Choosing Hope in a Racially Divided Culture
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I recently interviewed Miles McPherson, pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, about his book, “The Third Option: Hope for a Racially Divided Nation.” He explained that, to truly honor and connect with others, we must learn to see people not by the color of their skin, but as humans created in the image of God. Here’s how:
Have a Race Consultation
When people think of having a race conversation, they often think in terms of a race confrontation. Really, it should be a race consultation. When you talk to people, no matter what they look like, always give them the opportunity to self-disclose what they’re about. What are their dreams? What are their pains? Don’t impose your assumptions on them – such as what you saw on television, what you heard from a friend or what you saw in the media. Speak to people with a posture of learning, not assuming.
See People’s Color
In our culture today, it’s almost become fashionable to say you don’t see color and that everybody is the same. We are all made in the image of God, for the purpose of and with the ability to have loving relationships with each other. We are all beautiful. However, we are not all the same. We have a creative God who made all kinds of people of different shades, with different textures of hair and with different accents. We must acknowledge and then appreciate and admire those differences.
Call Others Your Neighbor
Whenever you label somebody with any kind of derogatory name, you dehumanize them. The greatest thing we can do is love our neighbor as ourselves. If you label someone as less than your neighbor, you don’t need to love that person. It can then become easy to see someone different to you be treated unfairly and be okay with it, because they’re not like you, they don’t deserve what you do or they’re not on your level. If you see others as your neighbor, however, you will fight for them as you would fight for yourself.
To learn more about honoring one another and developing stronger connections with each other, no matter what we look like, listen to the latest episode of “It’s a Good Life.”
