ALL THINGS ARE YOURS!

I realize that sometimes I want less for my life than what God wants for me. I know I’m not alone. Lately I’ve been captured and overwhelmed by the truth that God wants to do so much more in my life than what I settle for. I see this in the life for so many Christians.

I was reading 1 Corinthians 3 recently with the gift of fresh eyes and saw something I’d never paid attention to before! In the letter, Paul is talking about the foolishness of divisions in the church. Members in the Corinthian church were quarreling over which teacher was the most anointed and wisest. They were divided on what gifts were the most significant in their church. Some of them lauded Paul, some lauded Apollos, and some lauded Peter. Peter and Paul were loved by some because they demonstrated God’s power in their gospel proclamation. The others praised Apollos because he demonstrated the wisdom of God in his gospel proclamation.  A rift occurred between the church as each group sought to elevate signs and wonders OR wisdom and knowledge. The people who followed Paul and Peter said signs and wonders was the right and only way! The people who followed Apollos said wisdom and knowledge was the right and only way! It had Paul scratching his head hard!

It’s been about 2,000 years since Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Corinth, but that reality is still present today! Christians still quarrel over whose way is the right and only way! I spent the first 9 years of my life in Ghana, West Africa. I’m thankful that both of my parents were strong believers and taught me and my siblings from a young age the importance of faith. What was strange in our home on Sundays was that we attended two churches. This is somehow common in this part of the world so let me explain how this looked like. My father came from a Roman Catholic background. I was baptized in the Catholic church as an infant and was even on my way to becoming an altar boy before we moved to the United States. My mother came from an Assemblies of God (AG) background. I usually love telling people this fact and watching the look on their face if they know anything about those two different church traditions. We would go to the AG church on Fridays and Sundays. On Sundays, we often attended both churches waiting till mid-service at the AG church before transitioning to mass at the Catholic church.

There are theological beliefs held by both church traditions that I disagree with, but my goal is not to discuss that here! If you know anything about these two church traditions you know that the RC church is known for emphasizing the sacraments (baptism, confirmation, Lord’s supper, confession, etc.) The AG church is known for emphasizing baptism in the Holy Spirit and divine healing. I learned to appreciate certain tenets of each of these traditions growing up between both. When we moved to the United States, my faith was influenced through several church traditions. I was saved because of a Baptist church’s apartment ministry. I was discipled through a Calvinist Bible church and a Nazarene church while attending a non-denominational church. What was awkward for me as a teenager was hearing preachers say snark comments about other church traditions not knowing I would be in their midst the next day or so. I attended a Baptist University and a non-denominational Seminary. What I have learned is that each group emphasizes an aspect of the gospel and in some cases does it well. Even beyond church denominations, you see division exemplified at the level of local churches. Some Baptist churches in some contexts emphasize serving their community in their gospel proclamation while other Baptist churches choose to focus on the wisdom and knowledge of God in their gospel proclamation.

The issue occurs when one aspect of the gospel is emphasized at the exclusion of others!

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” He tells them to be united in the same mind and the same judgment. As I read this now, I notice it’s easy to get discouraged and think unity will never be realized since the people who were with Paul couldn’t even get this right! But I also realize that’s why we have God’s word and God’s Spirit, to show us how to live righteous and unified lives to him. Wherever there is quarreling, Paul’s answer is, “Is Christ divided?” Meaning if each one of the leaders preached and demonstrated Christ through wisdom or the power of God, is the gospel different? To end the argument Paul said four words at the end of chapter three that rocked me! He wrote to them ALL THINGS ARE YOURS! Within local churches, sometimes there are divisions over hymns or contemporary songs. Or whether a church should emphasize discipleship or fellowship. Personal righteousness or social justice. Jesus answered that 2,000 years ago! Paul’s answer was that Jesus included all of this in the way he preached and demonstrated the good news! Jesus wasn’t an either-or person. He was a both-and person. Believer, ALL THINGS, yes, ALL THINGS ARE YOURS!

I CAN'T BREATHE

Before it’s my name that becomes a hashtag, let me tell you why it’s time to start treating overt and covert racism as a chronic illness in America. 

If you put me and my black friends in a room, all of us have an experience of being mistreated by an individual or institution. 

My story includes an experience from eleven years ago in 2009. I had just pulled out of a popular snowballs place in Bedford, TX late at night with a friend in the front passenger seat. We had just come from a Bible Study pool party at a friends house in Grapevine. My friend lost his house key and we had retraced his steps back to the snowball place where we were earlier in the day. 

As we were leaving, a police car sped directly in front of my car so we couldn’t move. The officer came out and asked what we were doing and I gave him the spill of searching for my friends keys. I even had a digital camera that had pictures of us at the location prior in the day. I flipped through them to show the officer but he was disinterested. He asked for our ID’s and went to his car to scan them. What’s chilling to what happened next is that playing in the background on my cars CD player is Michael Jackson’s “They don’t care about us” a song about police brutality and injustice written in 1995. 

As the police officer is approaching the car, my friend who has only his swimming trunks on and is shirtless decides to put his shirt on from his bag on the floor in front of him because he was getting cold. The officer seeing this took out his gun and waved it in our face and asked us if we wanted to get our *expletive* heads blown off!! My friend and I were absolutely terrified!!

He then for the first time told us to place our hands on the dashboard. He called back up. I was 18 years old at the time, and my black friend was 16. In less than 5 minutes, 1 police car turned into 9 police cars surrounding us. 

We got out of the car with our hands behind our back. They searched my entire car and even went through luggage I had of toiletries I was taking to a mission trip to Rwanda a few days after that. I was baffled seeing something I only saw on TV shows like Cops happening to me at 18!

I was infuriated at the moment and told the other police officers what had happened and that the first officer took out his gun on us. They were appalled, advised me to calm down and told the first officer to leave. After an hour of shaking while they searched my car, they apologized and asked me if I needed a guide home and I told them no. I got home that night after 2am and paced back and forth in our living room until the sun came up. 

I can share other stories even of one recently in December 2019 when I was pulled over for speeding while on my way to a church event. I responded to the prompting of the officer to get my insurance out of my glove compartment and as I reached for it, he quickly got in position to pull his gun. 

If you’re dismissive, you’ll say I hate law enforcement when you don’t know most of my immigrant family has served in the US military and currently serves in law enforcement. I know it’s a tough job but that’s why we should restrict who’s able to hold that badge and gun! Before it’s my family that is on the news describing how of a nice guy and an outstanding citizen I was, and how I nearly had a 4.0 GPA in college and graduated seminary and became a pastor, listen to me NOW when I say covert and overt racism is a chronic illness in America and it’s time to start treating it as such!!

So here is a solution out of many. 

For the individual:

1. Your experience in life isn’t the same for others so be humble and listen when someone describes how life is for them. Don’t be quick to judge or attempt to find proof for your presumptions about people and situations. Just listen and try to see the world through their eyes. Try your hardest to build friendships with people outside your tax bracket and ethnicity. You’ll find wealth in other places beside money. 
2. This comes with listening but empathize. We should not only focus on thinking right but also on feeling right and doing right. If a video of a police officer’s knee on another mans neck as he pleads for help doesn’t cause you grief, something is wrong with your nervous system to say the least. Don’t stop at just empathizing when tragedies happen, but empathize for those who are mistreated on a daily basis. For an example, speak up for people like my sister who served in the US military and was asked to resign from her job years ago because she had an accent. 
3. For those of you who do listen and empathize and may feel misunderstood some times. Thank you! You are loved! Keep building bridges, sharing, posting, marching, and speaking out at your dinner tables and offices. Don’t cower! You are needed now more than ever!

For institutions:

1. I’m directly talking to anything that is established. From the national government to local governments and everything between including schools and churches. Start treating overt and covert racism as a chronic illness. What I’m describing is the kind of attention and fiscal support breast cancer research gets. Let’s get a label on Yoplait yogurt if we must and have a designated month for awareness. This isn’t a problem just for minorities. This isn’t an inconsequential problem. It’s woven in the fabric of this nation. It’s our problem! It’s a significant problem for all of us to address!
2. Think of ways your structures and cultures perpetuate various forms of prejudices and racism and address them. Develop a more robust system to train on diversity and deter people of deep biases from holding the badge and gun!
3. Look forward to and always plan towards breaking the status quo. Inspire hope by aiming to achieve the ideal of liberty and justice for all. Don’t let it be just words on a piece of paper!

Tears have welled up in my eyes many times this past week for George Floyd and his family. He said I can’t breathe! I was just reading a story of a lifelong friend describing losing his father at five years old who was shot dead by a police officer. I don’t even know who still needs convincing that covert and overt racism exists! Choose to listen now, because the truth is it’s hard for my black friends and I to breathe!

#justiceforGeorgeFloyd