demonized and sanctified

this post is about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. his biological details are easily found in any bookstore. simply googling his name produces more than enough information. his actual story is not the focus of this post. rather, this post is about the reactions he invoked from the two culture groups in America. blacks and whites. or African-Americans and Anglo-Americans if you prefer.

as a child, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther of Wittenberg, Germany were the same person. this juvenile confusion is completely understandable as neither were discussed in any depth in our home. the founder of the Protestant Reformation and the impetus behind the Civil Rights movement were the same person to me. ha! maybe not so ridiculous after all! i've jokingly asked my parents why they didn't discuss these world shapers with us.

growing up in a white, evangelical world, Dr. King, was not honored. in some fairness, he was not dishonored in the sense of active dishonoring. however, he was dishonored because he was ignored. the third Monday of January means little to nothing to most white, evangelical Christians. this is not only unfortunate, but un-Christian.

Dr. King has also been actively demonized by a great number so-called Christians. his moral character. his refusal to submit to authority. his preaching on social issues. all have completely decimated any good he might have done. because he was less than perfect, the positive change in American society is discredited. if you can demonize the leader, you can demonize the movement, right? this has been an underlying stance of many white, older evangelicals since the Civil Rights movement. and it's sad. it's really sad.

i have asked older people in my sub-culture where the white Christians were during the Civil Rights movement. some whites can be viewed in those historic pictures, but not many. what were the white churches doing? what were they thinking? why were they so far behind in pursuing righteousness for an entire segment of society?

flip the coin. the third Monday of January is a largely celebrated by the black or African-American community. he is a hero. he has influenced so much change. not to recognize him is taboo and utterly disrespectful.

the recognition or lack thereof of the third Monday in January is a blatant picture of the open wounds that still bleed in our America. if we are to live in socio-economically segregated communities for various reasons, then fine. i am ok with living a segregated life. it's much more comfortable. it's easy to control. i don't have to deal with fear. i do not have to change. i am fine with it.

but.

it's not ok to live a sanitized life and be named as a Christian. if you are not a Christian, you are off of this hook. (truth be told, you are on a much bigger hook.) if you have named yourself as a Christian, then cut out the religious association or change. stop playing games. stop justifying. stop allowing that little lawyer on your shoulder to win all of your cases in court. simply realize that your life is an outflow of what you actually believe. not what you say you believe.

lest any should think i am being too harsh, please read the words of Jesus. he was perfect. his words were spoken aptly. he told well-meaning followers of his that they were actually his enemies even though they looked like his friends. we might have fooled the world around us, and even ourselves. but we have not fooled him. last i checked, he is the one that matters.