In the greatest civil rights movement of my time, I am witnessing the burgeoning of change across the nation. One side of the aisle erupts with cheers while the other side of the aisle weeps with sadness. Civil War monuments and historical markers are being destroyed and taken down. NASCAR announced that it will no longer prohibit the display of the Confederate flag from NASCAR events and properties. Unfortunately in this zeal, a few monuments celebrating the liberation and freedom of slaves have also been torn down.
For one side, Confederate monuments and symbols are a symbol of racism and hate, while others see reminders of the past and history. One side sees the removal of monuments as steps towards reconciliation, one side sees it as an erasure of the past (though an evil past), and yet another sees it as the demonizing of southern white culture.
My senior year at ORU, I led a small missions team to Beijing, China. For part of our time, we helped tutor Chinese students at the New Day English school. These were mostly young adults, university age or business people who wished to learn English. One day the students were giving each of my team members a Chinese name, usually by translating our English names or the meaning of our names. My assistant team leader’s (ATL) last name literally means “Dragon-slayer”. Pretty much the raddest last name in history!
“What does your last name mean?” the Chinese student asked.
“Dragon-slayer!” My ATL proudly states.
“Umm…dragons are good,” the student replied.
It was a pretty fascinating moment, it was a classic East vs the West. In the Western culture dragons are murderous, greedy monsters; but in China dragons are revered mythological creatures that bring good fortune. Culture made all the difference in the value and interpretation of a symbol.
One side saw the defeat of evil, the other a destruction of what is sacred.
I think we forget that black culture is not synonymous with white culture, the predominate culture in America. We assume their experience and perspective is just like ours. So instead of seeing a difference in cultural perspective, we make judgments concerning people’s character, agendas and intentions. “It’s because they are overly sensitive.” “It’s the liberal agenda to rewrite history.” “This is where socialism begins.” We make assumptions about people with whom we haven’t even had a personal conversation.
Back to my China story, we all (Chinese and American students) shared a laugh at how different were our cultures. But see Dragon-Slayer didn’t push the point; she didn’t insist on the student’s translating something that was understandably offensive to them, because she understood our mission: to demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who haven’t even ever heard of Jesus. Like Paul, she decided to lay down her own rights, her own self, her identity in order to be “all things, to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
Souls were more important to her than symbols.
Can we see it is hypocritical to point the finger at our black brother’s and sister’s for that speck in their eye we call a “victim mentality”, while we refuse to remove the Civil War monuments in our own eyes? Why did southern identity become more important than the purpose of the Kingdom?
Instead, let us hold fast to Christ and not our human traditions (Colossians 2:8-23), so that we all may grow together “with the growth that comes from God (Colossians 2:19).
Image source: https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/kkk-chapter-north-carolina-rally-south-carolina-statehouse-confederate-flag-119548
Theology Cake 