“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence,
and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.
So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition.
Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies– or else?
The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing wars–must be broken,
or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love
Historically-based stories, whether in movies, books, or documentaries, have always fascinated me. Even as a child, historical fiction and nonfiction were my go-to genres. When it came to books like Number the Stars, Bud Not Buddy, the “Dear America” series, Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, and pretty much anything I could get my hands on that covered the Civil or Second World War – I was engrossed, unable to put them down until I had consumed each and every page. It was not just the stories themselves – the intrigue, the adventure, the heartbreak – but one resounding question that I simply wanted to find the answer to:
How did we get here?
How did the nation get to a point where it was willing to tear itself in half over the enslavement of an entire people group? How did the world get to a point where one race tried to completely eliminate another in the most inhumane ways imaginable? How could so much hatred exist?
And then I would wonder, what would I have done? Which side would I have been on in the Civil War, as a girl born into a farming family in the midwest and raised in the south, but brought up by educated and compassionate Christians? My family fought on both sides of the line. If I were alive in the 1950s and 60s, where would I stand? Would I have said anything at all?
And as I watched the events of this last weekend in Charlottesville unfold, and really, the events in our nation over the last few years regarding race relations, all of those questions of my childhood, that I never found the answer to, have come back.
How did we get here? I wonder where I would stand.
And I have come to one stark realization.
I do not get wonder anymore. I have to decide.
How do we get to the point where one race wants to eliminate another? Through ignorance and hatred and racism that go unanswered.
I have seen the news reports and videos. I have watched the interviews and the traumatizing aftermath of the car. And it all makes me sick to my stomach. It leaves me heartbroken and speechless. There are no words to do this justice.
Hatred begets hatred.
Violence begets violence.
And I sit here, having no idea what to say, but knowing I have to say SOMETHING. Because saying something has to be better than saying nothing. As far as it comes to me, I will not allow the hatred to go unanswered. And that hatred will not beget my hatred. Maybe I’ll say the wrong thing…have grace for me. Help me learn the right things to say.
I cannot be silent, or post anything else, before I say something. And perhaps this blog will get lost among all of the other posts and articles circling the web right now, but I would consider that an honor, because it would mean that my voice joined with a chorus of others saying “I will not stand for this!”
I do not stand with hatred.
I do not stand with violence.
I do not stand for white supremacy, Neo-Naziism, the Ku Klux Klan, or the “Alt-Right”.
I do not stand for racism.
It is a vile, wicked, demonic belief system that brings glory to the enemy.
And as a Christian, millennial, conservative white woman born in the Midwest and raised in the south, I know that I am not without fault. I have inherited unjust beliefs. I have been the beneficiary of privilege I did not ask for, but nonetheless have. Different kinds of privilege exist in all people groups in some fashion, but I can see how I have had more than my fair share.
And I am sorry for that. Maybe there was nothing I could do about it, but I can be sorry that this kind of system exists in our nation, in the human race.
I am sorry for the hatred and bigotry and judgment of some of the people of my race.
I am sorry that I drove by the Billboard that said #secede, with the large Confederate flag behind it, and did nothing more than roll my eyes.
I am sorry that as I child I believed that man when he told me if I married an African-American, my children would suffer.
I am sorry for every time I have passed a man of another race on the street and wondered if I should cross to the other side for my own safety. I am so deeply sorry for that, because I know that in my life, I have not been free of my own biases. But I admit them here because I will not allow those patterns to continue.
I am sorry if people of the church, or claiming to represent God, have ever made you feel unloved or unwanted.
I am sorry if anyone ever told you that because of the color of your skin, or the family you were born into, or the lifestyle you choose, Jesus doesn’t love you. Jesus loves you. His heart breaks for everyone. He died for EVERYONE. (And let us not forget that Jesus was a middle-eastern man of color and a devout Jew.)
I have traveled the world and worked with countless populations and people groups, of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The Lord has opened my eyes to the beauty of color and culture and lives that are lived differently from my own. Everyone represents the heart of God in a different way, and if you want to know Him fully, you have to find Him in people who are different than you. Let Him open your eyes to the beauty of who He created them to be. Sit in their church services, or around their dinner tables, and you will feel no threat – only love and acceptance and excitement to meet another part of the kingdom of God.
God is LOVE. He is a God of peace. He is a God of reconciliation.
And finally, I will not only speak of love, but I will act on it. I won’t just disdain ignorance, I will seek out reliable and challenging education. I will love my neighbor and my enemy and anyone God puts in my path.
And I encourage you to do the same.
Have the hard conversation. Seek out the friendship of people who are different than you. Volunteer at the local youth center. Lead Bible studies in the homes of the community you once avoided. Walk hand in hand during the peaceful march. Surround your table with laughter and culture and conversation and diversity.
And if you can do nothing else, just say something.
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
