An Acceptable Sin

The sign stood along the highway, proudly embellished with an American flag, declaring – “Bill’s American. English spoken here.”  The owner of the service station was playing off of the fact that most of the gas stations in NJ are staffed by men from India who speak very little English. (Jerseyans can’t pump their own gas, by law!)  I don’t know Bill and have no idea if he thought his sign was funny or if he hoped it would attract more customers, but I always read it as an expression of bigotry, a way to say, “They are not us.”  Now that same station is owned and staffed by Asian immigrants who, ironically, speak very poor English! I think it is a kind of poetic justice.

Segregation, supported by institutional racism, was an acceptable sin for many Americans. I say ‘was’ hopefully, knowing that racism is very much alive and well. The difference now is that there are many voices that challenge it! Today we celebrate the life of a man who used his God-given gifts to reshape America’s attitudes towards race. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama who saw the evil of segregation and named it for what it was - sin. His vision of non-violent resistance spared many lives as the civil rights movement gained momentum. Ever the preacher, Dr. King drew inspiration from the Scripture, using the picture words of the Old Testament prophets to great effect.  He loved to quote Amos, "let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24, KJV)  Perhaps his greatest gift to us was the formation of a new vision for America, best summed up in what are his most memorable speech which we now call, “I have a dream.” Few, if any, knew the strength of his words when they were spoken that day from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 23, 1963, but his vision reshaped these United States.

(read or watch it at

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)

Where we see divisions by class, or religion, or race, or sex we must challenge it. We cannot allow this sin to become acceptable. It is a subtle one that hides itself behind all kinds of words. Being ‘different’ becomes being of lesser value. Judgment of behavior becomes a reason to reject persons. Give such thoughts no standing. Disciple, in Christ there is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’  In Him we ALL stand on equal ground. "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NIV)  The Scripture insists that how we love God and how we love other people are inseparable. We cannot claim to love God and hate others!

I leave this word from the Word with you today. As you ponder it, let God use it to shape your heart and mind.

"With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:6-8, NIV)

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Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

All are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

-      George Frederick Root