So the other morning Calvin and I were talking over coffee. He began to tell me about a colleague of his who has a daughter getting ready to head off to college. Calvin's colleague is a white woman who is married to a black man, so their daughter is biracial but identifies as African American. This woman proceeded to tell Calvin that her daughter had decided to go into an all black dormitory. Apparently this is now a fairly common thing on campuses. As well as all black cafes or other "safe spaces".
Calvin mentioned how strange this seems in 2020. I had to admit, I agreed and actually thought it is a bit sad. After all the civil rights fights—the deaths and martyrs for the cause of eliminating segregation and esteeming equality—here we are back to segregation, albeit by choice. I wonder what MLK would think? I wonder what Jesus would think... Paul says in Christ there is no male or female, no Gentile or Jew. All are one in Christ Jesus.
The other day at church the sermon started out like this: "I am a white, female, cisgendered, heterosexual, educated, upper white class person..." Wow, I thought to myself, that certainly is a lot of labels!! She went on to preach on her white privilege soapbox, and of the necessity and responsibility of those like her to help those less fortunate. While no one would argue that those with more fortune should incline themselves as Christians to help others with less, I think the key word here is Christians.
Paul says in Christ there is no male or female, no Gentile or Jew. All are one in Christ Jesus. Why then so many separating labels? Christ's own message seems to be doing just the opposite. Tearing down labels in order to unify. I thought to myself, white people are broken too, some are victims of sexual abuse, stuck in addiction, from broken homes, abused—the list goes on.
All beings suffer the human condition, white or not. All human beings are sinners, yet in Him our guilt is lifted, he has died for our sins that we may be born in Him. So why are we being told to feel guilty and obliged because of the color of our skin, stature of our birth, or other above-named details?
It all just seems so counterintuitive and counter Christian. It also seems to me almost proud, as if somehow by acknowledging some categorical privilege I may have been born into, I can alleviate my natural sense of guilt and become for those of lesser social stature (in any given category) their surrogate savior on earth—all the while convincing myself of some sort of moral superiority because I acknowledge my privilege and take personal responsibility.
It seems to me these false notions are the very thing we are called to die to. A sense of our own righteousness, or power even to do things of our own accord. Should we not meet another, any other as our equal brother or sister in Christ Jesus? Might any one of these not-so-pristine categories have something of equal or greater value to offer than we may have to offer them?
What if we approached the other, any other, not with a sense of alleviating guilt and doing our moral duty, but rather with love from one human being to another. Would that not be more gratifying, satisfying and pure for all involved rather that approaching the other with a man made preordained duty?
I am not convinced that forced diversity creates unity. It seems by the choice of the young college-student-to-be, that perhaps it does the very opposite. The more labels, the more separation. And then we look to be with those whose labels match ours. Christ's message is not of diversity but rather of our unity in Him—a true equality I believe creates equanimity. I honor you because you are a child of God made in his image, I see us as one in him, no better no worse, just one in him. Period, the end.
