Racism, the Church, and the Nation by Ryan Johnson

Author:Ryan Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780768458299
Publisher: Destiny Image, Inc.

CHAPTER 5

What Can We Do as Believers to Better Understand?

What can we do as believers to better understand the diversity of other races, embrace those variations, and become a united front against the enemy of our souls—satan?

Ryan Johnson…

There is an old saying, “Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.” The saying derives from a combination of meanings that challenges us as individuals who may want to judge others without having some knowledge about a person. The challenge—we must understand their experiences, their challenges, their thought processes, etc. The purpose of the saying is to remind us to demonstrate empathy for others. By definition, the word “empathy” means the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The nature of empathy gives us the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling in the midst of a moment, and/or experience within life. Although this is the purpose of empathy, it cannot be the only resource for how we interact with someone who is different from us.

As believers, we can easily be swayed by the emotions of a moment in time and fail to recognize the foundational truth of God’s Word. For example, we can be emphatic toward the right to love someone else, yet when the idea of love goes against the written Word of God, we cannot allow empathy to direct us in a permissible format. We should never empathize with a man who is married, yet claims to be in love with another woman. We should never empathize with a man who claims to love another man. We should never empathize with a man who fornicates with his girlfriend because of love, but unwilling to marry. There is a plumb line to empathy and that is God’s Word.

With that said, there is often a lack of empathy within many in the Body of Christ today. The Body of Christ should be a leading force to better understand one another. We should care enough, love enough, listen enough, and help one another with compassion as Christ had compassion for others. We cannot afford to be led by our feelings, but we can lead by love for all humankind. “The thief [satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NASB).

As believers in Christ we must be willing to listen to another (example: John 4:7-26), we must be willing to have the conversations (example: John 6:26-65), and we must be moved by compassion with the demonstration of who we are in Christ (example: John 11:1-44). If we continue to deny the voice of others, we play into the strategy of the thief. However, if we strive to listen, converse, and walk in the demonstration of compassion, we will exemplify the heart of the Father.

Wayland Henderson…

The answer to a divided nation and world is a church in union with Jesus Christ the Righteous Judge. One of first things we can

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