Not every blog will be happy go lucky stuff since I try to respond to what comes to mind. Today it is a personal testimony and it's serious but hopefully one that can help us all.
Probab
ly one of the toughest things we will ever do is to deal with and overcome wrong things ingrained in us in our upbringing. I was raised up in an environment where the Confederacy was still considered to be the winning side. This culture was not preserved for malicious reasons; it was the way of life that had been handed down from one generation to the next. Anything that threatened this segregated, all-white view of the world was immediately cast as evil typically with Bible examples to prove it.
This is a vital point because once you connect your views into thus says
the Word of the Lord then what follows after is in keeping with His plan and purpose. When I say this culture was not preserved with harmful intentions in mind, I fully realize that consequences do flow from thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, and those consequences are real and they can be very hurtful, dangerous, and often are paid for with someone’s blood.
How c
an one be so absolutely reverent concerning those who raised them up while also recognizing how horribly wrong they were about many vital issues in life? First and foremost, it’s because I know they were doing what they did because they believed it, had been taught what they believed, and to have done otherwise would have been against their belief. Therefore, I know they did what they did in ignorance. Many do not accept that as an excuse but I am not making it as an excuse but as an explanation.
This was my world for my first eighteen years. The Civil Rights movemen
t was cast as an attack against America and all she stood for, especially against our southern heritage. This was heralded from the pulpits to the housetops and in the classrooms of our small rural town. Many believed this calamitous unrest reflected end time events depicted in The Revelation of Jesus Christ. For impressionable young people, these thoughts and ideas were caught by osmosis as much as they were taught. But, thank God for truth, and thank God that we all can learn to unlearn erroneous teachings from our past!
As a young supervisor I was sent to a four-week summer boot camp type of management training program conducted at the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One of the professors helping to conduct this program was from Mississippi. He told a story very similar to mine about growing up in a small, all-white town. He graduated from high school at seventeen and left the farm for college. This required him to catch a bus chartered to
take kids to the university. The bus arrived filled to capacity with would be freshmen. When he climbed on board, it was so packed; many were standing in the aisle. He had no choice but to squeeze in and to his horror he found himself sandwiched between two black teenagers. He said his entire life flashed before his eyes because he had been taught and believed that the smell alone from black people could kill you. He thought this was it for him, but then realized that not only was he not dying, but also to his surprise, there was no smell. For him this began a process of unlearning some things that needed to be unlearned.
I can’t track against any one major event like this in my life, but it was m
ore of a coming to understand God’s truth that set me free in this area. The Bible does not teach that we by our birth are superior to others; in fact, we are all the same, sinners, without hope and in need of a Savior. The Bible does not teach racial inferiority and we are not the modern day Israelites fighting against the Hittites or any other group. My wife and I used to sing a song entitled: “The Ground Is Level At The Foot Of The Cross”. How true! Now some might think all of this is silly but it may be time for us all to recognize and root out any vestiges of un-christian thoughts and ideas.
Today I’m thankful that one of, if not my closest friend
and brother in Christ, is an African American man, a local missionary pastor, with a wonderful family. This would have been inconceivable to me as a child growing up. How did I go from an inherited mindset like that of the professor mentioned to where I am today? In the professor’s case it was the ‘mental’ realization, in my situation it was a God thing and He’s still working on me, but how I thank Him for giving me a changed heart towards others.
Many years ago I had a black man working for me in a lead position. He had a brot
her who had become a renowned sculptor. He was very proud of his brother and he gave me a videotape so I could see some of his brother’s work. The video showed a variety of his pieces in front of prestigious buildings across our nation. When that part of the video came to an end, the tape kept going and there was my employee and his family at Christmas time. While I felt like I was intruding I was drawn to what I was seeing. To tell the truth, they, for the most part, did their Christmas celebration almost exactly like we do. They had a special prayer and enjoyed a meal together and then had their time of opening presents. There was much laughing and joy surrounding their time together. This was a very special event for me because it was part of the unlearning process that God had begun in my life.
I’m sure there are things my boys need to unlearn that I handed down, but with God’s help I’m trying to correct as much as I can before I leave. More later…..
Probab
ly one of the toughest things we will ever do is to deal with and overcome wrong things ingrained in us in our upbringing. I was raised up in an environment where the Confederacy was still considered to be the winning side. This culture was not preserved for malicious reasons; it was the way of life that had been handed down from one generation to the next. Anything that threatened this segregated, all-white view of the world was immediately cast as evil typically with Bible examples to prove it.This is a vital point because once you connect your views into thus says
the Word of the Lord then what follows after is in keeping with His plan and purpose. When I say this culture was not preserved with harmful intentions in mind, I fully realize that consequences do flow from thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, and those consequences are real and they can be very hurtful, dangerous, and often are paid for with someone’s blood.How c
an one be so absolutely reverent concerning those who raised them up while also recognizing how horribly wrong they were about many vital issues in life? First and foremost, it’s because I know they were doing what they did because they believed it, had been taught what they believed, and to have done otherwise would have been against their belief. Therefore, I know they did what they did in ignorance. Many do not accept that as an excuse but I am not making it as an excuse but as an explanation.This was my world for my first eighteen years. The Civil Rights movemen
t was cast as an attack against America and all she stood for, especially against our southern heritage. This was heralded from the pulpits to the housetops and in the classrooms of our small rural town. Many believed this calamitous unrest reflected end time events depicted in The Revelation of Jesus Christ. For impressionable young people, these thoughts and ideas were caught by osmosis as much as they were taught. But, thank God for truth, and thank God that we all can learn to unlearn erroneous teachings from our past!As a young supervisor I was sent to a four-week summer boot camp type of management training program conducted at the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One of the professors helping to conduct this program was from Mississippi. He told a story very similar to mine about growing up in a small, all-white town. He graduated from high school at seventeen and left the farm for college. This required him to catch a bus chartered to
take kids to the university. The bus arrived filled to capacity with would be freshmen. When he climbed on board, it was so packed; many were standing in the aisle. He had no choice but to squeeze in and to his horror he found himself sandwiched between two black teenagers. He said his entire life flashed before his eyes because he had been taught and believed that the smell alone from black people could kill you. He thought this was it for him, but then realized that not only was he not dying, but also to his surprise, there was no smell. For him this began a process of unlearning some things that needed to be unlearned.I can’t track against any one major event like this in my life, but it was m
ore of a coming to understand God’s truth that set me free in this area. The Bible does not teach that we by our birth are superior to others; in fact, we are all the same, sinners, without hope and in need of a Savior. The Bible does not teach racial inferiority and we are not the modern day Israelites fighting against the Hittites or any other group. My wife and I used to sing a song entitled: “The Ground Is Level At The Foot Of The Cross”. How true! Now some might think all of this is silly but it may be time for us all to recognize and root out any vestiges of un-christian thoughts and ideas.Today I’m thankful that one of, if not my closest friend
and brother in Christ, is an African American man, a local missionary pastor, with a wonderful family. This would have been inconceivable to me as a child growing up. How did I go from an inherited mindset like that of the professor mentioned to where I am today? In the professor’s case it was the ‘mental’ realization, in my situation it was a God thing and He’s still working on me, but how I thank Him for giving me a changed heart towards others.Many years ago I had a black man working for me in a lead position. He had a brot
her who had become a renowned sculptor. He was very proud of his brother and he gave me a videotape so I could see some of his brother’s work. The video showed a variety of his pieces in front of prestigious buildings across our nation. When that part of the video came to an end, the tape kept going and there was my employee and his family at Christmas time. While I felt like I was intruding I was drawn to what I was seeing. To tell the truth, they, for the most part, did their Christmas celebration almost exactly like we do. They had a special prayer and enjoyed a meal together and then had their time of opening presents. There was much laughing and joy surrounding their time together. This was a very special event for me because it was part of the unlearning process that God had begun in my life.I’m sure there are things my boys need to unlearn that I handed down, but with God’s help I’m trying to correct as much as I can before I leave. More later…..
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