Inspired by the story of the President sharing a racist social media post, I made a reel called “Racism is not part of following Jesus.” In the deepfake video shared by the President, House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is wearing a sombrero, has a mustache, and mariachi music plays in the background. Is it the worst thing he could say? No. Is it deeply offensive? I can’t say. Does it stereotype someone? It appears to. Does it degrade or disrespect someone based on their appearance? It looks like that is the intent.
When I address racism, I have to be careful. Years ago, I called out a friend for some racist comments (see Part Three of Crossing the Lines We Draw). He was offended. I understand. I would be too if someone identified something I said as ‘racist’. It was a clumsy example. After the book was published, he and I had a rich conversation, identified some of our differences, and remained friends until his death a few years later. Is the President a racist? No one knows the human heart but God (1 Corinthians 2:11).
Each person can control their own actions. Each of us can choose what we say. One way of following Jesus, and avoiding racism, comes from Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a French Catholic Carmelite monk in the seventeenth century. He is best known for his posthumous book Practicing the Presence of God. He encouraged people to go through life in constant awareness of Christ.
If we hold up our words in the light of Christ and compare each thought to the Jesus we encounter in the gospels, I submit that we will never say something racist. If we submit our thoughts to God and imagine the other as a child of God, created in God’s image, we will not think racist thoughts. This applies to friend, foe, and everyone in between. Therefore, I submit my thoughts about what a politician could have meant by a social media post to the light of Christ, and I cannot pretend to know the other’s motivation. I can only know my own.
Divisions are all around us. It’s easy to succumb to the temptation to see the differences that are everywhere. Overcoming racism is a journey. It means being intentional and recognizing that it has no place in following Jesus.