I just spent five dollars on a Pumpkin Spice Latte…. Sometimes I hate how white I am.
Ever since stepping onto Elon’s campus, my ideas and thoughts about the world have not only been changed but totally transformed. Everywhere I look, people are raising questions about the social norms of our world. It is refreshing, and honestly a little exhausting. With two presidential candidates that aren’t necessarily “likable” (that’s all I’ll say about that), it is hard to find a topic that doesn’t have multiple conflicting views.
One of the two hundred fifty clubs that I have grown to be a little obsessed with here at Elon is InterVarsity. If you know the organization, you know that it has been under scrutiny recently about issues regarding LGBTQIA communities, but that is not what I’m talking about today. I want to highlight a part of this club that has changed my life and has presented me with a holistic view of one of the most potent problems with our society, Black Lives Matter.
As I sit here sipping my Pumpkin Spice Latte, I joke about how truly white I am and how I hate that my whiteness has driven me to spend five dollars on this delicious drink.
I am discovering daily what makes up my white identity, and although it sometimes pisses me off, each aspect of my race makes me different than those around me.
InterVarsity has taught me so many things this semester, but what just completely changed my world was the reality that God created race, and whatever He does is not only good but perfect.
1 Timothy 4:4 says that “since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks” (NLT). No one has presented this argument to me before. Did I think it was just a coincidence that people had different skin colors and different characteristics? Nothing in this life is a coincidence, and the crazy thing about our God is that He has created so much beauty and diversity around us as a way to reveal His true nature.
How blessed are we to be able to see the identity and nature of our Father in the color of our skin. I don’t know about you, but I struggle daily trying to understand Jesus. I don’t always know what He would do in my situation or how He would react to the world around me, and I have never thought to reflect on what He has created as a way to understand his nature.
The best way to see the passions and purpose of an artist is through the art that they create. This is the same for our God. He has used His power to create and because of that, we cannot simply ignore race. When seeking to find the nature of God, we have to take into account everything He has created. We are the products of the artistic hand of God, and each one of us is created to reflect one aspect of his character.
The question of “do black lives matter” is off the table. The lives of African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Latinos, and every other race on this earth not only matter, but are absolutely crucial in revealing the nature of God. I desire to know every single thing I can about our God, and if that means accepting my latte-sipping self and the race that He has made me, bring it on.
Romans 10:12 states, “for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (NIV). God knew the relations between races wouldn’t always be flawless and that we would constantly fight over the differences between them, but He states here that He has never had varying opinions of us, but rather sees our differences and loves us the same. I am thankful for a God that never debates the worth of one race over another.
I challenge you to not only view this issue from a Biblical standpoint but also to act. Make yourself the minority. Discover the beauty the Lord has created through us and be open to learning the differences between us. The Lord created all of us and our races for a reason, and I am excited to continually explore the purpose of race and how it translates to the way we understand each other and God.
