We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
These words come from the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. I want to focus on the first sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
It would be dishonest to say that our country has always lived up to those words. The plight of the Native Peoples and the enslavement of the African Peoples are the two most striking examples of injustice and a lack of living up to the ideals mentioned in that first sentence. The beauty of our nation is that when a wrong is discovered the people eventually push through the solution. Down through history Christians have lead the way in pushing through changes that have corrected the wrongs in society.
As a white person I have struggled over the years with what I could do to make right what my ancestors did? The answer is I can't because I am not responsible for the sins of someone else. What I can do is provide the three things that people from all tribes and nations want and need.
Before I get to what those three things are let me state here that money is not one of them. Money is a short time satisfier and does not lead to any lasting effects on the three things.
Here is what I believe everyone wants and needs:
1. Love - People want to feel loved and those who grow up without love usually turn out to be violent and lack value for others.
2. Value - People want to know that they are valued by other people especially their parents.
3. Dignity - People need to have their dignity and when that is taken away they usually break down to their lowest form of attitude and behavior.
Just giving someone money will not express love to them, will not provide value in their life and will not give them dignity. For a day, a week or maybe a month they will feel satisfied but then the money begins to disappear. But if a person feels loved, valued and has a sense of dignity they can be satisfied with very little because they have their inner needs met.
Let's look at what Jesus would do for the Native Peoples and the decendants of enslaved Africans. Personally I think if we apply the following two scriptures to our lives we will be well on the way to giving those three things to others.
I will not take up the space to list the entire scripture.
James 2: 1-26 In these verses James tells us to accept everyone equally. In other words all men are created equal in the eyes of our Creator.
Matthew 25: 31-46 In these verses we are told that when we serve the least of our society we serve the Lord.
So how can we apply these to the plight of the African Americans and the Native Peoples? It simply boils down to taking the risk and the effort to serve another person in whatever way you can. For example, at our Vineyard in Overland Park we participate in Angel Tree, a program by Prison Fellowship of providing Christmas gifts for the children of incarcerated parents. Many of the families touched by a parent being incarcerated are African American. We have made the decision to take Angel Tree from a Christmas event to a year round ministry and reach out to those families in ways that expresses love to them, makes them feel valued and gives them a sense of dignity.
Doing something for the Native Peoples of our country is a harder act and honestly we are still working on finding the opportunities to put this in motion. Part of the reason for this post is to gather resources to make both of these work so if you know of an opportunity within the Missouri/Kansas area that would allow us to serve please share that with me. One thing we are planning for this Spring is to do an educational event at a local park and invite local Native People to come and share.
The main point of this post is to point out that both of these people groups need to feel loved, to know they are valued and to be allowed to have dignity. Throwing money at people instead of giving our time does not show love it shows that we do not value them enough to give of ourselves. Throwing money at people instead of spending time with them takes away their dignity but when we show that we value them enough to spend time with them they gain a sense of dignity.
The problem is all three involve inconveniency. But doing something when it is inconvenient expresses love, gives value and raises the dignity of another person.
I encourage you to explore ways you can express love and value to others and you will enable them to have a sense of dignity.
These words come from the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. I want to focus on the first sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
It would be dishonest to say that our country has always lived up to those words. The plight of the Native Peoples and the enslavement of the African Peoples are the two most striking examples of injustice and a lack of living up to the ideals mentioned in that first sentence. The beauty of our nation is that when a wrong is discovered the people eventually push through the solution. Down through history Christians have lead the way in pushing through changes that have corrected the wrongs in society.
As a white person I have struggled over the years with what I could do to make right what my ancestors did? The answer is I can't because I am not responsible for the sins of someone else. What I can do is provide the three things that people from all tribes and nations want and need.
Before I get to what those three things are let me state here that money is not one of them. Money is a short time satisfier and does not lead to any lasting effects on the three things.
Here is what I believe everyone wants and needs:
1. Love - People want to feel loved and those who grow up without love usually turn out to be violent and lack value for others.
2. Value - People want to know that they are valued by other people especially their parents.
3. Dignity - People need to have their dignity and when that is taken away they usually break down to their lowest form of attitude and behavior.
Just giving someone money will not express love to them, will not provide value in their life and will not give them dignity. For a day, a week or maybe a month they will feel satisfied but then the money begins to disappear. But if a person feels loved, valued and has a sense of dignity they can be satisfied with very little because they have their inner needs met.
Let's look at what Jesus would do for the Native Peoples and the decendants of enslaved Africans. Personally I think if we apply the following two scriptures to our lives we will be well on the way to giving those three things to others.
I will not take up the space to list the entire scripture.
James 2: 1-26 In these verses James tells us to accept everyone equally. In other words all men are created equal in the eyes of our Creator.
Matthew 25: 31-46 In these verses we are told that when we serve the least of our society we serve the Lord.
So how can we apply these to the plight of the African Americans and the Native Peoples? It simply boils down to taking the risk and the effort to serve another person in whatever way you can. For example, at our Vineyard in Overland Park we participate in Angel Tree, a program by Prison Fellowship of providing Christmas gifts for the children of incarcerated parents. Many of the families touched by a parent being incarcerated are African American. We have made the decision to take Angel Tree from a Christmas event to a year round ministry and reach out to those families in ways that expresses love to them, makes them feel valued and gives them a sense of dignity.
Doing something for the Native Peoples of our country is a harder act and honestly we are still working on finding the opportunities to put this in motion. Part of the reason for this post is to gather resources to make both of these work so if you know of an opportunity within the Missouri/Kansas area that would allow us to serve please share that with me. One thing we are planning for this Spring is to do an educational event at a local park and invite local Native People to come and share.
The main point of this post is to point out that both of these people groups need to feel loved, to know they are valued and to be allowed to have dignity. Throwing money at people instead of giving our time does not show love it shows that we do not value them enough to give of ourselves. Throwing money at people instead of spending time with them takes away their dignity but when we show that we value them enough to spend time with them they gain a sense of dignity.
The problem is all three involve inconveniency. But doing something when it is inconvenient expresses love, gives value and raises the dignity of another person.
I encourage you to explore ways you can express love and value to others and you will enable them to have a sense of dignity.
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