Of all the things that I’m passionate about, this wasn’t even on my list because I had no idea it even existed. I always defined racists in my head as people who do not understand and have not experienced the love of God and hence are unable to love other people based on racial differences.
Little did I know that non-Caucasians face racism even in Christian circles. It’s appalling just to think about it.
I came across one of Christian artist Jamie Grace’s posts on Instagram where she shared an instance where a white pastor said to her merch manager as she set up Jamie’s banner in his church’s lobby: “If I had known Jamie Grace was black, I definitely wouldn’t have brought her here…”
I was so shocked that I couldn’t stop thinking about it the whole day, hence my writing this post. What happened to the “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ?” verse in the Bible (Galatians 3:28)? Do we just read and preach it in church for show? Are we actually living out what we proclaim to believe or are we practicing selective obedience?
If the people of the world are being inhumanely racist and so are Christians in indiscriminate ways, then what’s the point?
Jesus gave us this command: “…Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another – John 13:34-35 (NIV). And racism my friends, has no place, not even an iota in love. Hence if you look at someone from a different background and you can’t love him/her as yourself and you call yourself a Christian, I’m afraid, you have some serious self-assessment to do.
My heartache about Jamie Grace’s story was compounded with my best friend’s father (who is a Reverend Minister and Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention) sharing his experiences during his time in the States studying for his masters and doctoral studies. Studying in a Christian university with Christians as lecturers where you’d safely assume that the ‘love of Christ would abound everywhere’ only to find some disrespecting and looking down on you because ‘you’re from Africa’ is sad and disgraceful.
We are not of the world so let’s not live and think like the world does. Christ came to die for us all; regardless of which side of planet earth you come from. Let’s love one another with the love of Christ; let’s show the shallow and crooked minds of the world how it is done and WHO love is – God.
Let’s do better, people; let’s be better.
