Can I get some help in here?

Wow, August is almost gone. Just a couple more days and hopefully the cooler weather that usually arrives in September will be here, except for my faithful readers "down under" who are about to enjoy the heat that we've been perspiring under! I'm back at it again after a few days rest, and part of that was to go see a movie that came out a few weeks ago. It is simply called, "The Help" and stars Sissy Spacek (in a role that I would not have thought of for her) and Cicely Tyson (Always a great actress), among a cast of many others who shine in the movie.

If you haven't heard of it, I'll give you a quick synopsis. Back in the 1960's in "the south," here in the US there was a big "to-do" about slavery and blacks and how they were treated. (I know, slavery was abolished in 1865, but if you were black and lived in the south back then, it never really ended in how you were treated, hired, paid or many other things). Well, this one girl, "Skeeter" (Emma Stone-now i'm a fan of hers) decides she wants to be a writer and she gets a job at a local newspaper in Jackson Mississippi answering the "cleaning column." She wants to do more with her writing, and she turns to a maid that she trusts to help her with the comments and suggestions. While talking about cleaning, she tells her she wants to interview her to see what it is like "from her side." The maid, Aibileen (Viola Davis-another powerful actress) agrees and the stories are told, laughed about, cried over. A lot of things about the injustice in the treatment of blacks are pointed out and well presented, while the snobbishness and foolishness of the actions of many whites, especially the "hoity-toity" ones are depicted fairly acurately as well. (yes, I use the terms black and white. I do not accept "African American" for a title unless they hold dual citizenship. Blacks are Americans if they are of a legal citizenship status. Whites are Americans if they are of a legal citizenship status. They are not German Americans, Polish Americans, French Americans, British Americans unless they hold a dual citizenship status. They are just Americans. Therefore I use skin color to denote the difference, although many shades of a dark color are included, and many pink ones too!)

Anyway, I digress.

When the movie was over, the lights came up in the auditorium and people began to file out. I hate the "rush and brush" of the initial surge so my wife and I sat in our seats for the time being. It kept coming to my attention that everyone who was leaving was white. White, White, White. Finally, as the crowd was thinning, a black couple emerged from the upper levels and descended down the stairs. Then back to White, White, White. Then White-Black, a new sign of our age that is growing in more intensity every day.

I began to wonder and marvel at this. Here is a movie depicting the troubles of the black people in a time that was very boisterous and upending in our history, and there were no blacks in the auditorium to speak of. A piece of history was being presented from about 50 years ago and they were not there to do several things: Point out their mistreatment, teach their children/grandchildren what it was like growing up in the days where a black person couldn't even touch a white person in many cases.

So now my question is: Has the black population of America become complacent? There were tons of them at the studios (this theater has 16 showings of different movies). So it was not a lack of blacks present to be the problem.

I look around me everyday and I see many couples where the guy is black, the girl is white. Few times are the roles reversed. Kinda seems like it is now a thing of, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" going on here. In some ways it is good, in some it is bad.

But I do worry about history repeating its self. You say there are laws that could prevent it from happening. Yes, there are laws in place. But the heart of man can never really be controlled, except by God. There are still the "White Supremacist" groups in existence today, just as there are the "Black Supremacist" groups (you know who you are, though the covers your lie behind are transparent) still marching along also. But will we ever keep the terrible racial things from the 1900's from happening again if we don't remember what we did back then? Shouldn't we show our young people what it was like to be so unfairly mistreated?

There were even some of the "hoity toity's" in the movie who threw around the name of Christian in their speech and in their way of dealing with the black "help" that worked for them. Truthfully, it made me sick. The name "Christian" gets attached to too many SCREWBALLS who can only ruin the chance for the gospel of Jesus Christ to ever be taught to others. If I didn't know who Jesus was, and after reading and watching the news of some Christian ?!? congregations and their actions, and the actions of ministers and priests, I wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus or God or any other lunatic that attached himself to that name.

I guess I just wonder why all of the blacks that have preached injustice for so long (although it seems Sharpton and Jackson sure have been quite for some time now) and yet they are not there to show the ones who were born too late what they should be glad that they don't have to face now.

I don't often give movie endorsements. Well, actually, this is my first, and may be my only. But go see the movie "The Help" or rent it when it becomes availaible for "on demand" or overnight rental. Grandparents, sit the kids down. Show them how it feels to be beaten for your skin color. Accused because of your skin color. Make sure they understand how the blacks felt.

The same thing is in danger of happening now since 9/11. We see someone from the Middle East and they are automatically a terrorist, or a muslim (which for all intensive purposes is a style of government, not a religion) intent to destroy Christians. If we're not careful, we could wind up back in the 60's again, just Americans vs. Muslims instead of Black vs. White.

Educate your children now. Show them the harmful effects of racism. Let us not go down that road again. Blacks and Whites do seem to have gotten past many of the racial issues, and are now even living together/marrying each other. While I am not saying that going this far is needed (no cumin needed in this diet), we do not need to go down a bloody road that is still strewn with many awful memories.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 NIV

I love this version of a verse that is so well known.

John 3:16-18

The Message (MSG)

 ^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

Let us all return to this way of thinking, learn from our mistakes, and vow to never repeat them again.
Thank you for your faithful readership, and please return on Wednesday for the next segment in Upside Down Christianity.

Here comes the Judge!

A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery Store.
As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked,
"Son, can you tell me where the Post Office is?"

The little boy replied, "Sure! Just go straight down this street a coupla blocks and turn to your right."

The man thanked the boy kindly and said, “I'm the new pastor in town.  I'd like for you to come to church on Sunday.  I'll show you how to get to Heaven."

The little boy replied with a chuckle. "Awww, come on...
You don't even know the way to the Post Office." 

Have you ever been in that situation? Someone that was new to the town or the area stops and asks directions to a place, and you tell them how to get there. Then when that someone tries to offer you a kindness in return, your kindness goes out the window. On the other hand, you are so "hoity-toity" (if you don’t know that one, email me) that you can’t believe that someone who asked you something had the nerve to offer teach you something else.
People often judge us on our first reactions. Your first reaction would have been one of kindness. You told them how to get to their destination. They automatically become at ease with you since you seemed to be friendly.
Then all of a sudden you say something hurtful to their offer of kindness, either out of ignorance or lack of consideration for how others feel. The avenue that you opened up initially is gone. Chances are the person will just walk away, count their blessings that they escaped and possibly never speak to you again.
You may say, "Well, they shouldn’t wear their feelings on their sleeves."
Yes, maybe they shouldn’t. But we are all human. (Unless there is an alien reading this. Then contact me at my information listed in the profile please. I have a million questions to ask of you, and I won’t be hurtful in my answers. <wink>) And we have to remind ourselves that others are human. Sometimes that person may have had an encounter that upset them for some reason. Maybe it was a spat with their spouse. Maybe the boss is riding them because of a looming deadline. Perhaps the kids would not cooperate this morning, and they ran late, both to school and work. It could be a million things. Doesn’t really matter. What matters is our attitude.
We have to be constantly vigilant that we keep our minds focused on Christ. How would Christ act in this situation?

John 13:34 (New International Version, ©2011)
   A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Notice what Jesus said. "You MUST love one another." Not maybe. Not possibly try to and hope you’re not having a bad day. You MUST.
Now I will be the first one to admit that I have met some people who it is really hard to love. And a popular saying that I’ve heard for years is, "Love the sinner, Hate the sin." I think I know what they are trying to say. But this is not scriptural. We are to love everyone. But we are to shun the sins that anyone may commit. Although be careful. Jesus warned also:

Matthew 7:1-5 (New International Version, ©2011
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

In other words, Love That Person, no matter what. But get your own house in order. Sure, you do not have to, nor should you want to participate in their wrongdoings. But don’t beat them up over it either, especially if you have anything going on in your life that would cause someone to stumble too.
So let’s become the person that we want others to be. Let’s become Christian again. Sure, it’s hard in this day and age when you are bombarded so many times with temptations and opportunities for wrong doing. When the Christians get right in their lives, the church becomes an example of Christianity again, and Christ is restored to his place of respect in our homes, churches and communities once again. Then we can reach out to others and they will have a reason to want to be Christ-Like too.

Wednesday, a new series entitled: "You Might Be in a Country Church If ... " that looks at 14 things that we do in our churches that can be confusing, misguided or just plain wrong. I hope you enjoy it!