I Have a Dream

Esther 3:5 – 6 “When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.”

I can remember my grandmother, sitting on her front porch in her rocking chair and watching all the little boy cousins torment all the little girl cousins. She laughed and muttered, “Some things never change.” How right she was! Boys will always be boys, girls will always be girls, and human nature will forever stay the same.

More than 400 years before Christ was born, Haman exhibited racial discrimination. And he wasn’t the first to do so, either. From our earliest recorded history, we have evidence of this group of people hating that group of people simply because of the color of their skin.

Nearly 2,500 years after Haman and Mordecai’s scene played out, Martin Luther King gave a speech. In it, he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Why did Haman decide to kill all the Jews simply because he was angry at Mordecai? Why do any of us decide that we don’t like one group of people or another, based on their skin color or their religion or their family background or their economic status? It’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. But we have all been guilty of it, in one form or another. Every single one of us.

For me, it is a certain store I refuse to shop at. I was there once, and the clerk was rude to me. So I simply won’t shop at that store any more, even though I know that the store is a reputable one. I have let one person’s actions control my attitude about an entire chain of businesses. Pretty dumb, huh?

I’m so glad God judges us individually, by our hearts. I’m not Jewish. I’m not one of His chosen people, based on race. But He loves me! He has accepted me as His very own child, adopted me into His family, not based on my skin color, but based on the fact that I wanted to be His child. He loved me first, I loved Him back, and that was that. I’m one of His.

My daughter and her best friend are two peas in a pod. They laugh at the same things, act silly in the same ways. Both enjoy dressing up, fixing one another’s hair, and reading books. Both are kind and compassionate. If we could see their spirits lined up side by side, I feel positive we would see identical twins. But my daughter is white. Her best friend is black.

I am so glad that these two girls have become friends, for their lives are certainly richer for the friendship. When we write people off because of external factors, we rob ourselves of valuable relationships. I want to be like my daughter and her friend. I want to be like God, who looks not at our outward features, but who looks at our hearts.

Dear Father, Please forgive me for grouping people together, and judging them on things that aren’t important. Forgive me for judging people at all. Please help me to see others through Your eyes.

Amen

7 Responses to I Have a Dream

  1. June 18, 2008 #

    CHLOE UPDATE: I talked with Chloe’s parents a little while ago. Chloe had a rough night, as they are weaning her off of her pain meds. Other than that, she is doing great, health-wise. Please pray for Chloe’s pain, and for Jennifer and Mike to get some sleep.

    I have added the link for Chloe’s blog to my blogroll. Jennifer and Mike updated it today – just go to my blogroll and click on Chloe.

    Thank you all so much for your continued prayers. Love you all!

    –r

  2. June 19, 2008 #

    Dear Renae,
    I am not very enlightened when it comes to racial problems in America of today.
    I once heard Stevie Wonder say that America is a country where the majority belongs to a minority group.
    My Dad again. When I was 12 he still would read loud from a book to me, even though I had been reading on my own since I was 6.
    The good thing about reading together cannot be overvalued. We would talk and discuss, often I would ask and he always seemed to have the answers.
    The book we read was Harper Lee’s “To kill a Mockingbird.”
    Back then Norway was like the Garden of Eden, we were so innocent and actually saw the world in black and white.(TV amongst others)
    I simply could not understand all the hate and bigotry , neither could my father, who had not that long ago witnessed the slaughter of 6 million Jews.

    Oh, it’s so easy to judge when the problems are not mine.
    Today I live in a country where Norwegians have their roots way back. (my husband can document his ancestor lines back to year 400).
    We are 5 million Norwegians, of whom 500 000 are immigrants.
    This is not without problems. For instance Nigerians importing sex slaves and drugs in such amounts that our old fashioned Norwegian law has to be modernized quickly to cope with the flood.
    Our prisons have 70 % inmates with a foreign origin.
    People of Muslim faith are burning our flag with the cross of Christ on it.
    It’s scary. Could I hurt a foreign child because of these migrant problems? I hope not. Am I scared when my daughter is alone downtown late at night where the dark immigrant men are going streetwise like a flock of wolves. Yes.
    We actually have always been driving her to and from activities, if there were not a cavalier to accompany her.
    My grandfather worked in Montana US for eighteen years, and I am proud of how he struggled during times of depression to feed his family.
    Three first cousins of mine have migrated across the “Pond” one to be a successful real estate dealer , two to become captains on ships fishing scallops on the coast of Alaska.
    Hard working, well paid.
    America has treated them friendly and respectfully. And yeah, they were white and blond.
    Does color matter? Not to God, evidently, he has created every single one of us.
    Behavior does matte, so does acceptance and education.
    When we, Norwegians or Americans find it alright that people are living under the bridges or in the sours, we are actually breeding new criminals.
    That can not be a Christian thing to do.
    I have a dream too, that every child born should be given opportunity to self respect and descent human beings.
    In the end we will all benefit from that, so it’s really a very selfish dream.
    God bless your daughter and her best friend.
    God bless little Chloe and her parents, give them health and peace.
    From Felisol

  3. June 19, 2008 #

    Felisol, Thank you for sharing your profound insight. What a rich heritage you have! How wonderful to live and eat and sleep and walk in the very place that all of your ancestors have lived, before you.

    I love living here, too, in the “melting pot,” though we certainly have our share of problems. But no matter where we are on this earth, bigotry and prejudice is one problem no one should have to deal with. Oh, that we could see with God’s eyes, and see the heart!

    One day, when we meet in heaven, won’t it be wonderful that when we look at each other, we will see the beauty of one another’s souls? We will see the beauty of HIS stamp on our lives?

    Until then, I will just keep praying for God-vision as I look at those around me.

  4. June 19, 2008 #

    It’s a big problem here Renae, especially with all the refugees of all races and creeds that Britain has taken in over the last few years. Let’s hope the British people never become refugees and have to view it from the other side. I’m sure they’d have a different view then.

  5. June 19, 2008 #

    I often wonder how my life would have been different if I had a different skin color, Jackie. I hope it would be the same, but I’m not so sure . . .

  6. June 19, 2008 #

    But I could do well having that Brit accent, though!!

    What a kinder, gentler world we have to look forward to (Heaven), but for now, just keep opening wide the doors of your hearts. Let people experience the Gospel through your loving actions.

  7. June 19, 2008 #

    Well, Sarah, if you can’t master the Brit accent, I’ll be glad to coach you in a Southern drawl! 😉

    “Let people experience the Gospel through your loving actions.”

    Amen to that!

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