There's been a LOT of controversy lately over racially motivated news stories. Just today there was a hot story about the women on "The View." It seemed that Whoopi Goldberg used the "n" word during the course of their discussion. Then, a few minutes later when Barbara Walters used the same slang, another (African-American) lady in the group took grave offense to it and called Barabara out on it as they were on air! Man. I wish could have seen that cause I'm not really a huge fan of Barbara Walters (or the View). I will catch it later on YouTube.
Anyhow, I have a question. Aren't there really more important issues that we need to deal with in our nation rather than what words are used in the courses of our conversation?
Look, I know that the old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is a boldfaced lie. Words can and DO hurt people all the time! For those of us who are Christians we need to be especially careful about this! However, while we are worried so much about what towns and cities in America have the most racially offensive names, there are countless thousands of American men and women, boys and girls who are in crisis because of job loss, lack of discipline, hunger and disease. Hey listen, I am deeply offended by all the sex and foul language on TV and in the movies but no one does anything about that do they?
Besides I am more concerned about teenagers who are thinking about suicide. Or children from broken homes who have no stability. Or adults who are having melt-downs because their relationship with their spouse is over. I believe I'm more concerned about the number of families receiving help from local food banks than I am with Hank Williams Junior spouting off about President Obama and Hitler, (but I agree-old Hank should have never said what he did. What an idiotic thing to say in public OR in private!).
Jesus said one time that "the poor will always be with you." WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE HE SPOKE OF? Could it be the marginilized of our communities or could it even be you or I?
That same Jesus reminded the religious folk of HIS day (and OURS) that we need to be concerned with the "weightier matters of the law" like caring for kids, widows the homeless etc.
I don't mean to downplay the importance of being politically correct or being prudent in our speech about people whose race is different than our own. There are some white folk who are genuially offeneded by the term "cracker" for example. And I don't think God ever intended for us to hate someone else just because their skin is a different color. And Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!" To be sure, there are a lot of folk who say aweful things about their neighbors because in the their heart they don't don't have love. But let's not get side-tracked by these temporal issues that really won't matter too much when we stand before God in judgement. Somehow, I really don't thing when we arrive there that God will say to us "what did you just call me?" I really think what God will say is something like "Do you know my son, Jesus? O Good! Come on in!" When that happens we won't have to wash our mouth out with soap or even clean off our shoes! But between here and there, let's see if we can get past language and attitude and try to just be Jesus to each other and to the rest of the people on this planet. "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight-Jesus loves the little children of the world!"
The Methmusician
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