“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 NASB).
In college, my professor friend invited me to attend a special dinner held by her world nutrition class. Afterwards, I began to put things away. Another young woman was helping nearby, and I said to her, “Here let me get that chair.” Immediately the woman bristled, “What are you doing?” Taken aback by what I thought was a rather rude response I said, “I’m just helping clean up.” “Oh… ok.” And we went about finishing up. Later, when we were almost ready to leave, I noticed the woman was missing half of one arm! It was cut off just below the elbow. I realized she probably thought I tried to help her specifically because of her injury. I wanted to help clean up. She wanted to help just like everyone else.
There are differences in how people are treated because of their gender, race, financial status, religion, health, etc. This past week we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Prejudice and discrimination continues today whether or not we ourselves have witnessed it firsthand. It is important to listen to each other and not to immediately dismiss what someone says because you “don’t think it’s like that anymore.” I remember a friend telling me a year or so ago about a black man who was looking to buy some property but he wasn’t sure of its location. That evening, she drove by the property and checked it out. At home, she called him, gave him directions, said that it looked good, and for him to go that evening and see it. He told her that she, a white woman, driving by scoping out a place at night was very different from him doing it, and he would wait until morning.
Last weekend, I watched a church service that centered around MLK Day. I realized I had dismissed it as just another day off. Why? Because it didn’t directly affect “me.” I am quite ashamed to admit this but my apathy is important to share so that you may evaluate your own consideration of this day. It should be important to me because pastor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a movement to better the lives of black people, people living in the same country that I do who were, and many still are, treated differently. Discriminating against an injured person and a black person look entirely different and yet each hurts. Equality was not achieved at a one-time event in the past. It is something I hope continues to improve and that starts with you. Only you can change your own attitude. Take a real hard in-depth look at your own feelings and decide if you need to make a change. I did.