Be the Change

This week my eyes were opened. I was unaware Asian Hate was a thing.

But as I have read people of Asian descent’s stories, my heart has ached and my eyes were opened to the ugliness in people’s heart.

As a teacher, I always come back to this question: “How can we do better?”

My Christian friends would say, “Jesus is the answer. We will just pray and it will all be better.” Or another popular response in the Christian community is, “I don’t feel that way, none of my friends feel that way, so this is just an example of the media trying to divide us.”

But the pain of My Asian brothers and sisters, many whom are Christian, is real! And if the pain is real for them, it must become real for us as well.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

But most importantly, the Bible instructs us to, “Mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)

So how can we, as lovers of Christ do better? How can we, who have been given the ministry of reconciliation, stand with our brothers and sisters who face verbal abuse, micro-aggression, and disdain?

Well, here are a few easy steps…

1. Acknowledge. A quick history lesson will reveal the inequities Asian Americans have faced in this country. (America is both great and flawed.) Do not dismiss the stories of people of Asian descent because it makes you uncomfortable to hear. Acknowledge the history. Acknowledge the pain.

2. Eradicate. We need to work to eradicate all forms of prejudices in our heart. We must acknowledge and allow the Holy Spirit to remove any prejudices that we may have against people of color, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status.

Paul said, “False teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9). I would add, a little racism is the same. When you disdain any culture, religion, or ethnicity, you open the door for hatred to spread in your hearts and the hearts of others.

So if you are suspicious of Muslims, you are allowing and opening the door for suspicion of people of Asian descent. If you ridicule the Hindu temple being built in your neighborhood, you open the door for all religions, including christianity, to be mocked.

Hate doesn’t discriminate. It’s an equal opportunity destroyer. We cannot partner with any forms of hatred, prejudices, or discrimination. Hatred or discrimination is never godly. It is never God’s work to hate someone.

3. Love. Perfect love casts out all fear (I John 4:18). Racism is just another form of fear. Cultivate your love walk. Partner with Holy Spirit. Ask Him to show you how to love those who look differently, worship differently, express themselves differently. Love others as God has loved you.

4. Speak. Our words are powerful. Death and life are in the power of our tongue (Proverbs 18:21). This is why Paul encourages us to let our words be gracious and seasoned with salt. (Colossians 4:6).

We use our voice to speak life over others. But we also use our voice to lovingly correct those who are spewing hateful words or rhetoric against minorities. We use our voice to boldly proclaim truth even when its uncomfortable.

5. Lead. We lead by example. Paul said, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ. (I Corinthians 11:1)” That should be our motto as well. We teach our kids and those in our realm of influence to love everyone. We welcome people of varying ethnicities into our home. We empathize with others. We be the change we want to see and others will follow.

If you notice, all of these changes begin with You. Don’t underestimate your ability to change the world. There is power in “One” when that “One” is in Christ.

As my favorite worship leader, Israel Houghton sings:

🎶 What if it all depended on me
To change the world, to change the world?
What if my only responsibility was
To change the world, change the world?
Let me be the one to start a revolution

We can change the world together! 🎶

Let’s go out today and change our world!