Devotion - Monday, January 16

While I typically don't send out a devotion when Clemson is not in session, ML King Day is an exception.  The significance of this pastor and community leader demands that we remember his message and recommit to sharing in the dream which he outlined.

It is an ongoing discussion as to whether race relations in the US are improving or on the decline.  There is no doubt that there has been an increase in horrible events and in the reporting of overt and subtle discrimination.  This may suggest a decline.

But others (myself among them) would see in the increased visibility of topics too long ignored as a sign of progress.  We have not solved our problems, but we have brought them forward from the back pages of our news reports.

So much of what we are learning makes us aware of something which ML King was seeing clearly in the months before his death.  Race may not be the root of our unease so much as poverty.  Many of the painful exchanges between citizens and law enforcement expose the ways in which those with less economic power are disadvantaged.  It is those caught in the cycle of poverty who too often feed on one another in violent acts and drug distribution.  Because of this nation's correlation between poverty and race all of these issues get mingled and mangled together.

ML King reminded us that in God's eyes, we are all loved, valued, and valuable.  If we were able to see others as God sees them, surely many of the subtle and overt acts of racism would disappear.  Surely we would no longer be willing to tolerate the notion that poverty is an inevitable reality.  

On this day off from classes, do much to catch up on your studies and your rest.  I would ask you to spend at least 20 minutes reading some of the writings of Pastor King.  I suggest his  

https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/swensson/king.html - particularly the section which address "the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism". It is not an easy read, and his depiction of the Vietnam War may challenge your generation's knowledge of history.  But we all need to be challenged with King's linking of the price paid by the poor (who are often black and/or of lower economic status) to maintain the lifestyle of the powerful.

Christian piety should motivate us to civil action.  A faith without works fails to reveal a commitment to loving neighbor.