Let me invite you in today to join a tough but honest conversation, a place where you are safe, honored, and respected. Your opinion is welcome. And it will be listened to in its entirety. Please don\u2019t shout at me, though, because when you shout, you\u2019re hard to hear. I want to have authentic, sincere dialogue. My goal is not to prove any point. My goal is to journey together\u2026 learning, growing, and together working to solve some of these tough problems, facing what plagues us head on.<\/p>\n
One of the problems that continues to plague us is the seemingly increasing, intense division between black and white\u2026 the racial impetus\u2026 that so many have fed from so many varied angles\u2026 knowingly or unknowingly. There\u2019s a wall that has stood between far too many primarily because of the color of their skin. I shake my head.<\/p>\n
I shake my head because we are all created equally, regardless of demographic. Even with that absolute, constitutionally-promoted truth, however, the challenge remains that we still often fuel and feel that division. We feel divided. We too often feel divided due to the color of our skin.<\/p>\n
That grieves me.<\/p>\n
All men, women, children, etc. deserve to feel loved and respected. But we withhold love. We withhold respect. Many justify withholding love and respect due to racial differences \u2014 and \u2014 due to how some choose to articulate their opinion about our racial differences.<\/p>\n
For months I have pondered why this has intensified. For months I have observed the masses who declare that only one \u201cside\u201d needs to start loving and respecting the other more. People are out there pounding the pavement\u2026 protesting\u2026 declaring in their indigenous way that they deserve to be loved and respected. Yes, they do. Yet so many in their verbal and nonverbal protests, demanding to be respected, intentionally or not, consequently omit all others who deserve our love and respect. This lack of awareness \u2014 that you can\u2019t fight hate with hate, you can\u2019t fight bullying with bullying, and you can\u2019t fight for respect with disrespect \u2014 is killing our conversations that have the potential to lead to solution.<\/p>\n
Let me go a little deeper\u2026<\/p>\n
Here is where \u2014 killing us even more \u2014 the omission of God from society is hurting us. It\u2019s impairing us and even our intelligence far more than we may know or be willing to admit. Let me give you second sentence.<\/p>\n
So many people want to have conversations about what\u2019s happening on the planet with the absence of God\u2019s wisdom and role from the discussion. They won\u2019t or don\u2019t want to talk about God or acknowledge him, recognizing that as the creator of this planet and the creator of us, he may hold the key to figuring some of this big stuff out. How can we continue to have these grandeur conversations about these tough subjects with the full omission of God? It makes so little sense to me\u2026 it also continues to advance the idea that self-reliance is often our greatest sin.<\/p>\n
God knows more than we do. He created us. We love what we create. And therefore, if God created and therefore loves us, shouldn\u2019t we humbly find a way to make him part of the equation?<\/p>\n
Here on Earth we spend all this stinkin\u2019 time railing on one another. We insult. We impede. We intimidate and point all sorts of fingers. Friends, do you realize what we are doing?<\/p>\n
We are insulting and pointing fingers at those who are also created and loved by God.<\/p>\n
My a-ha these past few months is that I don\u2019t think we see others as loved and created by God, just like we are. After all, why would we justify treating another so poorly? \u2026 why would we look down on them so much? \u2026 why would we say that only they need to love and respect another more?<\/p>\n
It thus begs the question\u2026 How would it change our conversation in regard to racial reconciliation if we could see both black and white as equally created and loved by God?<\/p>\n
Wouldn\u2019t you treat someone loved and created by God differently? Wouldn\u2019t you treat them with increased honor and respect?<\/p>\n
God loves us because he created us, but our omission of him from the conversation is killing us and allowing for all sorts of judgment and disrespect. It\u2019s throwing otherwise intelligent people off track, allowing judgment to seep deeply into their thinking.<\/p>\n
Want to instead be part of the solution?<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t assume for a moment that the Intramuralist has all the answers \u2014 not even close. But I believe we could start by refusing to align with a \u201cside\u201d and stop pointing fingers at another. Recognize first and foremost that each of us is created and loved by God.<\/p>\n
Oh, how that would change our conversation…<\/p>\n
Respectfully\u2026 always\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n
{Photo by Zac Ong<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let me invite you in today to join a tough but honest conversation, a place where you are safe, honored, and respected. Your opinion is welcome. And it will be listened to in its entirety. Please don\u2019t shout at me, though, because when you shout, you\u2019re hard to hear. I want to have authentic, sincere … <\/p>\n