Today's Devotional
March 10, 2008
Subject: My Problem With Dark-Skinned Christians
Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
So I got an email from an old fraternity brother of mine yesterday. We not only joined the fraternity together, we played on the same football team in college, went to the same church and in most things think similarly. So why was his email telling me to join up to support Senator Obama's presidential campaign? Well it all has to do with the problem I have with "dark-skinned" Christians.
I really don't have the time to cover all of the issues here, but most everyone will be readily able to relate to those that I cover here today. Oh and if you want to challenge me on whether what I say about these "church" folks is true, know that like Paul, I grew up in church and I know "church," but that's really the problem.
The first problem is that blacks are too proud of their "black" communities and churches. They try to use Martin Luther King Jr. and even the bible to support such claims and attempts to "keep their black communities and colleges." Not only was Martin Luther King against that, so was Christ, especially for believers. Take a look at the website for Trinity United Church of Christ, the church were Barack Obama belongs. I venture to say that most all of these people were born in America and as the intro page plays, you see the continent of Africa in the background and they make a statement in their mission statement that they are unashamed of their African roots. So what's the problem with this "black pride?" Well it puts Christianity behind race and that is the source of the problem. The African-American/black church for many years has "quietly" supported not just segregation in advocating for the black worship experience, but downright sin, such as homosexuality. Most black churches, such as Obama's openly support, not just the sinners, but the sin. Whole churches are supporting a candidate who believes that it is okay and calls himself a Christian. The next reason they cite for supporting this candidate is because he wants to help the poor. People get a life. If you've spent any time around some of the poor, such as the unmarried black man with babies by three different women and he's not working and supporting any of them, then you know that the last thing we need to do is provide him with free healthcare or free anything else. God said, if a man will not work, he should not eat. Many don't want to just feed him, the "black church" would probably build him a house. That's wrong. It is no wonder that blacks lead in out of wedlock births by more than 4 to 1.
So my Christian brother wants me to join up to this line of thought which prevails among African-Americans. If you are an African-American, you know that the black church has been most silent on abortion. This should be intolerable not only for individuals, but for the church. Because the black church has been silent on this issue, black Christians see it as no big deal when supporting a Presidential candidate. Be forewarned, God will not hold you harmless for this.
These are only a few of the issues and while it would seem "natural" for African Americans to support Obama because he is African-American, I'm walking in the Spirit. I happen to believe that my "spiritual" bonds are deeper than those that are natural."
By the way, this devotional does not advocate a particular candidate, it simply says for everyone to put their spiritual eyes on. We (believers) better be looking for truth and not just man's idea of truth, but the truth that makes a difference, God's truth.
Carlen
