Racism is Real

One of the best things for me about the World Cup is seeing the racial mix in many of the countries’ teams, as players can not only play for their country of birth, but they can also play for the countries where any of their parents or even grandparents were born. There are players who are eligible to play for up to four countries. And they get to choose which works best for them. Since the Jamaican Reggae Boyz did not qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup, I looked for teams that had players with a Jamaican connection to cheer for. These teams included the United States, England, and Canada. I also like the African teams and teams with players of African lineage. There were many teams like this, especially from Europe, so I had many teams to cheer for at this World Cup. However, following these teams also meant hearing the news about them, and one of my greatest disappointments with the World Cup was hearing about racism. Sadly, racism is still a real problem today. It seems like it will never end. Unfortunately, this is a consequence of Adam’s fall. Hate for people’s color and cultural background can be seen in the Bible. Moses’ siblings spoke badly about him because he married an Ethiopian woman.

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. Numbers 12:1-2

God heard the prejudicial remarks Aaron and Miriam said about Moses because of who his wife was, and He was not pleased.

So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was—a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!” So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. Numbers 12:9-15

God was so angry that He left. The cloud, which represented the Lord’s manifest presence, left from above the tabernacle. This is serious. God was having no part in what was being said about Moses because his wife was an Ethiopian, so His wrath fell on Miriam. However, Moses, who was seemingly very forgiving, pleaded on her behalf. And God relented. But, prejudice did not end there. The Jews and Samaritans always had issues, and even in the early Church, the Jews often wanted to exclude the Gentiles. However, this wasn’t Christ’s way.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Acts 10:34-35

Peter declared this after God had to deal with his own prejudice against the Gentiles. Then, God sent him to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, to preach to its members, and they were saved. Our prejudices may limit us from helping to advance God’s kingdom. God was very intentional about choosing Gentile women to be part of Jesus’ lineage. Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth all stand out as Gentiles who were mentioned in Jesus’ ancestry chart. God wants us to be clear that we are all created in His image and likeness. We are beautifully and wonderfully made. And if we are in Christ, then we are all children of God.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 2:26-29

If we are the body of Christ and we are one in Him, then prejudices should never exist in the church. We should never speak against each other because of color, culture, ethnicity, or place of birth. If we do this, then we are going against Christ. As Christians, we should also speak out against racism and other types of hate in our society. We should never be silent about this and try to ignore it. There are some Christians who believe that people who say they are experiencing racism are complaining too much and, in essence, are victimizing victims. It is time we recognize that racism is real and become bold enough to call out this wrong in our society.

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17