Life / Religion / Philosophy / Science / Polictics

Tag: Racism

  • Are You “Woke”?

    There is a prevailing movement alive today, that (supposedly) started a few short years ago, and purports to be ‘alert to racial prejudice and discrimination’ (see this Wikipedia article). This movement is the WOKE movement and in reality, it is just another “ME” movement.

    A “ME” movement is how I like to refer to movements that are all about the individual “me’s” in the group and have nothing to do with God. They always divide the people and are what Satan is using to drive people further and further away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ in America today.

    It is amazing to me that the idea that people had somehow gone to sleep and suddenly become oblivious to racism, inequality, gender bias, or sexism and now need to “wake up” (become woke) has even been accepted by our society. I am not exactly sure what drugs these people are taking to cause them to go to sleep and turn a blind eye to racism but if I were them, I’d seriously consider getting this condition looked at before it started to affect my health and mental well-being.

    I guess I was ‘woke‘ before ‘woke‘ even became a thing because I have been aware of prejudice and racial inequality most of my life. And I’m not exactly sure how stupid these people really are, but if they think that racism and prejudice just suddenly sprang up while they were asleep, then this sickness is much worse than I imagined. Racism, prejudice, slavery, and all sorts of human atrocities have been around since the beginning of human history. Long, long before any of us were ever born.

    And I get it. These people are spreading the idea that we should all be ‘woke‘ and thus aware of prejudice and racism around us so that we can all do something about it and make the world a better place. But I have a question … “How’s that working out for you?” Because I do not believe that your movement has changed one heart or saved one life. And the reason it has not is because the movement is not about focusing people’s attention on God, but rather on themselves. In other words “It’s all about ME”. Thus they are a ME movement.

    And we can tell that these movements are ME movements because they are very, very selective. This is more than evident in the ‘woke‘ movement Black Lives Matter. This movement will almost always violently react to any other “Lives Matter” suggestion. And yes, there are extremists in the group that really believe only Black Lives matter (and no other lives). But even the non-extremist supporters will argue that if we were to have another “Lives Matter” movement that it would detract from Black Lives Matter and thus dilute the really important message of the day.

    These ME movements are so selective that they even refuse to acknowledge or recognize racism, prejudice, or injustice within their own groups. Thus they do not even recognize their own prejudice against not only other people groups, but even against their own, and then blame these incidents on others.

    The idea that I could be responsible for your prejudice or racism, or you for mine, is completely insane and defies all logic and reason. These groups refuse to take personal responsibility for their own actions and believe that they have no recourse or obligation to change their own circumstances but rather rely on the notion that others must conform to their desires and their way of thinking (which is happening more and more by-the-way). Thus they are ME movements which end up dividing people and creating segregated cultures and counter cultures that are driving us down a path that some believe will end in the destruction of America (or at the very least American Values as established by our founding fathers).

    I have another idea for people. Instead of another “woke” movement why don’t we try an “ALIVE” movement? I tend to believe that the more “ALIVE” people we have, the more awareness of racism and prejudice there will be. I also tend to believe that the more “ALIVE” people we have, the more changed lives we will have which will lead to a change in our cultures and a change in our country.

    So how do you join the “ALIVE” movement? Well, I believe you’ve taken the first step with your curiosity and interest. The mere fact that you are seeking to be “ALIVE” is a good thing. Your desire to be a part of the “ALIVE” movement is the start to a changed life and a new opportunity to be part of the solution.

    The next step to being a part of the “ALIVE” movement is to first recognize that you are dead to begin with. Don’t be too surprised at this. After all, one cannot become part of the “ALIVE” movement unless one is first dead. If you are already “ALIVE“, then you have no need to join a movement you are already a part of.

    In order to recognize you are dead, I recommend you look at Romans 6:13, Ephesians 2:1, and Colossians 2:13. You should come to the realization that all people (you and I and everyone else) are immersed in sin and that our sin has Spiritually killed us and rendered us dead in sin.

    But that leaves us with a problem. If we are already dead, and we recognize that we are dead, how can we be a part of the “ALIVE” movement? Well fortunately there is something that can be done to cure Spiritual death. To understand the cure, I recommend you check out Romans 6:23. You should come to the realization that there is indeed a price (a wage) that can be paid for sin. Death. Death will pay the price for sin in our lives. The astute seeker will now recognize a conundrum. How can I, being dead in my sin, pay the price of death for that sin?

    Well, that is the next step to being a part of the “ALIVE” movement. Do you see the word “but” in Romans 6:23? You can replace that with “however“. And the “however” is that there is a gift from God that will indeed provide us life, making us part of the “ALIVE” movement. So the next step is to recognize that there is a gift from God and that it is available to you and to me.

    The last step to being a part of the “ALIVE” movement is to accept that gift. For that part I recommend you look at John 3:16. You should recognize that accepting God’s gift of eternal life is to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. To believe that He is indeed the Son of God, that He died on the cross for your sins and for mine, that three days later He rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb He was laid in of His own accord. And that today He sits at the right hand of God the Father and intercedes for you and for me. If you believe, really and truly believe. Believe with all your Heart, and all your Mind, and all your Soul. And it is OK to ask for help with your unbelief (Mark 9:24). Then He will make you “ALIVE” (Colossians 2:13) by forgiving you of your sins and making you a part of His family. A new family. One that will last for all of eternity.

    And if you followed those steps to be a part of the “ALIVE” movement, I believe you can forget about the “Woke” movement at this point. Because now you have a new focus and a new purpose in life. That of following Jesus Christ our Lord. And that will make all the difference.

  • Are You Marching For George Floyd?

    About four weeks ago no one in America (other than family and friends) had heard the name George Floyd. However, suddenly, after one senseless act, not only had the world heard the name of George Floyd, but he had suddenly become some type of martyr, a symbol, a cause to rally around.

    Cries of racism, police brutality, and #BlackLivesMatter sprang up all over the news and on city streets everywhere. George Floyd had become a cause. Interestingly enough, where there was no cause the day before.

    George Floyd was memorialized, he had a funeral of more than 500 including an appearance by the Rev. Al Sharpton. His family was invited to testify before the U.S. Congress. Rallies sprang up in cities across the nation. There were riots where entire neighborhoods were ravaged. And it continues on today.

    Some folks even flew half way across the Pacific ocean in order to ensure they brought the protests to the State of Hawaii. I know because I saw them lining the side of the highway as I drove my wife to a Drs. appointment in town. One of them, a very young lady, probably not even in High School, held a sign that read “No Justice, No Peace“.

    I’m not even sure she was wise enough to understand the sheer folly of the sign she was holding. Are we supposed to interpret that as without Justice in the world there can be no Peace? Or that they will not allow peace without justice? These people neither understand justice or peace. And to think that the two are somehow tied together or are dependent upon each other is so ridiculous and juvenile as to be laughable. The real problem is these people cannot experience peace because they’ve tied it to some warped sense of justice they’ve invented in their heads. And prior to four or five weeks ago, they didn’t even know they wanted that justice.

    Let me tell you about a friend of mine. My friend, like George Floyd, is a person of color. He is not some white, European, male that (supposedly) holds all the privilege in the world. No, quite the contrary, he is probably part of a smaller minority than George Floyd is.

    My friend, like George Floyd, is part of a race of people that has suffered slavery and intolerable injustices. My friends race was enslaved for many hundreds of years and far, far, far, more of them died in slavery than did any African Americans. And they were treated as worse or even more intolerable than any African American slave.

    My friends race, unlike George Floyd, had six million of their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles just exterminated, for no cause, during World War II. They were killed for the gold filling in their teeth, their skin was used for lampshades, and their dead bodies were stacked like cordwood.

    My friend, like George Floyd, was arrested by a group of European white guys who pretended to be the law of the land, but only because they were part of an occupying force. They came for him in the middle of the night. Carrying swords. And they took him while he was praying in a garden. They never read him his rights, they never told him what he was being charged with, and they never extended him any human dignity.

    My friend, unlike George Floyd, was arrested without cause. As-a-matter-of-fact, my friend had not only never broken a law, he had never even committed the smallest sin. He had never lied, never had an evil thought, never stolen. He was totally righteous and without blame.

    My friend, unlike George Floyd, was brought before a kangaroo court and was charged with fabricated and false charges. The Chief Justice even said he found no fault in Him (John 19:6).

    My friend, unlike George Floyd, was beaten and scourged almost to the point of death. He was crucified. Hung from a cross. And my friend did not get any justice in death. There were no marches in the streets, no calls for justice. The important religious leaders of the day were embarrassed to show up at his funeral. And my friend was buried in a borrowed grave.

    My friend is a member of the Jewish race. And you never hear #JewishLivesMatter. Even though there are repeated calls from around the world today to literally exterminate them all. There has never been a race of people that has suffered the injustices to the extent that the Jewish people have. And no one, absolutely no one marches in the street for them.

    My friends name is Jesus Christ. And unlike George Floyd, he gave up his life willingly to the Roman guards. Even though he was totally without blame, he did not resist arrest nor did he alter the course of history when they scourged him and hung him on a cross. Even though he could have easily called upon the very Angels of Heaven itself and destroyed the earth (Matthew 26:53).

    Oh what a friend I have in Jesus. He gave his life willingly that I (and you) might live. He died unustly that there might be justice. He died that there might be peace like no other peace on earth. Jesus is my Rock that assures me there is Justice in this world. And Jesus is my Savior that brings a Peace that passes all understanding. No matter the marches in the streets, no matter the riots, no matter the sheer lunacy the world sinks into, you cannot take my Peace. For my Peace comes from He who owns all Peace.

    Never in the history of all humanity has ANY individual ever been more unjustly treated and made to suffer without cause than the person of Jesus Christ. And never has racism ever reared its ugly head in a more prominent manner than against the Church of the Family of God.

    And yet no one marches in the streets. No one picks up the cause. No one wants to hold high the banner of Jesus Christ. And yet if we did, we would find the Justice and the Peace we all are looking for in the world today. Think about it.