This article deals with why Christians should push equity even though the nation’s DEI Program was flawed. It deals with the matter from both the Black Christian and Black Christian perspectives. It deals with my own personal experience with racial discrimination in 2014.
In Matthew 15:24 Jesus our Lord (Matthew 28:18) and Saviour (John 3:14-16) speaks of him first focusing on his biological nationality. In Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:8, Jesus dramatically expands his focus through his apostles to include those of all other nationalities. Paul echoes this principle in Romans 1:16-17.
Jesus mission then and now is primarily about salvation through Jesus and him crucified on the cross where he shed his blood for our sins. He died and was buried. Yet, on the third day he resurrected giving all his true disciples assurance of resurrection unto eternal life.
Yet, Christ was not and is not just about salvation. He is also about how we live our lives here on earth.
John chapter 1 tells us Jesus is the word made flesh. In John 5:39, Jesus says the scriptures testify of him.
Part of the Word of God is Psalm 99:4.
Psalm 99:4 (KJV) The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob
Psalm 99:4 commands leadership at all levels in governments and all societal institutions to promote equity and righteous judgment as justice.
Equity is not about exactness but rather high similarity, closeness not a far-offness. That applies to salvation opportunity as well as in blessings and chastisements on earth. It is theologically reasonable to view the word King in Psalm 99:4 as a metaphor for all leaders such as government at all levels and leaders in all societal institutions under the Lordship and Messiahship of Christ of the New Covenant. Same goes for the word Jacob in Psalm 99:4 as being symbolic of all races, nationalities, and ethnicities. And that includes the two genders of male and female as constrained only by the God established distinctions in hierarchical and functional roles in specific limited areas of life.
The recent United States Supreme Court decision on the Louisiana majority Black voting districts issue has led to a national thrust to eliminate majority Black voting districts by the current Republican Party.
Let us consider some questions regarding the issues of equity and justice in modern times to include the why of the pushback against black majority voting districts.
Is the issue of modern times more of political ideology than race?
Is political ideology more about how well people line up with our Creator God standards as documented in the Bible?
Is the pushback against black majority voting districts a function of the lack of need for such districts or a lack of sensitivity to the lingering effect of past large-scale racism in America?
Does the presence of a reasonable number of black majority voting districts help Blacks to achieve equity without causing harm to Whites?
Being a Christian is about first getting saved through faith in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
That is what Jesus speaks to in Luke 19:10 concerning him as the Son of Man coming to seek and save the lost.
The saved then strives against sin to live a thankful life that glorifies God.
That is what Jesus speaks of in Matthew 5:13 concerning his disciples of every generation, race, nationality, and ethnicity being the salt of the earth.
That is what Jesus speaks of in Matthew 5:16 concerning his disciples of every generation, race, nationality, and ethnicity being the light of the world.
That is consistent with Jesus in John 14:15 saying to his disciples of every generation, race, nationality, and ethnicity: If you love me, keep my commandments.
Indeed, though we are not under the law of Moses we are under the law of Christ; that means there is yet law God expects us to keep so as to do good.
And the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Being a Black Christian is not allowing the history of racism, its lingering effect, and present day racism to cause us to become unforgiving and bitter.
Those things should not cause us to become revengeful and seek superiority. We should seek equity not superiority.
Let us not be Black Supremacist in retaliation against White Supremacist.
We should not seek to do unto others the evil that has been done unto our ancestors and perhaps directly unto us.
We should not seek to blame or hold those alive today guilty for what their ancestors may or may not have done.
We should rather hold them responsible as part of the national responsibility to promote greater obtainment of equity.
This means promoting and supporting effective non-harmful methods, means, and measures that move us toward that more perfect union.
This includes equity and justice Psalm 99:4 speak about.
We must not allow racist acts, past or current, to cause us to develop negative attitudes and hopelessness that hinder our rise, and harm ourselves, families, and communities.
We in the Black Christian community and Black community in general must recognize and admit and work to fix the systemic negative factors that we to a large degree control in our homes and communities. This includes key strategies of (1) speaking against and standing against racial bias, prejudice, partiality, perceptions and stereotyping; (2) churches and community that intentionally promote and support strong biblical manhood/fatherhood including marriage while also promoting appropriate biblical womanhood/motherhood and discouraging single motherhood; (3) churches that lead the community in emphasizing both salvation through Christ sacrifice and righteous obedient living as the believer journeys from earth to Heaven to include racial reconciliation as a matter of love thy neighbor as thyself regardless of thy neighbor’s race, nationality or ethnicity as exemplified by the good Samaritan principle of Luke 10:25-37; (4) promoting a significant increase in college degrees at least at the 4-year level or above given that marriage-based households with advanced degrees are more likely to be above poverty; (5) for those who do not seek college degrees, promote obtainment of high demand adequate income vocational skills; (6) intentional development and support of more registered businesses that employ rather than unregistered single person businesses; and (7) promotion of political ideology and strategies that improve the opportunities, equity, and overall livelihood of all people authorized to be in the nation’s land..
Failure to adequately deal with these matters continue to shape Black life outcomes today. We must improve where we can improve ourselves regardless of the measure of racism impact.
We must not just point fingers outwardly. Point inwardly as well.
Being a White Christian is not to act like racism and its effect has ended.
The White Christian community and White community in general also have some systemic negative factors it needs to admit and work to fix.
Some of the most important systemic factors to recognize are: (1) the long-term effects of slavery and Jim Crow; (2) racially segregated housing and redlining, (3) wealth barriers and cumulative effect of wealth inequity; (4) racial bias, prejudice, partiality, perceptions and stereotyping; (5) ongoing disparities in policing, economics, and social treatment; (6) promotion of political ideology and strategies that improve the opportunities, equity, and overall livelihood of all people authorized to be in the nation’s land; and (7) highly important, churches that lead the community in emphasizing both salvation through Christ sacrifice and righteous obedient living as the believer journeys from earth to Heaven to include racial reconciliation as a matter of love thy neighbor as thyself regardless of thy neighbor’s race or nationality as exemplified by the good Samaritan principle of Luke 10:25-37. Failure to adequately deal with these systems continue to shape Black life outcomes today, even without individual racist intent on the part of Whites.
Indeed, in 2014, I was temporarily residing in a particular big city. I needed to get another car while there. So I bought one. A few years after purchasing the car, I received a notice from the Federal Government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The notice said I and other Blacks as well as Hispanics were racially discriminated against when I bought that car. Notice I said 2014, not 1814 or 1914 but rather 2014. The financial system was caught charging Blacks and Hispanics a higher interest rate than Whites with comparable credit rating.
I did receive a refund. Yet I wonder whether a young 19 year old Black man with a wife and young child might have been tremendously harmed having a higher monthly payment and overall cost in contrast to the lower monthly payment and overall cost of a young 19 year old White man with a wife and a young child. I do not believe such racist acts occur as much as they once did in America. I do believe the number of White racists is much lower than it was prior to the 1970s. Yet, I wonder how much harm was done to even a few Blacks and Hispanics considering the potential compounding negative effect of that over the years.
I once mentioned the racist act by that financial system to a White person. His response was our credit rating must have been low. I said to him if it was 700 it still means Whites got an advantage. His response speaks to the attitude some Whites have in wanting to claim racism does not exist but want to point all of the blame at Blacks. Therefore, I don’t deny the truth about such negative attitudes in some White people.
I do agree with the now President Trump on some things he does. But during his first Presidency and the current one his goal has been to dismantle the CFPB. Courts have blocked him somewhat. However, he has weakened it. As of this writing, the CFPB does not have the funding level it once had; it does not have a Congress approved leader. It has an Acting Director though President Trump has been in Office for a year and a half. That clearly is intentional by him and the Republican Party. That is not wise of him and them. It suggests a lack of adequate care, concern, and consideration of those who might be racially and otherwise discriminated against or otherwise marginalized, whether intentional or unintentional. It reminds me of why I politically became an Independent after prior switching to the Republican Party from the Democratic Party over my rejection of abortion for other than rare severely abnormal pregnancies.
I exhort all not to let negative attitudes and actions of others give us counterproductive attitudes and actions that do us harm.
Let us resolve to be the best Christian we should be regardless of the unrighteous obstacles put before us by others. Let us not put unrighteous obstacles before each other and indeed not before anyone.
Let us advocate for right. Let us do it now.
Let us do so boldly, without compromise.
Let us, do it now.
