My emotions are all over the map. Growing up in the South, there were a lot of “unwritten” rules about how to behave properly with regards to topics of conversation; especially at a dinner party. You don’t bring up politics or religion (specifically denominations). You never ask someone how much money they make or what they paid for their home, car, etc. You should never ask a woman her age or her weight, and you *never* ask a woman when she is due, because she might just be overweight, not pregnant. You don’t bring up race because people might think you are a racist. You do not discuss sex or football, either. God forbid someone at your dinner party might be an Alabama fan.
Well, this is all about to change with me. Y’all pull up a seat because I’m “fixing” to break a whole lot of Southern etiquette rules.
First of all, I am not religious. I dislike the term so much it makes my stomach hurt. I am madly in love with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s a relationship we have. I personally disagree with many other denominations, so all I really care about is the understanding Jesus told me to love His Father and to love everyone.
As for politics, God only knows what has happened to this country and our political beliefs, and I mean that. God only knows, because we sure don’t.
I spent years studying politics in college, and to this day, still study it. I worked in politics and nothing I ever did seems to be fitting for what is happening in our country in politics, today. In one of my political science classes, we were taught how to debate, and our professor took off points for name-calling and foul language.
I’ll just leave it at that.
But it is long past time for us to have some serious discussions about race. It is 2020, for the love of all that is pure and holy, and we should not be having this talk, but by God, we need it. We cannot look the other way. We cannot say the conversations are too big/too difficult or out of our hands, because they are too big. Well, they are difficult, and this is why we need to be having them. They are not out of our hands, either, because we can implement changes with ourselves.
“I don’t notice their color” is BS. Of course we see color, we aren’t blind. What needs to happen, however, is not caring about color. What needs to happen, however, is calling out people who say things like, “I’m not going to sit here and argue with this negro,” or those who defend someone who says that.
What needs to happen is telling someone who says, “I won’t say black lives matter, because white/all lives matter too,” that it is imperative for them to understand black lives matter, because we cannot make all lives matter until we recognize the horrific treatment of black and brown lives. On that topic, if Jesus were to walk around today, He would look far more black/brown than He would white. So when you speak up for a black/brown life, you are speaking up for Jesus.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” - Romans 12:2 (NLT)
There is an awful lot of hate and anger being spewed from people who call themselves followers of Jesus. But if we are all followers of Jesus, we won’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, and we will not support idols and statues over people.
We will let God transform us into new people by changing the way we think.
Then we will learn to know God’s will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
I am so far from being perfect, it is pathetic. But every single day, all I care about is letting God transform me into a new person by changing the way I think.
I want to reflect Jesus, not this world. Oftentimes, this makes me very unpopular with some people and their political beliefs. But at the end of the day, all I care about is doing what honors God, not politicians. Not groups. Not denominations.
I guess this makes me not politically correct with certain groups of people. But as long as you and I strive to be biblically correct, that is what matters.
Honoring God above all is how we let God transform us into new people, by changing the way we think.
Difficult conversations must take place. It might not be proper southern etiquette, but doing what is right, is always proper.