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What Does The Bible Teach About Race Relations?
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26 KJV).
We have had problems in this country with race relations for many years. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark civil rights and federal labor law in the United States, which outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. In recent years, untold news reports have documented the civil unrest in New York City, Los Angeles, Ferguson, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia and numerous other cities across our country. This unrest is often associated with police brutality against young black men or other young men of color.
What’s more, such instances have occurred repeatedly with seemingly no plan to curb them. If we turn to the Bible, however, it’s clear that such divisions were never intended by our creator. The
way we should treat each other as evidenced by scripture.
Any time one human dehumanizes another through racism, sexism, ageism, religion or more, it breaks my heart. There is truly one race of people — the human race. Throughout history, the enemy has used his weapons of fear, jealousy and greed to develop hatred and mistrust of the races.
St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body.” Acts 17:26 tells us, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” In other translations, the wording is “from one blood.”
We are all children of God and we all seek to enter His kingdom through the narrow gate. We are all commanded to love and respect one another. A Christian seeks to be a disciple and a disciple is known by their actions. “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Be blessed!
Prayer: Dear God, Help us to follow your example and look at the heart and not the outward appearance of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Meet the Author
Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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