Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Random Thoughts on Black Christians, Forgiveness, & The Black Church

Black Christians have to stop being so accommodating to others when it comes to racism & White supremacy, even if those others are so called Christians. No true believer in Christ ignores the suffering of injustice enacted towards their fellow believer or human being, and tells them to "just pray about it" while they do nothing about it.

PSALM 82:2-4; "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 3) Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4) Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

The one holding the axe does not get to tell the tree how it should feel, and White Society has been holding the axe for a long time. "Black trees" who don't mind being chopped down need to go cooning in another forest away from me. I will never allow anyone who claims to be a believer in Christ pray with me or quote the Bible to me while they ignore me and tell me, "Just have faith and God will fix it", as their excuse. Don't tell me to have faith when yours is obviously dead.

JAMES 2:15-17; "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." 

We cannot allow those who claim to be our brothers & sisters in Christ hide behind the "colorless line" in Christ and then ignore the color line in our dysfunctional racist society. How can you call me "brother" to my face and at the same time see me as your enemy in private? The private sentiment always finds its way into the public eye. 

Black People have to stop being so programmed to quickly forgive those who harm us before we've even had proper time to grieve or process the harm done to us. We must stop taking Bible Scriptures out of context to try justifying this docile behavior. Much of the time those who brutalize us for racial reasons don't care to receive our forgiveness or regret their actions because of their deep seated hatred for us which led them to their actions. Many of our own people who do us harm don't even seek forgiveness. Yet, as if trained or hypnotized we rush to forgive and say we're doing it more for us than for them.

It's to the point now where almost anything can happen to a Black person and society at large expects the "forgiveness speech", but when a Black person does wrong to another person (especially a white person) then there's an outcry for justice with the accused being called "beasts, animals, and thugs". Slaves often blamed themselves for their master's cruelty and quickly forgave them as an unhealthy coping mechanism just like a person in an abusive relationship often does. It takes time to recover from traumatic events, and it takes time to grieve so you won't be be ambushed later by unresolved anger.

Giving your abuser a blank check of forgiveness that doesn't require accountability or allow you the opportunity to fully express your hurt is psychologically damaging to your mental health, and is not "Christ like" as you may think. You can hold yourself hostage by denying yourself the right to realistically address these types of issues. I believe in godly forgiveness but I also believe in the grieving process to heal; which is why I don't condemn those who quickly forgive. I also understand that forgiveness doesn't deny my rights for justice; especially towards the unrepentant who deserve judgment for their evil deeds.

PSALM 7:11; "God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day." 

The Black Church must stop down playing our ancestry, heritage, or culture to seem non-threatening in order to make others feel comfortable who never do the same for us or care to do so. Black Christians didn't make ourselves the "Black Church", but we became that by being rejected and denied by White Christians who didn't want to worship alongside of us because of their racial bigotry. The Most High has blessed us with a rich culture and history of which we should never be ashamed or try to disassociate ourselves from to be accepted by others. We paid too much to be who we are, so don't sellout.

PSALM 139:13-14; "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14) I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." 

Once you forfeit who you are to be what someone else wants you to be or says you should be then you start being nobody, and eventually can't remember who you're suppose to be the way God Almighty made you. If we would be who we truly are and practice what we preach then harmful pro-black militaristic groups wouldn't make so much headway in leading our people astray with false hope & false doctrine. Where the Black church misses the mark these other entities fill in the gap, but they are built to fail and will to the further disappointment of Black people who are already disappointed with the Church. ~ Mr. Blaktastic

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