I live in Arkansas, the 49th [or sometimes 50th] poorest state in the Union.
It is said by many that in my state, we suffer under a dreadful curse that our forefathers brought down upon us by their stubborn closed-mindedness and racism. It’s often said that Arkansas runs about 20 years behind the rest of the nation in development, because our thinking and society runs 20 years behind.
I used to scoff at that, but in the past 6 months I have learned that it is very true.
Our hatred keeps us down.
I came to see this during the recent Presidential Election. People that I thought I knew as strong and faithful followers of Christ spoke openly about their hatred for Senator Obama and other African-American people.
I was shocked and hurt.
But the shock also jarred my vision into focus.
You see racism against African-Americans is just the tip of the iceberg; there are other peoples we despise even more. Hatred of “liberals” and “gays” may not run as deep, but it flows a lot swifter. As I travelled around Arkansas making contacts this summer and fall, I was bombarded by ministers and others in vocational Christian service who spoke hatefully about Democrats, homosexuals, African-Americans, and Mexicans.
The worst part is they considered this hatred to be part of their Christian walk.
Everywhere I went, people used “war” metaphor to describe the upcoming election, and the direction of American society in general. According to these people, we are engaged in a battle for the soul of America.
Their arguments were feeble at best.
The bottom line is this: How can we expect God to bless a land where hatred is planted instead of seeds of love?
We can’t, and that’s why we will continue to smolder at the bottom of the pile, 20 years behind the rest of the nation.
Peace,
