returns to this Earth to take His faithful followers home to heaven and put a permanent end to sin (as it says in The Holy Bible, read the book of John and Revelation for details). BUT until then, God DOES hold us accountable meaning there ARE consequences to our actions and He does NOT expect us to sit idly by and watch injustice have a field day! No, God wants us to ACT, to promote peace, to as it says in Micah 6:8, do what is required of us mortals which is to, “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God”.
Read Isaiah 58:6-7 (New International Version) which says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
Read Isaiah 58:6-7 (New International Version) which says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
Part of acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God is sharing your story with the world in a way that encourages dialogue, dialogue that prompts change. Today, I’m being hosted by writer and editor Deidra Riggs on her blog with a guest post for her "Going There" series about race relations in America. You can read it here.
Sincerely,
Alexis
