hen Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt they faced many obstacles on the way, primarily nations that heard what their God did in Egypt and wanted nothing to do with Israel. To protect them, God told Moses He'll lead them with a cloud, when the cloud stop they stop and camp, when the cloud moves, then it's time to move.
|
 advertisement
|
In the life of individuals or any group of people and like king Solomon said, there is a time and season for everything. Too often we (individuals and people) stay behind when the cloud already moved because we�ve figured a way to make the camp fun and financially profitable for us, when what's important is God's presence, not the fun or financial gains.
The civil right era was a time and season in the life of blacks in America, just like the days of emancipation, just like the days of slavery. Solomon said there is a time to be born and a time to die. When Israel was led by kings and judges, many times God would tell them to fight and other times He'll say don't fight. When the cry of the black community reached heaven, God raised a group of men and women to liberate the black people in America from Jim Crow laws, unfortunately the leaders of the black community today don't recognize the season and time they are in, they are making a "god" out of Moses (for their own pocket) when the season of Joshua has begun.
When we remain where the glory of God has departed, crazy things happen. After the Spirit of God left king Saul, his life and kingdom fell even though he hung on to power for couple more years, the same thing happened to Samson the Nazirite and Judge in Israel. One of the principles that tie those whom God favor in the scripture, is those who understand the time and season they live in and ask for God's leading, they never led using the same strategy (especially for personal gain). God often use different people for different season, Moses was to lead Israel out of Egypt and Joshua was to lead them into the promise land, they had different purpose and both had different style, one was an administrator and the other was a warrior.
In the chaos and in the suffering of the black people in America in the 50s and 60s, God raised a righteous man (among many - please note that righteousness does not mean perfection) to be the deliverer, and God not only gave him a strategy (non-violence civil disobedience) but also favor with men. Rev. M.L. King Jr. was thrust into leadership unwillingly (like most leaders called for such assignment) and was surrounded by those who needed to be around him for that season. Like the Israelites, it was God (not Moses) that delivered black people in America from the bondage of Jim Crow laws.
Four to five decades later, the issues plaguing the black community has significantly moved from Jim Crow laws (not necessarily heart change) to breakdown of the family institution and the many ills that comes with value failure, unfortunately, the leadership of the black community today don�t have an understanding of the time and season they live-in, so they are using the methodology of the past to solve the issues of a new season, they are entering into covenants against the God that saved them from the bondages of Jim Crow laws and they are either to prideful to admit they are wrong or don�t even realize they are heading down the wrong path. In the era of Jim Crow laws, blacks could not officially go on the same bus with a white person, we could not use the same bathroom etc., all these where simply symptoms of a belief system, the laws for segregation was outlawed but nothing was done to change the heart of men/women who still believed that blacks are inferior, who still believe that our IQ is lower etc. these are mindsets that no law can change, rather the simple principle set for us in Romans 12, the same principle Joseph followed after he became the prime minister of Egypt, which is forgiving your enemy and loving him/her in-spite of.
Rather than forgive those who trespassed against us, the leaders from the past era covenanted with ideologies that muzzled the faith of their people, they turn against their own, if you don�t fall in-line, all of this to gain recognition, positions and personal wealth. The current black leaders agreed that homosexuality is a civil right issue (when overwhelming percentage of the people disagree � see the doctrinal statements of most black denominations) because of their covenant with ideology. If a black person strays outside the line, he/she is labeled a traitor, Uncle Tom, etc. Justice Clarence Thomas, J.C.Watts, Herman Cain, Condoleezza Rice and many nameless black conservative can say one or two things about this, the attack on them is first of all from other black leaders, it often very personal and never based on truth but on charges of betraying their race or community? is there an agreement that says every black person must be fiscally liberal?
These so called leaders have enriched themselves, they have gotten drunk with power that they forgot who brought them out of Egypt and are salivating about the cucumber and supposed good life in Egypt. For the CBC, NAACP, and other black organizations, robing shoulders in the corridors of power, making money from corporation�s supporting them, their orgainzations and their families is better than where they came from and more importantly than the values that upheld their forefathers through tough times.
As our community have forgotten its first love (Judeo-Christian values) and went to dance with the enemy (anti-God ideology laced with religion), we have seen marriages in the black community tank from over 70% in 1970 to less than 40% in 2008, we have seen out of marriage childbirth move from 62% in 1970 to 28% in 2008, we now have more black male in jails than in colleges, we have tons of educated black girls who cannot find an educated black male without a felony on his record to marry, and the list go on. Everybody know the problem the black community is facing but they�ll rather treat symptoms than deal with the disease itself because it will jeopardize the unholy alliance the leaders made with a political party, the new civil right movement (LGBT community), and more importantly their source of livelihood (pure selfishness).
While racism still exists in the hearts of many (I have come across many and I�ve been a victim as well), fortunately, the law is no longer on the side of those people, and I believe we need to first forgive those who�ve trespassed against us, and then love them as Christ commands us or as demonstrated by Joseph when he became prime minister of Egypt. The issue in the black community today is the breakdown of the family institution and the things that often comes with value breakdowns, such as out of wedlock children, sexual diseases, poverty, gang activities, and unemployment. Every attempt at treating symptoms without dealing with family breakdown and value issues is like covering a wound with bandage without treating it, the result is intermittent surge of the same issues (sexual diseases, gang activities, etc.). I personally know many of the kids in gangs, teenagers with kids, and i can tell everyone reading this, they are simply doing what they've known all their lives, they are victims of their own environment.
Civil right issue is still a big deal for the community but not in the man-worship that it is currently been done, we have to move from idolizing Dr. Martin L. King Jr. (and making money of off him) to memorializing what he has done, this would be done by continuing his legacy through understanding of the time we live in (and forgiving those who trespassed against us), by ensuring that historical truth is taught in our schools, the memorial wall in DC is perfect without the legacy comparison (with Lincoln) that Bernice King did. Since Christ was at the forefront of the movement, then we owe it to Christ to forgive so our prayers can be answered and so we can be healed (especially emotionally and spiritually).
The issues black communities across America are dealing with today are urban gang violence (black on black shootings), unwed mothers and absentee fathers, high rate of sexually transmitted diseases, high poverty level (primarily due to breakdown of family - over 70% of single mother live below poverty line), and in my opinion spiritual death (what is prevalent in our churches is emotion based on traditions of men). Our current solutions are gang initiatives across urban cities, partnering with anti-God organizations to tell our children how to use condoms or pregnancy prevention pills, fatherhood initiatives, social welfare programs to fight poverty etc., all of these programs tend to work when tons of money is thrown at them (government grants are popular in our community and black politicians fight for them), but the work only for a short time because the real issue, which is the state of mind (or mindset) has not been dealt with. No one would touch the family breakdown issue because it sounds judgmental to single mothers, because our financial benefactors don�t want to deal with that, and the leaders of the black community have aligned themselves with those who have equated homosexuality with being black? Every study of the ills in our community point to breakdown of the family, studies upon studies have highlighted the fact that a family with biological Dad, Mom and kids do extremely better (emotionally, financially, academically, physically etc.) than kids from broken homes (or other structure homes), see Institute of American Values studies by 26 scholars on why Marriage Matters.
The season and time that we live in call for new strategies and mindset transformation. It would mean change in leadership (old guards), not just people but people with different (hopefully godly) mindset, in my opinion, it would take a leader who can manage the present and cast the vision for the future, a leader who is not religious but whose heart is totally sold out to Christ, who is not afraid because he/she will be dealing with status-quo and people who make a living from status-quo would not want change.
As a people, we need to stop making our politics monotonous, we should encourage each other to join political parties that goes along with individual beliefs, NAACP, CDC, Urban League (at national level) need to stop persecuting black folks in other political parties, they should protect every black politicians just like they are protecting this president, even if they disagree on principles. In West Africa (Yoruba), we would say �stop eating your young ones alive�.
Our churches need to take spiritual inventory, are we serving ourselves? Are our places of worship simply a place where traditions of men are observed or are we preaching the real Christ? Jesus said a fruit is known by its fruit, if our denomination is not bearing righteous fruit, if within our churches we value titles more than what�s happening in the spiritual lives of our people, then we have a problem. Are we bold enough to speak the truth as spiritual leaders or are we intimidated from truth because we simply want to have a job. We are called to lead people to Christ, not to our own ideology, are we leading?
Conservative and financially successful blacks need to stop looking down at their community, as if they are any better, all hands need to be on deck, even if it seems you are not welcomed, you are doing it as unto the Lord. It is time we all come together (liberals and conservatives alike) and figure out, immediate and long term solutions, for the sake of our children.
Our immediate problem is the gang and sexual activities among our young ones across America. I believe without a shadow of doubt that more prisons, more policemen, more money would not solve the problem, the solution lies in the community itself saying enough is enough. It lies in someone spending time and gaining street cred with the kids that have been unfortunate to live in a home where Mom and Dad are crack-heads. It is our churches not only doing events to get them occupied but showing them examples and breaking down whatever denominational (non-biblical) barriers (some churches would not have women lead programs even if they are professionals in the field? � this is not the bible I read, it is tradition of men gone amok). Fortunate and successful black families should start adopting (I�m not talking just mentoring) black children, and giving them opportunities they would never have had in the hood, many of them just need a helping hand � you be that Christ to them.
Having worked in the community for a while, I�ve discovered that telling the truth about God ordained family structure is a tough issue, everyone knows the truth because the science is glaring, but they object for many reasons, single parents think you are judging them, politicians (whose homes are intact) won�t support it because of their party platform and donor base, churches won�t touch it because it might offend tithers in the church etc. Here is news for everybody, accepting there is a problem is 50% of the solution, the remaining 50% is following God�s prescriptive solution, and we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result? Politicians and liberal white folks wont do it for us either.
As we tackle head-on the gang and sex issue at the community level (schools, churches, neighborhood groups etc.), our leaders need to start focusing on long term restoration of the family institution. From policies like mandatory pre-marriage education at state level or covenant among churches �I won�t marry you till you have counseling�. Marriage education in our churches cannot simply be a weekend calendar date, it must be specific and targeted because we have a serious problem � we need to recognize the time and season we live in. We need school/Church based programs that tell our children and young adult the benefits of post-secondary education and the institution of marriage.
Politicians need to stop this principle of simply providing fish for our people, it hasn�t worked for four decades (we all know the current welfare law is a failure), we need deliberate efforts to teach our people how to fish and like a pastor friend of mine said, teach them how to own the �damn� pond. Rather than join the chorus bad-mouthing millionaires and billionaires, we should teach our children to be millionaires and billionaires, is there a law that says black folks can�t be super-rich (without sports)? However, it takes risk taking, it takes skills, it takes seeing someone do it and then having the confident to say I can do it � own my own company and employ people, instead of waiting to be employed and complaining about it.
I know I�ll get unpleasant mails (not so much on the content but on my person) because of this article, but it is my heart and I believe every word to be true, and believe it is known truth that sets us free.
