August 11
On that day you stood aside . . . . you too were like one of them. Obadiah 1:11
The black and white images on the television set still haunt me. It was the early sixties, I was a child and the nightly news played out scenes of discrimination and persecution that were going on daily in our Country. Witnessing the horrific way human rights were violated right before my frightened young eyes, sickened me; the memory of the shocked sadness I felt, remains with me today. I simply could not comprehend how people could treat each other this way! Whatever could they have done to deserve this wondered and I was given no specific answer. Why isn’t someone stopping such activity and helping them? Where is this going to happen next? Could I or my family also be hurt by an angry crowd such as this? The questions raced in my mind and in my innocence the answers were so simple. Just stop! Look at what is going on! Listen! It was clear to me that they needed help, yet it appeared no one was intervening. I could not understand how this could be allowed to continue and why such violent behavior was being accepted by the bystanders? When the time came that I understood it was merely the color or their skin they were being victimized over, it angered and discouraged me.
The years go by, and still today persecution continues all over the world and right around us, and I question whether the answers to injustice are really so simple. Can prejudice and intolerance ever be brought to an end? Can hatred be stopped? Can there really be common ground among all of us? In retrospect I question my own actions. How many times have I looked the other way? How many times have I turned my back on another’s need? How many times have I closed my eyes to the painful truth that I have been one of “them” who did not love their neighbor? How many times have I denied Christ by my action or perhaps worse, my inaction?
Christ is our common ground. It is through Christ we are able to love one another as He has loved us! It is through Christ we have the courage to take part in changing the injustices that are in this world. Although the choices we make may be difficult for us to act upon, when our hearts are aligned with His, He gifts us with the ability and opportunity; with the knowledge that we do not have to be like “one of them.” Through Christ, we are no longer able to stand aside and do nothing.
Father, forgive us for the many times we have failed to act upon the wrong that we see. Open our eyes and hearts to the many ways we may be of help to others. Abba! Father! We are yours! Each one of us! We are yours!
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
On that day you stood aside . . . . you too were like one of them. Obadiah 1:11
The black and white images on the television set still haunt me. It was the early sixties, I was a child and the nightly news played out scenes of discrimination and persecution that were going on daily in our Country. Witnessing the horrific way human rights were violated right before my frightened young eyes, sickened me; the memory of the shocked sadness I felt, remains with me today. I simply could not comprehend how people could treat each other this way! Whatever could they have done to deserve this wondered and I was given no specific answer. Why isn’t someone stopping such activity and helping them? Where is this going to happen next? Could I or my family also be hurt by an angry crowd such as this? The questions raced in my mind and in my innocence the answers were so simple. Just stop! Look at what is going on! Listen! It was clear to me that they needed help, yet it appeared no one was intervening. I could not understand how this could be allowed to continue and why such violent behavior was being accepted by the bystanders? When the time came that I understood it was merely the color or their skin they were being victimized over, it angered and discouraged me.
The years go by, and still today persecution continues all over the world and right around us, and I question whether the answers to injustice are really so simple. Can prejudice and intolerance ever be brought to an end? Can hatred be stopped? Can there really be common ground among all of us? In retrospect I question my own actions. How many times have I looked the other way? How many times have I turned my back on another’s need? How many times have I closed my eyes to the painful truth that I have been one of “them” who did not love their neighbor? How many times have I denied Christ by my action or perhaps worse, my inaction?
Christ is our common ground. It is through Christ we are able to love one another as He has loved us! It is through Christ we have the courage to take part in changing the injustices that are in this world. Although the choices we make may be difficult for us to act upon, when our hearts are aligned with His, He gifts us with the ability and opportunity; with the knowledge that we do not have to be like “one of them.” Through Christ, we are no longer able to stand aside and do nothing.
Father, forgive us for the many times we have failed to act upon the wrong that we see. Open our eyes and hearts to the many ways we may be of help to others. Abba! Father! We are yours! Each one of us! We are yours!
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson