Me and my gorgeous wife
Wednesday I was taken aback when a Christian sister asked me if Rebecca and I had ever “posted an article about interracial Christian marriage.” I say I was taken aback because I never viewed our marriage in that light before. Yes, my wife is black and Latina, and I’m so white I’m nearly transparent… but I’ve never been one to look at people in terms of black and white–or any other color for that matter. Honestly, I can’t believe this is still an issue in the 21st century!
I was born in Eastern Michigan, but my family moved to Florida when I was 9 years-old. The schools I attended in Michigan were almost entirely white (a fact that I was completely oblivious to), but the schools I attended in Florida early on were culturally diverse. I don’t remember hearing any racially discriminatory jokes or idle talk. And when I finally began hearing discriminatory jokes as a teen, I didn’t stick around. The high schools I attended were predominantly white, but there were a few students who were black or Asian, and I was friends with several of them. I don’t remember seeing them as different. And I don’t remember hearing anyone openly bad-mouthing or harassing them because of their race.
That came later on in life.
The Army was certainly a culturally diverse environment. One of the Drill Sergeants’ favorite slogans was, “There is no black and white in the Army; there’s only green!” And yet, one of my Drills jokingly asked me when I first got to boot camp, “Do you have a brother in the Army, Private?” I replied, “No, Drill Sergeant!” Well, it turns out there was a “Private McPherson” in my platoon… and he was black. We became great friends over the course of our 9 week ordeal. Early on we discovered that we were both going to be Medics, so after Basic, we’d both be shipping off to Fort Sam Houston, Texas together.
We live in the so-called Bible Belt, yet racism exists even here. Listen… there is no excuse for a true Christian (which is obviously not someone who merely adds the label of Christian to their Facebook and Twitter accounts) to have a problem with race. Period. If we were actually studying our Bibles regularly, it wouldn’t even exist in our ranks. Yes, I am well aware that there are politicians and certain avaricious groups and individuals (even some “pastors!”) who have made lucrative careers out of stoking the coals of hate to keep this draconian way of thinking alive. And of course, there’s always those that are just plain ignorant. Even though I know racism exists, it never gets any easier to deal with when it rears its ugly head. I was shocked and enraged to find out that our eldest son had been teased in school because his step-mom was “black.” And it’s hard to blame the children because they are learning directly from their ignorant (yes, racism is willful ignorance) parents. Appallingly, many of these same families will be the first to say, “We’re a Christian family!” You can easily dismiss it as being a “Southern thing,” but this foolishness happens nationwide and worldwide. It is a way of thinking that kids learn from their parents and regurgitate to the world. Kids are not born prejudiced; we make them that way. A quick trip around Twitter, and I see the evidence everywhere–from kids using the N word and other racial slurs, to uploading questionable images that are negatively stereotypical. At first I wondered why parents allowed their kids to tweet and Instagram this garbage… but then I realize that many parents agree with their kids, don’t care enough, or are too “busy” to even check their kids’ accounts.
Can you tell that I’m having difficulty with this topic? Good. It makes me furious. It truly makes me wonder… how many of us would look down on, or even openly ridicule, our beloved Savior, Jesus, if He walked by us on the street?
I guess the point I am trying to make is that I’ve never been one to form my opinion of a person based upon their appearance. Yes, I’ve heard many of the racist jokes–I even had a black Platoon Sergeant at Fort Stewart (GA) who hated white people. And on one visit to Atlanta, I was told by a police officer that I needed to “Go to the other side of town before the sun goes down.” I didn’t understand, and I asked, “Why?” She merely said, “Look around.” I still didn’t know what she meant until a buddy whispered, “We’re the only white people.” I hadn’t even noticed! But these few experiences didn’t change the fact that I had many friends from all over the United States; friends from every race and walk of life–friends who all looked, sounded, and even acted differently. But they were all friends.
So, to my dear sister who asked the question, I would simply say that God does not discriminate (Acts 10:34), so why would we? If two people are in Christ, they are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Ethnic, economic, sociological, etc., differences don’t matter. When we get right down to it, there’s truly only ONE race: human; all of us were made by God in His image. Did God make all of creation in one color? No. How boring that would be! The fact that we look differently only proves that our God is an artisan above all others. Observing the diversity in all of creation, how could we possibly think otherwise?
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28
In Christ’s perfect love,
Dwight
The Parson
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