“…..The second is this: ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:31
I received a number of kind comments after my last devotional and I’m appreciative of those who took a minute to write me. Thank you! I want to take you back to when I wrote that devotional. In the days following the taking of George Floyd’s life, the term “White Privilege” was being thrown around a lot, without a lot of context and without a lot of definition. I have struggled with the term. I’ve been working since I was in the 5th grade, received a worker’s permit at age 14 and have been working full-time since I was a freshman in high school with two full-time jobs during each summer. It was necessary. I have kept my head down and my tail up, wheelbarrowing my way through life’s difficulties. That doesn’t sound like white privilege to me! Sound familiar anyone? Within the protests of that first week, I saw signs and slogans that said “Racism - Silence Is Violence”. Whoa. Hold on there. That’s a bit extreme! I’m not perfect and I will readily admit it. But my style of keeping to myself, and not needing to verbalize my every feeling across multiple social media channels, does not, in any way, equate to violence! Who agrees with me?
It was in those moments that I reflected on Paul’s message to the Romans: “God does not show favoritism.” Favoritism. I thought, 'now that’s a word I will accept. I’m not a bad person, and favoritism is a word that helps me better focus on areas where I can improve. Perhaps it is a word others can relate to as well'. And I began writing. Given the many comments I received, I felt I had struck a chord. I was a few days behind in my reading when I caught up on the church announcement about the upcoming Tuesday book study. I was so confident that I had found a single word that could motivate us to action, I immediately began writing Pastor Emily to suggest that she might tone down hard-hitting words like “Racism” and “White Privilege” and replace them with a word like “Favoritism.” I never finished that email.
As the two weeks since the killing of George Floyd have passed, the whirlwind of reports and stories in the news continues. How do we right the wrong against George Floyd by vandalism and having people carry off a brand-new TV or jewelry that they didn’t pay for? Did anyone else say that to your spouse, a friend, or the TV itself? President Trump is in a siege of ongoing criticism. Should we really condemn a sitting president in such a way? That’s not very patriotic! Sports stars have had to walk back their words after communicating respect for the flag. We love our flag! Law enforcement has been lumped together and labeled evil. Blue lives matter! All lives matter! People have lost their jobs based on what they’ve said on social media or even based on what a spouse has said on social media. What is the world coming to? Every word, action or inaction is being scrutinized and judged. If you’re not for us, you’re against us! It’s a mob mentality with everyone piling on. It’s like …. wait for it … .a lynching.
Perhaps the obstacle we need to overcome in getting traction to right the historic and present-day wrongs is that we try to bucket our behaviors or tendencies. I’m not as bad as others. Favoritism is not as bad as blatant racism. I don’t belong to a white supremacy organization! And what about all this destruction and looting? My silence and inaction are not a cause for that! As soon as someone gets all of this serious stuff fixed, I’ll begin working on my minimally diverse Christmas card list. You go ahead and get started. I’ll get started in just a bit. Is it resonating yet?
I’m going to bet that more than one of us has said, “It’s horrible that an innocent black man was killed, but destroying property has to stop.” I read somewhere that we need to flip that around. Try saying, “It’s horrible that property is being destroyed, but the killing of innocent black men has to stop.” Say it out loud. Say it with conviction. Say it like you mean it. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We want to prioritize the wrong part. And that, folks, is the real context behind White Privilege.
I have a suggestion. Let’s remove the segregation of our various behaviors. Let’s stop comparing whether one action is worse than another. Let’s accept that it’s all bad. It all has to stop. Purifying our own hearts first can be the kindling that leads to a firestorm of broad, sweeping change from which we will never revert. Let this begin with me and let this begin with each and every one of you. Now, who’s with me?
“The Lord said to Samuel, look not on his appearance or the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. But the Lord looks on the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7
Heavenly Father, our silence speaks loudly to you. You know what lies in our heart though we may not utter a word. Send us into battle. Arm us with knowledge that our silence and inaction helps fuel a fire that must be stopped. Don’t let us wait to act until others act. Open our hearts. Open them wide. In His name, Amen.
Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.
