March 2021

RACISM. One of the hottest topics of discussion in the United States and in the world right now. Is it getting worse? Has it improved over the last 50+ years? And for us what does it look like in Jamaica compared to the US? This blog will not adequately cover the full topic or necessarily provide answers but hopefully will add some depth to the discussion.

As I’m sure you can guess, in Jamaica we are a racial minority. We are surrounded by people with different skin color than us and on most days we don’t encounter anyone who has the same skin tone. We are indeed treated differently because we are white. We are surely viewed wherever we go as most likely having money, even to the point of being considered “rich.” We are seen sometimes as not being as smart because we aren’t from Jamaica. We are also sometimes seen as being more likely to have Covid. All these and more are silly things based on the color of our skin. In the US we often judge people of another color through equally silly lenses. In Jamaica many times Asian people are discriminated against based on their racial and ethnic background. They are often viewed in a negative light. It would be easy for us to judge in reverse. But when the majority of people have the same skin color you begin to realize that often we judge based on other factors as well. Things like clothing and hair and posture all become subtle ways to evaluate/judge people. 

I grew up as a child in the Texas-Oklahoma-Kansas area. My grade-school years were spent in a small little town in central Kansas. I can still remember moving to Eastern Oklahoma before my 7th grade year and going to school with kids who didn’t look like me for the very first time. I remember playing football with many black kids and being more curious than fearful. In fact, through sports I quickly developed many black friends. I can still remember the first day of school and seeing a racial fight for the first time and on top of that seeing girls fight for the first time. Race is one of those things that impacts all people in all cultures. Anyone different than us is perceived in a different way and race is a part of that equation. There are many influences in our lives in how we handle that and how we treat those different than us. 

In the Bible we see clear condemnation of the idea of racism. Two key passages include Galatians 3:26–28 which reminds us that “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” There is no room for treating people differently based on their race if we are in Christ. Also, we see Paul appealed to Philemon to see his slave, Onesimus, “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother” (Philemon 16). 

One good resource for this discussion is found in Jim Denison’s article called “What Does the Bible Say about Racism?” You might not agree 100% with every assertion he makes but some good knowledge and even wisdom can be found by reading that article. A few of the challenges he gives are worth repeating here. 

He first says we need to Search Our Hearts:

One reason racial discrimination is such a perennial problem is that it appeals to the core of our sin nature. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent promised the woman that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).

From then to now, our desire to be our own god is at the root of all our sin. As Friedrich Nietzsche noted, the “will to power” is the basic drive in human nature.

Here’s my point: Racism is a way to feel superior to others on the basis of immutable realities. If I’m White and you’re Black, I will always be White and you will always be Black. If I delude myself into believing that being White is superior to being Black, I will therefore always feel superior to you.

This temptation is alluring on levels we often don’t recognize. In fact, I think Satan wants us not to acknowledge our discriminatory inclinations, lest we admit and repent of them.

Secondly, he talks about Taking the Initiative. That change has to start with us. We must be proactive rather than reactive. 

Christians are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14). If food lacks salt, the fault is not with the food. If a dark room lacks light, the fault is not with the room.

You and I must set the standard in our churches, communities, and families. We must be the change we want to see. We must take proactive, positive, initiatory steps to model the inclusive love of Jesus.

Lastly, he calls for us to Be The Church. 

In other words, the closer we draw to our Father, the closer we draw to each other.

That’s why the gospel of God’s reconciling love is the only transforming answer to the challenges we face. Legislation and the civil rights movement were essential to improving the lives of those who faced legalized discrimination. But laws cannot change people. Only the Spirit can do that. As a result, Christians are on the front lines of this spiritual battle for the soul and future of our nation.

Writing for The Washington Post, Dr. Evans traced our racial challenges “directly to ineffective Christians” and stated, “One of the real tragedies today is that the Church as a whole has not furthered God’s light … in order to be a positive influence and impact for good in the midst of darkness, fear and hate.”

Racism may look a little different in Jamaica than it does in the US. But all of us are called to be the hands and feet of Christ. That means reaching out to human beings no matter their skin color or ethnicity. No one chooses their race or gender or where they are born. We should be judged not on what we look like but on how we act. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." May that be the standard for all of us whether we live in Jamaica or the US or Africa or Scandinavia. God created all of us and we are all in need of the one and same Savior, Jesus Christ