Romans 12:1 NIV

[1] Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

 [2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

“A Change Is Gonna Come”

I was born by the river in a little tent

Oh, and just like the river I’ve been running ever since

It’s been a long, a long time coming

But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will

It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die

‘Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky

It’s been a long, a long time coming

But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown

Somebody keep telling me don’t hang around

It’s been a long, a long time coming

But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will

Then I go to my brother

And I say, “Brother, help me please”

But he winds up knockin’ me

Back down on my knees

There’ve been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long

But now I think I’m able to carry on

It’s been a long, a long time coming

But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will

Sam Cooke recorded this song in 1964 as an anthem during the struggle for Civil Rights. It was a song of hope for change then and remains so now.

Change is the one constant in life. It can be positive or negative. From its inception, America has been in a state of flux, continually undergoing change.

We have experienced both positive and negative changes. While one group looks at how the West was won, the victims of colonization and genocide see it as how the West was lost.

Those who see history through the eyes of whiteness see a manifest destiny and the accumulation of wealth and global power, while those who built the nation with their free labor are burdened with the memories of generations of pain and suffering.     

Much like a game of football, we have moved the ball up and down the field. Sometimes with strides toward the goal and at other times moving back in the opposite direction.

Those who stand together on one accord, in unity, fighting to reach the goal line of equality and human and civil rights for all people, attempt to move the ball down the field, while an opposing team seeks to keep them from scoring. They entertain a romanticized history that makes them the hero in every story, engaging in revisionist history, picking and choosing what to add and subtract for a feel-good rendition.  

This is what is promoted as the history of America. While moving towards our goal, we have seen both progress and setbacks. But some want to celebrate too early before getting the ball over the goal line. For them, it seems that progress is enough. But in the words of Malcolm X, “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress.

If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. The progress is healing the wound that’s below, that the blow made. And they haven’t even begun to pull the knife out, much less heal the wound…

They won’t even admit the knife is there.”

Or as I like to say, “If you urinate on my corn flakes 7 days a week and cut it down to 3, don’t expect me to put a smile on my face.”

So, what is true progress? What we see is temporary progress short of crossing the aforementioned goal line.  We will not see true foundational progress until we see shared power and shared wealth, and equal opportunities to gain and maintain them. These are the two primary areas being defended by an institutionalized system of racism/white supremacy.

Renowned educator Jane Elliott has been conducting her brown-eyed blue-eyed exercise since the assassination of Dr. MLK Jr.

What she discovered very quickly was how easily their friends turned on each other when she introduced the concept of superiority of one group over another.

There seems to be something within man’s fallen sin nature that makes him susceptible to gravitating toward elitism.

As Elliott would say, America’s system has not failed, but rather it has done exactly what it was designed to do.

The system can and has become self-perpetuating. It has taken on a life of its own and gained momentum over time, while only the players have changed, from one generation to the next.

Yet the scripture teaches us what side of the field we should be playing and on what team.

Micah 6:8 NIV

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

  And what does the Lord require of you?

 To act justly and to love mercy

 And to walk humbly with your God.

The Savior died for ALL, not just for some. There is a spirit of unity in Christ. But there is a division between those who seek Christ and a unity of love, versus those who seek superiority over others.

Jesus made it clear when He spoke of the good Samaritan and converted an entire Samaritan village through a woman He met at the well.

He confronted the religious leaders of His time regarding their arrogance and hypocrisy. They were playing on the wrong team and on the wrong side of the field.

Romans 12: 1&2 urges us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds as opposed to being conformed to the ways of this world.

The thirst for power and money has led many down the path of idolatry, turning from their  Creator to selfish ambitions.

Many have attempted to hide their idolatry behind Christian Nationalism while promoting and defending all manner of ungodliness.

Like the religious leaders of Jesus’s day, they have substituted obedience to the one true God for obedience to a political scam artist icon.

Yes, everything must change, and we must continue to fight the good fight and seek good trouble for the cause of Christ, recognizing that the battle has already been won, but we must finish the game.