“Silence is agreement.” Pastor John Gray
I am guilty of racism. In my email popped up the pictures of the two strangers who were to be arriving at my home that very day and would be staying with us for a week. I am ashamed to even write these words, but one looked like a terrorist.
The idea of “melting pot theory,” coined after a stage play written in 1908, is said to describe the USA. It is the idea that when various groups of immigrants come together it forms a new culture, one that is greater and stronger. We have failed. Our society continues to judge each other based on skin color. We constantly place people in a “pecking order” based on color, nationality, and religion.
Over this past week I have struggled with the words to say. I am a privileged white woman. What do I possibly have to contribute?
Seven years ago, my husband and I began hosting soccer coaches from the other side of the “pond” (Ireland, Scotland, England). We have welcomed in 27 complete strangers , while some stay for a week, others stay for six weeks. I wrote about the joy and importance of hosting in Stranger Things. What I didn’t fully disclose was my poor judgement. Just days before in an Orlando nightclub, a terrorist of Islamic descent killed 49 people. I will not pretend the memories of 9-11 were not triggered by this selfish act. Therefore when I opened my email to see the coaches we were to host for the week, his picture and name made me gasp. I worried for my family and my community. I struggled with the idea perhaps I was allowing in someone who could harm me. I was ignorant.
A few weeks ago I shared Mom Guilt and wrote of Moses’ biological mother. Can we talk today about his adopted mother? In Exodus 1 we find out due to jealousy and fear Pharaoh decided to wipe out the Hebrew nation by drowning every Hebrew boy born in the Nile River. In Exodus 2 we find a mother who hid her son for three months and when she couldn’t any longer she placed him in a basket in the river. The Pharaoh’s daughter found him. Despite knowing he was a Hebrew child (verse 6) and knowing her father’s orders she chose to raise him as her own. She placed the needs, desires, and life of someone else higher than her own.
Her decision that day changed everything. One decision. One person.
I believe we have the opportunity to learn four key concepts we can implement today:
- Even if we have previously stood by,we can make a change.
- The decision of others in my community or even family (in her case) doesn’t represent the whole.
- Our one decision makes a generational impact.
- We must continue to share this with each generation.
Over and over again in the Bible we see the generational effects of decisions: Adam/Eve, Noah, the history of Israel. In Judges we find the Isralites in the middle of havoc, oppression, starvation.
Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
Hmmmm… sound familiar?
As Christians we are under the authority of God. It is time we do what is right not in our eyes but in God’s eyes. This doesn’t look like looting or protesting with weapons strapped across our bodies. The generations after us are watching. They are watching what we do and listening to the words we use to respond.
A younger sibling who has the same teacher is often judged by the actions of the older sibling’s previous actions. If the older sibling was smart, kind, and respectful the teacher will expect the same from the next child. If the older sibling was a royal pain, it is also assumed the same for the other child without a fair chance/fight to prove. Our prior experiences absolutely shape how we judge.
It is time for new experiences, both for ourselves and for the next generations.
That summer day in 2016 I had a choice to make. I could have made a phone call and said I would not take this coach into my home. But I did not. I made a choice to take a chance. I took a chance to welcome in a young man from a different country, with different beliefs, traditions, and religion. The decision I made that day not only changed my heart but brought change to my children. You see it wasn’t simply allowing someone in, it was making accommodations to respect someone else’s beliefs, even though they did not represent my own. You see this coach is Muslim and it was the first week of Ramadan. We made sure he had his own room, my husband informed him of the direction of our home so that he could be in correct posture, and I cooked every meal separately so he was able to follow the dietary restrictions. I believe because we made an effort to respect his beliefs, we were able to have open conversations about our beliefs. My children, although young, had questions about why he wouldn’t eat until dark and we were given the opportunity to explain a different religion and witness to them the importance of respecting others’ differences. We ultimately showed how to love others under God’s autority.
Moses was given his name by the Paharoh’s daughter because it means “to draw out” (Exodus 2:10)
Like the daughter of Pharaoh we can step out of fear and change the next generation.
We have the opportunity to remove fear, prejudice, and injustice from future generations.
Although I long for our country to be “greater” and “stronger” in the unity of the melting pot theory, I do not wish to melt together. We must recognize and respect each other’s differences.
Moses said in Exodus 13:14 “And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.”
Where do we go from here?
- Start having shared experiences with other races, other religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Attend church with others who don’t look exactly like you, attend events that take you out of your “comfort zone” so that you can learn other cultures, invite people over for dinner so you can have conversations and opportunities to grow.
- Talk up people who are different from you. Instead of constantly assuming the worst in people and generalizing an entire group of people, speak only the good things. Our children are listening. Make conscious decisions to speak better.
- Teach to protect with the truth of the reality of injustice. Teach your children to recognize injustice and stand up for truth. To not run in the opposite direction but to stand firm in what is right.
- Respond in love and respect. Remember to respond under God’s authority.
It starts with me. It starts with you. Be better.
