Tag Archives: People

If You Had a Choice of Color

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multi handsSeveral years ago, a song-writer penned these words as the opening lyrics of a song:

“If you had a choice of color

Which one would you choose my brothers?

If there was no day or night

Which would you prefer to be right?”

But the truth of the matter is: We don’t have a choice of color! No one has any control of the color of their skin or of their ethnicity. And why should they? In the grand designed of the Creator, he chose to make people of different colors and ethnicity. Now while some have claim superiority based on color and racial make-up, such assumptions are not really intelligent or logical. For one, how can any one race claim superiority when that particular race (or any race for that matter) had no choice in the matter? Secondly, if the Creator made one race or people superior to another, then the Creator is divided and flawed, because whatever is created is a reflection and part of the Creator. It is neither logical nor sensible for the Creator to make one race greater or lesser than another! And it is neither logical nor sensible for people to be penalized or glorified for something (race and ethnicity) of which they had no control or choice!

The Creator God is a being of supreme intelligence; therefore, it stands to reason that variety is a good thing! Therefore, at its roots, to practice racism is telling God He didn’t know what He was doing or that He made a mistake in creating diversity in the racial and ethnic make-up of people! And then, think of how boring and bland the world would be if everybody was the same! There would be no basis for personal growth because if everybody was just like you, there would be no differentiation, hence no basis of learning from someone different. I don’t know about you, but I am thankful for diversity! I can’t imagine how mundane life would be if I was just “216,000,000 of whatever!” (Star Trek fans can relate, remember: The Borg!) A creation is always an expression of its creator; therefore, it takes all of us, in all colors and ethnic groups, to express God!

Finally, on the outside we may be red, yellow, brown, black, or white, but have you noticed that we all bleed red blood? While we are different on the outside, in essence, we are in a sense the same on the inside! We are one! I can’t hurt you without hurting myself! I can’t discriminate against you without discriminating against myself and the God who made you!

It’s time we grow up! Racism at its core is childish and immature behavior! We don’t have a choice of color! There’s a verse in the Bible that asks: “Can a leopard change his spots?” The obvious answer is “No!” But my question is: Why should he want to? God made him a leopard with spots and everything God made is GOOD! Therefore my friend, no matter what your racial make-up or ethnicity; be comfortable and proud of the skin you are in! Don’t let small-minded and immature people judge or intimidate you based on the superficial skin color! Variety is good! Life would be so boring if we all drove red Ford pick-ups! Thank God for Cadillac, Dodge, GMC and others! Thank God everybody doesn’t wear the same color clothing! We are like a bag of different colored peanut M & M’s! They are different colors on the outside; but on the inside, they are all chocolate covered peanuts! We come in different colors and ethnicity, but at the core, we all bled red blood! We all have grey brain matter! We all come from the same source! We all are via creation; children of God! We are all people! So, I’m glad we didn’t and don’t have a choice of color! If you think we are messed up now because of the color issue, imagine how much more chaotic it would be if orange, purple, green, rainbow-colored and plaid colored people were added into the mix! LOL!

The Matter of Respect

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Respect imageSome people kill or engage in other illegal activities; trying to get it! Others do things they normally wouldn’t do; trying to get it! Still others buy things they can’t afford, to impress people they don’t even like; trying to get it! What are they trying to get? Respect! By definition, respect is the state or quality of being highly esteemed. We all want respect and we all want to be respected! We all want to be regarded and have a sense of worth and importance.

But think about it for a minute! Why does a person have to “do” something in order to gain or earn respect? Why can’t a person be respected simply because they are? In other words, why can’t respect simply be a given? Shouldn’t the very fact that a person “is” be enough for them to be respected? I want to encourage you to quit jumping through hoops, quit standing on your head, and quit turning backward flips trying to earn the respect of people! The very fact that you are is enough! And if they don’t respect you for that; that’s their problem not yours!

The bottom line is that many times people fail to exhibit respect toward others because they don’t respect themselves! Before you can respect others; you must first respect yourself! And in order to respect yourself; you must like and love yourself! Now, I’m not talking about the type of self-love that some people have where they are so in love with themselves that no one else in the world matters. (A prime example of this is a commercial I saw once where a man said to a young lady: “I’m tired of talking about myself; so I’m going to give you a chance to talk about me!”) No! I’m talking about having a healthy regard for yourself that promotes healthy self-esteem and self-confidence. If you don’t like yourself; why should other people like you? The first step in having the respect of others is to have respect for yourself!

And the first step in respecting others is understanding that every person is in a sense, an expression of the Divine! The Bible says that humanity was created in the image and likeness of God! Although that image has been tarnished by sin, faults, and failures, nevertheless, the image is still there! Therefore, the street-walker, the pimp, the prostitute, the gang-banger, the drug-addict, the homeless, and others that many in society do not highly esteem are indeed expressions of God! Every person is worthy of respect, not for what they do; but simply because they are! To disrespect them is to disrespect the God who created them! To disrespect them is to disrespect yourself, for at some level you and they are inseparably connected!

So, the next time you feel down because you think no one respects you, perhaps because of the mistakes you may have made in the past, remember the only people who have never made mistakes are the people who have never lived! Ask for God’s forgiveness and be sure to forgive yourself. Then, ask those you have offended for their forgiveness. And if those you have offended refuse to forgive you; don’t lose any sleep over it! Let it go and move on! The next time you are tempted to disrespect another person; remember that person is a creation of God! To disrespect them is to disrespect the God who made them and the God who made you! To disrespect them is to disrespect yourself! You can’t have one without the other! You can’t have respect for yourself without having respect for others! And you can’t have respect for others without having respect for yourself! Remember: People shouldn’t have to earn your respect and neither should you have to earn their respect! Respect should be mutually given! And respect should not be given because of what someone does; but merely because someone is! Our very existence is reason enough for respect!