Last week a friend of mine sent the following letter and petition:
Bob,
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said: “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Today we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, and join in his dream. The nation takes a day off to reflect on how far we’ve come since the civil rights movement. I ask you also to join me in reflecting on the racial divisions that persist to this day, which are often exacerbated by politicians cynically stirring up resentment and malice.
It is time that we reject the language of division and embrace a new culture of unity. As we honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., let’s continue his legacy by committing ourselves to do away with “hyphenated American” terms. We need to stop categorizing each other by skin color and race. Let us cease calling ourselves Native-American, African-American, Hispanic-American, Irish-American, Italian-American, Jewish-American, Asian-American, or any other ethnic or national bifurcation.
We are Americans.
STAND is launching a petition asking our government to also adopt unifying practices. It is time for the government to stop asking citizens their ethnic background or race. Those questions should be removed from every state, federal and local form. Race should be irrelevant when applying for school, a loan, a job, or filling out a census form. Let’s stop racial division and no longer require such information from citizens.
Please take a moment to sign the petition.
In doing so you are pledging to stop using “hyphenated American” terms, and you are asking your government to do the same.
For God and Country,
Bishop E.W. Jackson
I signed the petition and urge you to do so. Americans are Americans plain and simple. I don’t even know who my ancestors are, though Williamson is a common name in the UK. But as the cartoon character Popeye used to say, “I am what I am – I don’t consider myself Irish, or Scottish or anything other than American.
In this country that is made up of immigrants we should just assimilate and happily take on the role of being Americans without all the added descriptions to make us appear different from one another. We are Americans and we should speak the English language and follow the customs of this great land and work together to make this country great again.
The same holds true for Christians. We all follow Christ and we believe the Gospel and that Jesus died a substitutionary death in exchange for our sins in order that we might live. That is the important thing. But sadly, as with the American society, Christians insist upon calling themselves Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, and so on. There are currently 43,000 different denominations in the world. All these folks are trying to differentiate themselves from others which leads to . . . You guessed it division. Division often leads to hatred and hatred often leads to war.
God didn’t want this and in John 21 Christ Himself prayed that we would become one with God and each other. It sounds simple, but try going a week without referring to someone’s belief system without labeling it, or try not referring to someone as an African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, or the like. Bishop Jackson is a great friend of mind and I wish him well, but I will tell him he has his work cut out for him as do I in my journey with the Jesus Alliance to try and unite Christians and get them to work together. But we need to start somewhere if we ever possibly hope to change things for the better.
A good friend of mine filmmaker Dr. Bryan Hickox once wrote: “Alone we cannot feed a continent, but together we can.” He went on to give other examples such as preaching the Gospel, caring for the sick and so on. He is right, because together we can do most anything within the will of God for our lives.
I read the following excerpt from Gospel Outreach:
“Believers come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Even siblings often see some things differently. Those differences need not drive people apart and cause them to build walls against each other. It must be remembered that believers are one in Christ, not one in peripheral doctrine.
May the Lord help us to treat each other with love and compassion in spite of our differences in peripheral or debatable areas, as the Lord loves each one of us in spite of our differences and imperfections. May we endeavor to be united in the love of Christ, and in praising Him for all He has done, does now, and will do for us!”
Try looking at yourself simply as a Christian and an American. At the Jesus Alliance, we have adopted Bill Bright’s Holy Spirit inspired wisdom as our own: “If you love Jesus I can work with you.” His son Brad recently wrote and remarked that those who fail to accept other Christians because of some belief they might hold that is different than their own, might want to consider what his dad also said: “When I stand before the Throne, I would rather have God ask me, ‘Bill, why were you so gullible?’ rather than ‘Bill, why were you so critical of your brother?'”
Hey, remember this: If you love Jesus I can work with you and that includes those who are colored red, black, white, brown, yellow, or even blue and maroon… It’s the color of love.
Romans 15:5
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
January 19 2017 – Click here to listen