Just How Far Have We Really Come?

I ask this question fresh off the heels of our MLK Day celebration. As we look back over our Nation’s history, we see the positive strides that we have made. It would become all too easy to sit back and become complacent thinking that all is well.

Allow me to drill further into the bedrock of this issue. While laws have been passed to create equal opportunities, the question that begs to be asked is, “What is being done to change or heal the hearts of individuals?” I realize that as soon as that question is placed on the table, the immediate push back will be made that it is up to each individual. But we cannot allow our forward progress to stall out at this juncture. In other words, we must move from the mass observation down to personal involvement. The ill effects of racism still have its tentacles of bitterness embedded in the hearts of the wounded.

Where, we now may work together, there still is the observation of segregated worship if we as churches define our churches according to its ethnic makeup, rather than its theological stance. This is the self-discovery of the tentacle of covert racism that is still alive and well. It goes undetected slowly dividing people unknowingly.

The Scripture commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. This means that there is an expected action that must be demonstrated to make this a reality. In other words there has to be social intimacy among people groups as a means to understand the differences of cultures.

We must develop forums and social experiences so that we can really get to understand our differences and appreciate them. The diverse makeup of our society is what makes it so precious. Different people groups can enrich our overall perspective on life when we appreciate and celebrate our diverse makeup.

As an urban Gospel song states, “It Ain’t Over Until God Says It’s Over.”