#1120 – Racism

It’s hard to talk about racism.

I’m technically a minority, but I’ve never felt excluded or oppressed because of my Asian-American heritage. Sure, people have made jokes about my inability to do math, but nothing that ever made me question my value or fear for my safety.

I’ve also grown up in a middle-class suburb in southern California. I’ve had friends of various ethnic backgrounds and never really felt the weight of racism.

I’ve lived a sheltered life so I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the tragedy that occurred in Charleston, South Carolina.

I’ve never seen the face of racism close up. I’ve never had anyone hate me simply because I have almond-shaped eyes. I’ve never looked down on anyone else because his or her skin was a different shade than mine. In fact, one of my favorite parts about coming home from Guatemala was experiencing the diversity of southern California. The shuttle driver was eastern European and the man at the rental car counter was African-American.

I’ve grown up in a relatively diverse community free from most of the racism of the south. I know that there are still deep wounds from the racism in other parts of this country. That knowledge simply resides in my head, though, because I really haven’t experienced it in my life.

I’m grateful that I’ve never experienced that type of racism. But it breaks my heart that racism of that nature pushed someone to kill nine other people. Nine people were killed simply because they had a different ethnic background. A white man killed nine people because they were black.

That is heartbreaking.

That is horrible.

That shouldn’t be.

I don’t have a lot of answers.

For the families and friends of those who were killed, there may never be answers this side of heaven. We simply trust in God’s goodness and his ability to bring light from darkness and life from death. The cross shows us that God is working even when everything tells us that he isn’t.

For those who face racism on a daily basis, I literally do not know what to say.

For those of us who have never seen the ugly face of racism, we need to remember how blessed we truly are. God is gracious to all of us in various ways, including never having to look racism in the face. Having avoided that kind of evil in my life should push me to be extremely grateful.

We have all been created in God’s image, which has nothing to do with the color of our skin. I pray that I can live in light of that reality and empathize with those who experience a less accepting and more fearful reality.