Scripture
9Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation. 10Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy. Proverbs 14:9-10
Observation
To look the other way is to say it doesn’t matter. The fool described here in vs. 9 is mocking the guilt, but the godly acknowledge their own guilt before God and man and seeks reconciliation. To mock guilt instead of owning our part in it is to mock the very Cross of Christ and His sacrifice that reconciled us to The Father. To pretend we have no part in the travesty of justice being perpetrated in our country to our African American brothers and sisters is to be just like the fool who sees no need to address his own guilt. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. To ignore these names and the violence done to them because of the color of their skin is to be a fool. As vs 10 points out, I can’t possibly begin to understand the pain of the black community and the bitterness that comes from seeing this injustice. Just because I can’t understand it now, doesn’t mean I can’t grow to understand by reaching out to those in my life who have lived with this all their lives.
Application
Yesterday, before going live on The Fathers House Instagram I asked for prayer requests. My friends Simon and DariAnne from Oahu reached out to me and asked me to pray over the City of Minneapolis, the family and friends of George Floyd and for our country. I reached back to them and asked how this murder and miscarriage of justice impacted them as a couple of color (Simon is a Latino from Honduras and DariAnne is African American). This was his response: “It’s really hard because we have had anger, sadness, frustration, and always asking why did this happen again. Also considering this is close to where I grew up and have family and friends right down the street from where it happened has made it hard. This was also bringing up a lot of old memories for both of us. The biggest thing is we are both getting into the Word and we realize God is the only way we can get through it. We have a lot of healing as a nation.” These words so impacted me and made me grateful to walk alongside them in prayer and to learn from them how to respond as ministers of reconciliation. When we met a few years ago DariAnne shared how much she loved the acceptance of the Hawaiian Islands for all peoples and skin colors versus the segregation they ad experienced when living in Virginia. “When we lived there the looks that we would get when a black woman with a Latino husband and his white parents (Simon was adopted) walked into the room were not good.” Simon shared how people who were in positions of power in the military would single him out because of the color of his skin. Their response? Instead of getting bitter at being labeled, ostracized, and criticized for who they were and where they were born, they refused to perpetuate the lie. For example, they invited their neighbors, an African American and Japanese couple, over to their home and began to share the love of Jesus. Instead of building walls they built bridges and modeled for me and those around exactly what it looks like to be peacemakers in these times of pain. I’m grateful for the privilege of learning from their wisdom so I can avoid foolish reactions that would only make a bad situation worse (see Proverbs 13:20).
Prayer
Forgive me Lord for trying to look the other way. Break my heart with the things that break yours. Let this brokenness lead to a breakthrough in our country. You value every life so much that You gave Your life for them. I must do the same. Thank you for friends like Simon and DariAnne who are showing me a path forward. I pray for their hearts and the heart of this nation that is broken in two right now. Let me be a minister of reconciliation in big and small ways starting with those who are right in front of me. “18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
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