The Scourge Of Racism
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In this final edited 2012 repost for Black History Month 2018, the Lord leads me to give sober warning to a new generation of black Americans and their leaders (Ezekiel 33:1-9). Their alignment and participation with those of the wider culture rebelling against God and the historic Christian faith of the Bible held to by our faithful Christian forefathers from slavery has not uplifted the entire community in a righteous and lasting way. It will not end well for the guilty since God shows “no partiality” and judges all in accord with their deeds (Romans 1:18-2:11, NKJV). My hope, then, is that rather than anger and resistance, this post will provoke heartfelt repentance to the saving of many!
Originally Posted September 30, 2012
As the Lord has led, I conclude my recent barbershop encounter with articles in the monthly Ebony Magazine by offering the following comments. First, Ebony (and its weekly little sister, Jet1) Magazine came into being only a short time ago when neglected by white owned media, black Americans needed an unbigoted window on themselves and their circumstances in a brutally oppressive and segregated nation. Founded by deceased black entrepreneur, John H. Johnson, in 1945, the nationally distributed magazine was a great encouragement and source of inspiration to black Americans; many of whom still believed God would make a way (Psalm 33). He did!
Ebony chronicled the black experience capturing the passion and suffering of our leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights Movement and the tiniest of moral victories as blacks began to successfully cross color lines into previously restricted areas of participation in American society. We needed that then and I am one that was greatly inspired in my youth. However, my second comment is this. Just as a new generation “who did not know the Lord nor the work He had done for Israel” arose after the death of Joshua and the elders that outlived him, so, now, among black Americans a new generation in like manner has risen up (Judges 2:7-13, NKJV).
The top, mostly female leadership at Ebony is representative of the new generation that has risen up and it appears, wholeheartedly adopted the secular worldview of political correctness, tolerance, equality, fairness, sexual immorality, feminism, narcissistic ambitions, materialism, self-serving religion, situational ethics, pragmatism and the edict, “don’t judge.” They are joined by many other black owned and operated media outlets, businesses, politicians, educators, sports and entertainment stars and religious leaders with their churches in this worldview. Though until now, politely tolerated as I know from experience, a biblical worldview2 is not considered “in touch,” “relevant,” “realistic” or welcome among this new generation of black movers and shakers.3
Yet, the liberalized trend away from the faith of the Bible that many of our Christian slave and segregated forefathers had is not bringing something better to our community, but worse if statistics on the disproportionately high rates of black male incarceration, for example, are taken seriously. All of the things supposedly gained by aligning with those in rebellion against God are not benefitting the whole community, but only the relative well connected few. Apparently, forsaking faithfulness to the God of the Bible is having the same result in negative consequences for this new generation as it did Israel’s new generation after Joshua and the elders that outlived him died (Judges 2:14-15).
Indeed, the once inspirational presentation of blacks in Ebony “that had made it” into the “Promised Land” of success is now a sickening, self-indulgent, sinful celebration of covetousness fulfilled and idol worship of the privileged successful relative few. A generation after the unofficial end of the Civil Rights Movement and Ebony’s ongoing crusade to hold up and re-make our collective self-image as a race into the middle and upper class success stories of the likes of fictional George Jefferson in television’s, The Jeffersons, impoverished, underachieving, female led single parent households are still the predominant reality of black America.
The success idols today are led by President Barack Obama who has been and will be supported by a large number of blacks that see especially all opposition to his leadership by whites as just “hatin” (racial resentment, envy). No doubt, some of the President’s white opposition is due to racism. He however, should not get a critical pass by Ebony and other black owned media because he is the vaunted lead success idol to be protected in the black community. Truly, he personifies their liberal trend away from the faith of the Bible in his social policies. Even so, to them his success at attaining the office of President of the United States serves as a not so subtle ratification of the trend.
But not so fast. My final comment is this. The problem with the liberal trend away from the faith of the Bible embraced by the new Ebony generation is not just its obvious failure to bring about a tangibly brighter day for or even superior hope to the entire black community. Pressing this trend by advocating sin (all rebellion against the written Word of God is sin), the new Ebony generation in its narcissistic now, is actually hastening community degeneration; failing as they have to consider that the God they still attempt to acknowledge is real and calls for an accounting! When (not if) the unchanging God of the Bible judges this nation, wealth, power, achievement and success will be of no avail to anyone as a bargaining chip to escape (Ezekiel 7).4
In that day very near, without repentance this new Ebony generation will painfully learn too late that success by any means necessary including abandoning the faith of our Christian slave and segregated forefathers was not worth it (Mark 8:36-37; Hebrews 12:16-17). They may have been impoverished materially, but they were rich spiritually and in Christ-like character--the stuff God eternally recognizes! This is the most important take away lesson the new Ebony generation should have received from the experience of those that went before them. Therefore, judgment day will be even more painful for them as they remember how nostalgically, yet blind and deaf spiritually they sang James Weldon Johnson’s hymn, Lift Every Voice And Sing especially missing the prophetic warning of its last stanza.5
1 Jet Magazine ceased print publication in June 2014 and Ebony was sold to a black owned equity firm in June 2016.
2 Most faithful Christians would define this worldview with me as preserving, applying, living out and proclaiming the historicity, prophetic declarations and transcendent
spiritual truths as well as Christian specific instructions and commandments of God’s Word in the Bible as written! The fact pastors and professed Christians in what-
ever numbers are among those holding a secular worldview is clear evidence of unfaithfulness to God and the need for biblically defined revival at best--see my Jour-
nal article series, A True Revival Of The Heart on The From Slavery To Victory Education Project Web Site; at worse, the foretold apostasy in progress (1 Timothy 4: 1-2).
3 Consider Ebony’s content in the Black History Month 2018 posts that precede this one.
4 The nondiscriminatory, calamitous impact of 2017’s hurricanes and wildfires more than adequately demonstrate this truth.
5 View the lyrics on The From Slavery To Victory Education Project Web Site.
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