‘Golden’

1/22/2019

I Was Thinking…

Yesterday we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. It caused me to reflect.

Have you seen the movie “The Help”? I read the book and after reading it, I could hardly wait to see the movie. I was not disappointed. I laughed and I cried—I was moved.

How could we have been so blind to our sins during the Civil Rights days? While for some there were the black maids and nannies that became family. For others, it was a most degrading time. For some it was an accepted occupation yet for others it was mere existence and survival in a very demeaning and cruel time. How did we justify treating our African-American sisters and brothers as second-class citizens who had better know their place and keep it—or else?

Someone has said “the lessons of history must be learned, or they run the risk of repeating themselves”. I wonder is there anyone of whom we are treating in demeaning and less than loving ways these days. I wonder is there any group of people that we attempt to ‘keep down’ for fear they may rob us of something precious. I worry about our fears and what they do to us. There are days when I find faith an uphill climb because of the fears of so many in this world. But then I don’t want to become fearful of fear so I vow, as best I can, to remain faithful—full of faith in a culture that seems to be full of fear.

I realize that things are not usually ‘black and white’. I realize that there is often more to something than meets the eye. I realize that things are not as simple as they may seem. And I realize that I can often be naïve. But is it wrong to believe the best and hope for the best and desire to help the best come to pass? I think God wants us—God’s people—to be the ‘cream of the crop’ when it comes to loving and hoping and being full of faith examples.

I don’t want to look back on these days and ask, “How could we have been so blind during those uncertain times?” I don’t want to look back and be saying of us “How did we justify treating this group of folks or that group of folks as second-class citizens who had better know their place and keep it—or else?” I want to look back and hear the sweet sound of God’s voice saying to us “Well done good and ‘faithful’ servants”.

Hear the words of Jesus again, “Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you”. It really is a ‘golden’ rule. Things may not always be ‘black or white’ but they are always ‘golden’.

Always Thinking,