Actually, there is an us and a them

“Actually, there is an us and a them. It’s the kingdom of God vs. racism. Hatred of our brother is anti-Jesus. Bias against those of color contradicts the tenant of Imago Dei. Jesus did not die for some, he died for all. Wake up watchmen, racism is a demonic agenda and has no place in the church.”

@cherylnembhard

If you’ve been here for a while you know that I’m colorblind and I don’t mean colorblind to race, I have a hard time seeing shades of red. That’s mostly why the people I draw here are shades of gray. We all have something and if that’s my thing then I’m pretty thankful because it’s not that bad.

Hold that thought for a minute.

When I was a teenager growing up in Las Vegas, I worked at possibly the best pizza place on the west coast; Metro Pizza. One time, the owner (who could be a little eccentric some times) turned to me and said “You know, I’ve owned these ovens for years and I’ve never seen the top of them. You stand here all day and see the top of them of them all the time. Isn’t it weird that you and I can be here in the same place and see the world totally differently?” He walked off and probably forgot about it but I’ve never forgot him saying that. I’m 6’2” and he’s on the shorter side of 5’. You know what I do every now and then? I’ll stoop down to see what the world looks like a foot below my eye line and man, it’s literally an entire different world down there.

The point I’m clumsily trying to make here is that I can’t *see* everything both physically AND experientially. I can’t see what it’s like to be a 7 feet tall, a person of color or a woman or a kid or any of the other permutations of our selves that God has given us. We experience the world in vastly different ways and I have to rely on other people to tell me what their experience was like. Just like I have to ask my wife every now and then “what color is this?” I have to ask other people what their experiences are like in the U.S., with police, with their church, in their town, etc. and when they tell me, I have to not only listen but to trust them. Like Cheryl says here, “Hatred of our brother is anti-Jesus” and what better way is there to show love than to show trust?