Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? . . . 7 For nation (ethnos: race, tribe) shall rise against nation, and kingdom (realm or rule, from a sovereign) against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
I remember sitting in a high school classroom with a black man as my teacher, a man that I recall respecting, and he said this: “If we all woke up one morning and shared the same skin color—by the end of the day we would find another reason to be prejudice.” Think of that—where would new prejudices come from? Eye color? Height? Hair color? Education, political affiliation, type of career, some perceived class of people? Religious beliefs? A difference of opinion? What kind of car we drive? That teacher’s statement made an impact on me at the age of 16 that was eye-opening and helpful.
One of the unfortunate facts of life on the earth as a human being born with a sinful nature is that as much as we can we tend to group together
One of the unfortunate facts of life on the earth as a human being born with a sinful nature is that as much as we can we tend to group together with those that are either like us in some physical way or that agree with us in our opinions (
no matter right or wrong).
For many years I lived and worked in the Los Angeles area and saw this in terms of ethnicity; as examples: many Hispanics were known to live in East L.A. and in certain parts of the San Fernando Valley, a large number of Japanese had lived in Gardena, and what were called African-Americans in Inglewood and Compton.
And this not only can be seen in secular communities but also in the churches people attend. There are those even today that are “Black” churches, “Korean” churches, “Filipino” churches, “White” churches, and so forth—if not exclusively they are such predominantly.
Kudos to those that attend such congregations where clearly and visibly a man, woman, or family are not like the majority of those in an ethnic-type church! I am here to tell you that there will be no such meetings in Heaven—there will be nothing that causes discomfort among God’s people there! In fact, nor will there be Baptist conventions, no church cliques (Christian church-gangs), absolutely no Catholic masses, or any other such divisions there, and certainly no separations because of one’s still apparent skin color.
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Underneath the pigmentation that gives the color to our skin we are all the same kind of flesh; no matter our outside color—just below the surface we all have pinkish flesh, we all bleed red blood, as human beings we all have 10 digits, and 32 or less teeth, and we all suffer pain from an injury.
Our DNA reveals specifics about certain things but at its foundation it says that you and I and all others are human beings—no matter what our skin color is.
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Referenced: Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:6-7, Acts 17:24-31]
Therefore, I want to address the very real issue of racism today. It is a problem that is growing weekly in this country that as Christians we must be careful to guard against it. For those that listen over the Internet but have never seen me, I will tell you that I am Caucasian—I am an older white male. Seated before me in our weekly house-church meetings are some having East Asian origins, Mexican origins, and others that are white skinned.
Let me be clear right up front—racism is sin
Let me be clear right up front—racism is sin and you cannot continue to be a racist and think yourself a true Christian, just like you cannot be a Christian and hate Jews. As a well-known podcast speaker has often said, “I am not a racist but I am a human racist!” If you have racist inclinations and for some time have professed to be born again or are newly born-again from above and have just come to Jesus with these prejudices, it needs to be a top-shelf-matter to get your mind renewed.
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Referenced: Psalm 51:10, Romans 12:1-3, Ephesians 4:22-24]
Regarding the differences in our skin color or where my family or your family or any other man or woman’s family has originated from—we need to be color-blind. If you have a problem with this man or that woman because of their lying or back-biting or dishonesty or any other of the hundred and thirty other traits of the flesh—that is one thing, but to have a problem with someone simply because they are red or black-skinned or white or Chinese or Samoan, or from a Gypsy culture is immoral and as such—evil—whether one is a Christian or not.
GOD CREATED ALL MEN BY DESIGN, like the flowers of the earth, we-have-differences [differences] that do not lead God to favor one over the other but are differences that He delights in and (where salvation is concerned) a physical difference God pays no attention to at all!
He loves all souls no matter the kind or condition of the human vessel that they inhabit (like a glove). No matter what the glove looks like, it is what is inside the glove that is important…and we must recognize that also. My white body, your brown body, or my friend’s black body are just the colors of the gloves that God slipped over our souls by the choice He made as to who our mother and father were and we were conceived in our mother’s womb.
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Ethnic: Of or relating to sizable groups of people sharing a common or distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage. [Nearly the same definition as “race”]
Racist: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others; discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Prejudice: Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion; detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavorable conviction of another or others.
Bias: An unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice; bigotry, intolerance.
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Let me remind you about your and my specific existence. Long before the foundation of the world God had already decided things about you and me and every living soul that would be born on the earth from the time of Adam and Eve. Yes, long, long ago He made choices about you—these choices:
God decided when in the course of these 6,000 years that we each would be born. He decided where on the planet you and I would be born, He chose the parents by whom we would be born, God decided what our gender would be (Yes, you are a male or a female because God wanted you to be and there has been no mistakes about that issue, and, by the way, our gender has something to do with which sex was best-suited for you to be born again; think on that for a while tomorrow).
Now don’t let this God-ordained fact be lost on you—as part of God’s decisions about you, He took into account what your skin color would be as part of what His particular plan was for your life—a plan that would be worked out if we would but learn of His ways and walk in obedience to them. From what I just said this is what the Bible says:
Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
[Also referenced: Jeremiah 1:4-5, Ecclesiastes 11:5, Job 31:13-15, Isaiah 44:24, Psalm 119:73, Job 10:8 &11-12]
For any man or woman to hate me and wish me wrong because I am white-skinned or you because of your skin color or tribal background, is to shake his fist at the Creator (God)—and that will be called into account unfavorably on the day of that man or woman’s judgment. For one calling himself a Christian to carry such prejudices is a testimony to his or her worldliness and great ignorance of God’s Word, His power, in the diversity that He has created into the human race, and that person’s closeness to God our Savior, Jesus Christ. At times when I for some reason notice it—skin color, one’s facial structure, height or hair color, their natural abilities (especially things that I do not possess), I see the handiwork of God.
I am the way I am in my physical body because He designed it to be that way—I had no say-so about what this body would be like—though I would have asked for certain upgrades to what His blueprints would have shown me! But, realize this, I had no input to what my body would be like—a physical body that is aging and going to die—but I do have near perfect control over what my forever-living soul becomes. Why don’t we fuss over that instead of doing the things we do to change our human body and its physical appearance (enhancements, adornments, styles, height, surgeries (?!?!), tattoos, and for some—much to-do about muscles, curves, and a flawless appearance from the neck up)?
For anyone that professes to be a follower of Jesus but looks down on another or entire groups because of their skin color or racial origins—THAT MAN OR WOMAN NEEDS TO REPENT ...
For anyone that professes to be a follower of Jesus but looks down on another or entire groups because of their skin color or racial origins—that man or woman needs to repent and let his or her mind be instructed in the Word and changed to be righteous about what it (the mind) thinks. It was God that set things in motion that results in many natural differences that He saw as good or needful—and He loves every soul and wishes for all to be saved into His presence when their body dies.
We all belong-to-God—unfortunately we give all of our attention to that which is external and temporary and little or no attention to that which will live on when this body of flesh, made of the dust of the earth, returns to the ground.
That which is being fomented in our country now is evil (ethnos against ethnos) and we are not to participate in it or be influenced by it. At Matthew 24:7 Jesus warned us that the different races would rise up against each other but that does not mean it is okay for His followers to be a part of that.
For whatever yet-to-be-refined impurities that may still exist in your and my thinking processes, let us not be prejudiced toward another man, woman, or child because of such physical issues but instead—let us look past the outward differences and be concerned for their eternal souls.
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Referenced: Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 33:11, Isaiah 1:16-18, John 3:16-17, Psalm 86:9, Psalm 116:15]
BLM, Antifa, and other such morally criminal organizations are evil and must be given no credence. It is a divine fact, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black [brown] and white, they are precious in His sight”—even after they have grown-up and become men and women. God is not a racist and neither can we be. God wants all to be saved (no matter their physical differences) and none to be lost and His Word bears this out!
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Referenced: Numbers 12:1-3, Jeremiah 39:15-18, Acts 2:1-11 & 37-41, Acts 8:26-29, Acts 10:34-35, Matthew 28:18-20, Zechariah 2:10-11]
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The Lord is not pleased with those in His family that look at others with distain or hatred—those that He has created. Let us examine our hearts and if any such feelings toward others exist in our hearts—repent of it and be healed of one of the world’s great sinful maladies. Amen!
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~Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word© ... For Today~
