8 Ways to Live Fully Awake to God’s Heart about Racism
- Denise Kohlmeyer Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
- Published Oct 04, 2023
I live just outside of Chicago, one of the 10 largest sanctuary cities in the United States. To date, more than 93,000 migrants have been bussed here from Texas. The inundation has caused an unprecedented crisis for city officials. Many of the migrants, having nowhere to go, have taken up temporary residence inside police stations or in tents on the streets. Others have been bussed to the suburbs in an effort to alleviate the burden on the city. Nightly news keeps this issue at the forefront with disturbing images about these migrants’ housing plight. Where are we supposed to house all of these displaced people? And who’s going to pay for it all?
Chicagoans are divided on the issue. Some are angry. Some are frustrated. Some are compassionate. Some are indifferent.
If I’m being honest, I fall into the frustrated category. While I think we should help, sometimes my thoughts tend toward the unkind, especially when I think about the amount of taxes we already pay here. Are we going to be taxed more to help house them? And I often ask (to no one in particular), “Why are we worrying about the migrants when we can’t even help our own homeless?”
Then I catch myself and repent. It is a daily challenge to keep my heart soft and attuned to God’s heart toward the oppressed, the unfortunate, the marginalized, and in this particular case those who are ethnically and racially not like me.
Is it the same with you sometimes?
To keep my own heart continually attuned to God’s, here are a few things I try to remember.
1. Understand God’s creational intention.
When God said, “Let us create man in our own image,” He did not have one particular race or ethnicity in mind, because God Himself is neither White, Black, Brown, Protestant, Catholic, Semitic, Hindu, or Muslim. He is Spirit and neutral in His Being when it comes to race and ethnicity. He wanted the first humans to be as well, as they would be representatives of the entire human race.
As well, all human beings bear the imprint of the Triune God. We are born with a will, a moral compass, and an intellect, all common blessings bestowed on every person, regardless of color, race, or nationality.
2. Understand God’s heart toward “foreigners.”
From the beginning, God welcomed “foreigners” (non-Jews) into the Israelite fold and instructed the Israelites to treat them “as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:34). These “foreigners” were people from different tribes who, for whatever reason, wanted to align themselves with God’s people.
Some of these “foreigners” may have come from the regions surrounding Israel, which were composed of four different ethnic groups: 1) the Asiatics or Semites (Israelites, Canaanites, Amorites, Arameans); 2) the Cushites (Black Africans living along the Nile River south of Egypt); 3) the Egyptians (a mix of Asiatic, north African, and African elements); and 4) Indo-Europeans (Hittites, Philistines).
Abraham was an Amorite, having been born and raised in Ur, a land in Mesopotamia (Asia Minor). However, several of his descendants would marry into other groups: Egyptian (Joseph in Genesis 41:50), and Cushite (Moses in Numbers 12:1). These inter-racial and inter-cultural marriages expanded the makeup and demographics of God’s people. We can also infer from these examples that such marriages are acceptable in the sight of God, so long as the two are believers in Christ.
3. Understand God’s universal blessing.
All peoples everywhere enjoy another common blessing from God, this one through Abraham, based on Genesis 15:5 and 17:5: “[God] took [Abram] outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’.” And, “I am changing your name from Abram to Abraham because I am making you a father of many nations.” And Genesis 22:18, “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
No one nation or people, according to this blessing, is more favored than another. Yes, some nations and/or people may have more advantages and privileges socially, technologically, and/or economically, but that does equate to them enjoying a greater share of this common blessing.
4. Understand God’s value system.
Without Christ, people live according to a superficial, worldly value system. They tend to value others solely based on one’s skin tone or country of origin. Still, others have a sliding value scale that takes into account a person’s status in society, their profession, their wealth, their health, and their gender. For example, a white CEO is considered more valuable than a black custodian. A pregnant woman is considered more valuable than her unborn child.
God would have His redeemed children live by different, higher value systems. “In humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3b). Believers value others as equals. We understand that no one person is either less or more valuable than another. All are equal, and all are equally valued by God.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes
5. Understand the barrier-breaking Gospel.
God’s open-arm welcome to “foreigners” in Old Testament times was extended into New Testament times through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God did not intend for the Gospel to be inclusive—then or now. His heart has always been, and remains still, that “none should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The invitation to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord for the forgiveness of sins is an open-ended invitation to everyone everywhere.
And through the Gospel those who were once hostile toward God and each other—including those divided by racial and ethnic lines—can enjoy the peace and unity that comes from belonging to the Body (Ephesians 2:14-16).
6. Understand the multi-racial, multi-ethnicity of heaven.
In heaven, there will be no division between the races or nations, based on Revelation 7:9, “After this [John] looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”
In heaven, we will be feasting, fellowshipping, and worshipping with a host of brothers and sisters from every corner of the world. There will be no prejudice, no hatred, no favoring of one over another. God’s redeemed saints of every hue and homeland will be one in Christ, eternally unified and at peace.
7. Understand your “place.”
Nothing divides people more than when one nation (or individual) believes that they are superior to others, that they are above everyone else simply because they are lighter skinned. This applies to those who think thusly because they have more money, live in a more sophisticated, developed world, or have a better education or career. This kind of supremacist/elitist mindset is unbiblical, unholy, dangerous, and divisive.
For God’s people, we need to understand and remember our “place,” and that it is neither superior nor inferior to anyone else. We are, instead, called, individually and collectively “not think of [yourself/ourselves] more highly than [you/we] ought, but rather think of [yourself/ourselves] with sober judgment” (Romans 12:3a).
What is this “sober judgment?” It (sóphroneó) translates as “having a sober outlook that reflects true balance.” In essence, we view ourselves through a spiritual perspective.
- We are created by Him (Genesis 1).
- We are created for Him (Ephesians 2:10).
- We are born sinners (Psalm 51:5)
- We were once “excluded” as “foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12-13)
- We are saved only because of the kindness, mercy, and grace of God, not because of our own doings (Romans 2:4; Ephesians 2:8-9)
- We only have hope and assurance of eternity only because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ
- We are powerless; all power and strength belong to God (2 Corinthians 4:7-9
- We can love biblically and properly only because God first loved us (1 John 4:19)
- We can forgive because He first forgave us (Ephesians 4:32)
When we remember these facts about ourselves, we can’t help but be humbled. And it’s only through this humility lens that we can see beyond a person’s color, race, or nationality and offer them the same hope we ourselves have received.
8. Understand how God loves.
God loves unconditionally. He loved Cain, a murderer. He loved David, an adulterer/murderer. He loved Hagar, an Egyptian slave. Through Jesus, He loved Zaccheus, a Pharisee; Levi, a tax collector; and Mary Magdalene, a prostitute. He loved Judas, a betrayer; and Saul, a persecutor.
God loves sacrificially. He gave up His only, begotten Son so that He could die for the sins of the world (John 3:16).
God expects nothing less from His children. He sets us the example, and through His power and strength, we can love and serve everyone as He loves and serves them.
Conclusion
Yes, it is hard to maintain a heart of compassion when—because of the media and other influences—we have been conditioned to think negatively about and to harbor resentment and prejudices against others who aren’t like us. It is a daily challenge to stay intentionally attuned to God’s heart when it comes to racism. When unbelievers express judgment or hold a particular prejudice against others, God’s people are called to a higher standard for how we see and treat others. It is through our other-worldly mindset and expression of unconditional, sacrificial love and service to others—particularly those not like us—that the world will know we belong to God.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Rawpixel
