How Much Progress Have We Really Made?

Yesterday we observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It deservedly recognized one of the most influential African-American leaders in history. But as with many other men and women who have left profound impacts on our society, remembering Dr. King shouldn’t be a one time a year occasion. The legacies of those who have contributed mightily to our nation should never be forgotten.

 

Dr. King was certainly an advocate for justice, but also strongly endorsed non-violence, following the lead of people like India’s Mohandas Gandhi. Considering what’s transpiring in our society these days, it would be interesting to know what his take would be. Would he think that we’ve progressed – or regressed – in terms of interracial relations?

 

Many of Dr. King’s profound statements were recorded for posterity. Often, they reflect faith in God and a belief in peaceful resolution of conflicts. Here is just a sampling that I have found especially inspirational and appropriate for our times. I’m adding a comment or two:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This is taken from his well-known, “I Have a Dream” speech. How are we doing on this? I fear we’re still dwelling too much on people’s skin tones rather than the content of their character – from all sides of the political spectrum.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” There are factions in our society that apparently have no interest in seeing us living together as brothers and sisters, regardless of color or ethnicity.

“The time is always ripe to do right.” Who can argue with this? Sadly, in a time when too many people question or deny the existence of objective truth, we’re losing the ability to even agree upon what’s right.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” Unconditional love – selfless, sacrificial love, as it’s defined by the Greek word “agape” – is a quality that’s central to the Scriptures but has largely been forsaken by our “what’s in it for me” culture.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This wasn’t original with Dr. King. The apostle John wrote, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him” (1 John 2:9-11).

 

Racism and prejudice toward people different from us are hardly new human developments. During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ used at least two occasions to teach the wrongs of ethnic and racial discrimination and prejudice. 

 

One was when He met a woman in Samaria as she was going to a well to draw water, recorded in the 4^th chapter of the gospel of John. In those days, Jews and Samaritans, who were of a mixed race, had a mutual hatred. On top of that, cultural mores discouraged casual interactions between men with women they didn’t know. So, when Jesus addressed the woman at the well, asking, “Will you give Me a drink?” she nearly dropped the buckets she had lugged from her town of Sychar.

 

In today’s terms, Jesus was acting in stark contrast to the racism and misogynism of His day. Her reply was typical: “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus didn’t offer any excuses or explanation. He responded simply: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water” (John 4:7-10).

 

Much more could be said about this encounter. It’s been the focus of countless sermons. But one certain takeaway was that Jesus had no use for hatred or prejudice toward any human being. He wasn’t afraid of shattering cultural norms.

 

Another time was a story Jesus told, found in Luke 10:30-37. We commonly know it as the parable of the good Samaritan. He used it to provide a definitive answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Since most of us understand little about the animosity Jews had toward Samaritans, it’s easy to overlook what it tells us about racism and discrimination. But for Jesus’ hearers, the message was clear. 

 

It concerned a Jew traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho who was beaten and robbed, left for dead. Two religious leaders traveling the same road saw the man but rather than stopping to help, moved to the other side of the road and passed by. Next a Samaritan came across the man, stopped and bandaged his wounds, then took him to an inn nearby where he could recover. The Samaritan even promised to cover in full whatever expenses the injured man incurred.

 

Such a story of kindness and sacrificial love was unheard of in Jesus’ day, but it communicates what He expects of us as we interact with people who are different from us. As God told the prophet Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Such “sight” is possible only through the power of God. It’s not something we can conjure up through sentiment or good intentions. In the coming days, may He enable us to act more like what Dr. King described, not judging based on the color of people’s skin but rather, according to the content of their character.

 

The ‘Good Samaritan’ and Racism

From time to time we hear about “good Samaritans,” individuals performing unusual acts of kindness – assisting a motorist with a problem on the highway, rescuing someone from a burning building, donating an anonymous gift to someone in need.

But in our increasingly secularized society, fewer people know where the good Samaritan concept began. Spoiler alert: It’s from the Bible.

Luke 10:25-37 tells about Jesus’ encounter with religious leaders that challenged Him. One leader, “an expert in the law,” cited the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” and then asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the story of the good Samaritan.

In the account, robbers had beaten a man on the highway between Jerusalem and Jericho. Two Jewish leaders of high standing – a priest and a Levite – saw the injured man, but instead of stopping to help, moved to the other side of the road and continued on their way.

It was a Samaritan – a man from Samaria – who not only stopped to assist the injured person and tend to his wounds, but also found a place where he could stay and recover. Hence, the good Samaritan.

In one respect, the story of the good Samaritan
is about the evils of racism and prejudice.

But there’s an element to this story many people don’t grasp: At least in one respect, it’s about racism. In those days there was intense animosity between Jews and Samaritans on ethnic, cultural and religious grounds. The Samaritans, whose origins traced to the same Jewish lineage, had intermarried with Gentiles to create a mixed race, greatly despised by the Jews.

So when Jesus noted two of the Jewish elite had taken “the high road” rather than get involved in a victim’s plight, and instead it was a hated Samaritan who performed the act of compassion, it must have stung Christ's confronters.

Had Jesus told this parable in modern terms, it might have been a black man that stopped to assist a wounded Ku Klux Klan member. Talk about turning prejudice upside-down.

Some years ago I was meeting with a young African-American man in a Bible study and he asked, “Bob, if Jesus were to appear and stand in front of me, would He see a black man?” What a great question!

Thankfully, I had recently been doing some reading related to this subject, so we looked at Galatians 3:28, which states, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” As the apostle Paul pointed out, God does not distinguish according to race, ethnicity, gender or social standing.

I also related to my friend what the Old Testament says about how God does see people: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

In the gospel of John, Jesus demonstrated His opposition to the racism of His day in another way. He and the disciples were passing through Samaria, and Jesus defied cultural norms by talking to a Samaritan  woman – the "woman at the well" – and asking her for a cup of water. In fact, the woman expressed her own astonishment. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4:9).

This encounter might not seem like a big deal today, but in Jesus’ day – both in terms of race and gender – it was unprecedented.

We find ourselves in an environment more racially charged than it’s been in years, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Prejudice means to pre-judge, usually according to external factors: skin color, race, gender, tall or short, slender or stocky. But that’s not how God sees people. He looks at the heart – the persons we are on the inside.

As followers of Christ – female or male, white, black, Asian, Hispanic or whatever – we need to ask the Lord for His discernment so that we no longer “look at the outward appearance” but as He did, “look at the heart.”

Racism can cut both ways: Prejudice isn’t just white toward black, Latino, Asian, or Middle Eastern. Anyone can pre-judge another, ascribing motivations and making assumptions based solely on the other person’s complexion or external “look.” We must seek to understand not only the hearts of the people we encounter, but our own hearts as well. Who are we pre-judging – and why?