Godly Men See the Man!
In August of 1969, our family moved to North Carolina where my dad was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. We went to church at First Baptist Church of Goldsboro where I met a set of twins in my Sunday School class who gave me a taste of what bigotry was like in the South.
I do not remember their names, but they were sons of one of the deacons of the church and they were very vocal in class about two things. They did not like people from the north, Yankees if you will, and they did not like black people. I am not sure to this day which they hated the most.
This was the first time I encountered real-life prejudice. I did not like it. I only lived in North Carolina for a few months before we were transferred again, so I did not have to deal with it for long, but I will never forget my feelings of anger, confusion, and helplessness. Anger, because their attitude was so unfair, confusion because I did not understand why they hated me for something I could not help, and helplessness because I could not do anything to change their minds. I cannot imagine what it was like for people of color who had to live with it all their lives.
The biggest shock to my sensibilities was the fact that I found this evil at church! The one place it could not be more out of place! God made ONE race! When the Son of God lived on this earth, even though He was a Jew and sent to the nation of Israel, He also ministered to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, a Syrophoenician woman’s demon possessed daughter, a Roman centurion’s son, and others. As their Creator, Christ loved each of these people equally.
For any man who claims to be a Christ-follower, there should not be even a hint of hatred for any man, especially because of the color of their skin. God looks at the heart and not on the outward appearance and so must we! 1 John 2:9 states “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness…”
Men, if any of you harbor hatred for people of a different skin color it is time to repent! May God help you to walk out of the darkness and into the light!