Black, White and a Touch of Pray

When will all the hate stop and the praying for healing begin?

It seems like everyday in every city in America there is tragedy as the breaking headline. Our country has become so racially divided that there seems to no longer be any gray. Media outlets and now even your home based bloggers take to the internet to sensationalize a hurting nation. We see headlines like “Charleston church shooting: Without gun control, racism will keep killing black people” and “Obama joins Twitter. Racism quickly follows.” and even more ridiculous headlines than that.

Now I don’t want to be misunderstood, are there racial tensions in this country? Absolutely. Does it have anything to do with gun control, the President, the economy, our school systems and whatever flavor of the week is being sold to justify it. No!

Our schools are full of children that are being raised by the teachers not their parents. Grandparents fill in when the parents disappear on their own accord, are in jail or worse. The teachers are limited by lawyers, unions and the government where they simply teach to the test rather than educate our youth. While they are babysitting our next generation, our current generation is falling apart.

Every time something happens, people are quick to play judge, jury and at times executioner. We label tragedies as ‘hate crimes’ or racist’ without knowing the full story. Just this morning I wept as I read the hate mongering headlines and comments about the shooting in Charleston last night. Comments like demon, evil, crazed, depraved and more. I am in no way justifying what he did, what he said or anything else. I pray for the souls lost last night in the tragedy sometimes that included the perpetrator as much as the victims.

Racism is real in our country, has been for decades and not much has changed except the attention it gets. It no longer is held in the South where Confederate flags may still wave. Now the racial divides stem across this country nationwide. We are reminded of our painful country’s history every time a white man does something to a black man. Whether it be in Ferguson, Boston, McKinney, Charleston or your own home town. People live on edge and are ready to throw in the race card at a moments notice.

Where are the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons and the rest of the NAACP hate mongers when the racism is reversed? How often do the headlines of black on white crimes like”Ala. Authorities Say Alleged Assault of White Family by Black Teens Is Not a Hate Crime” get pushed aside while others get the front page? Better yet what about all the black on black and white on white crime that never gets mentioned. It is time that the headlines become color blind and stop instigating the hate in America.

Beyond that it is time that Americans become accountable for themselves. That means the next time you see a gripping headline and want to make a crass comment. Don’t! Stop it! Think about the impact your comment will have. The only reason that negative media is such as big seller is because we as a people keep buying. Would you be okay with your next employer reading your snarky racially biased comment on the internet? Because they will.

Rather than trying to point fingers and place blame. Why not interlace those fingers you are so quick to point at others and pray for them instead. The next time someone cuts you off in traffic instead of giving them the international one finger wave, why not bless them with the sign of the cross? Gun control is not the answer, faith control is. If people understood the cost of pulling the trigger on someone else and where they would end up for eternity they might think again. It is by God’s design not ours to determine whether someone’s life is to be fast tracked by your bullets.

It is time as a country we stand up against the tyranny that is dividing us from within. Instead of looking for it to be a black or white thing we need to pray. Prayer blurs the lines of racism, shields us from the pain of hate and can heal communities big and small. Many will scoff at this and say things like ‘prayer won’t stop a bullet’ and your right it won’t. However it does have the power to change judgement and anger so the trigger is never pulled.

Our country needs healing and the racial divides closed. Sometimes we have to create that healing in our own neighborhoods and cities. As a christian community bound together as children of no colors. We can blend together as brothers and sisters in Christ and heal our nation from the inside out.

All it will take is to stop seeing each other in black or white and add a touch of pray to our lives. It is a time to remove the labels and the blinders and love each other as brothers and sisters.

Now it is your turn: Amongst all the headlines and hurt through violence lately, do you think the healing can begin in this country? How can each of us help in our own community? Please share your thoughts as well as prayers for all victims of these unnecessary crimes in the comments below.