In God’s unified world

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28 (NLT)

What is happening in our world today has reminded me of what the children of Israel experienced a long time ago in Egypt. I believe when the Israelites received the news that they were relocating to the land of abundance, it was a time of joyous celebration and thanksgiving. To give you a backdrop to the story, God sent (a bit complicated) Joseph ahead of his family into Egypt to secure a place for the Israelites. Why? As Game of Thrones will put it, “Winter is coming”.

In the Israelites’ case, a severe famine that could wipe away the entire region was coming. As it happened, the famine came, and Joseph, now in charge of Egypt’s whole land, managed to get his entire family of Israelites to relocate to Egypt to enjoy the abundance of the land. Years passed, and all the originals passed away, leaving behind a generation with no appreciation for history. The Egyptians turned the Israelites into slaves and maltreated them. Totally oblivious of the fact that they would have been wiped out of the surface of the earth during the seven years of famine if God hadn’t intervened. As the Israelites cried out to God daily, God raised Moses to deliver His people from slavery. The deliverance was a long shot as God had to move mightily in Egypt before the Pharaoh released the Israelites.

I tell you this story because, like the Israelites, many black people migrate into the western world with the promise of abundance. Going through the whole visa application process can be a nerve-wracking experience, but once the visa is stamped in the passport, it’s a time of celebration.

Growing up in Ghana, I knew of racism, but my little mind couldn’t comprehend what it actually meant. I couldn’t appreciate its magnitude because everyone around me was black, and no one was treated differently because of their skin colour. I moved into the UK to join my husband, and for the first time in forever, I was faced with the reality of my blackness and how that was a problem to my new world. I realised I had to push myself so my blackness would not hinder my progress in life. I must admit, it hasn’t been an easy process, but God has been moulding and challenging me.

I have oftentimes asked myself this question, “why am I treated differently because of my skin colour?” The only answer I can get for this was that my relatives were shipped into the western world to serve as slaves, and ever since then, some people in the western world have viewed black people as slaves. The reality that we currently live in a free world where black people are impacting the world hasn’t sunk in with some white people, so they continue to treat black people as less than their equals. The stigma of being undermined and undervalued in the western world is a reality black people constantly live with. It takes the grace of God to walk into rooms, shine and make a difference and not let the opinion of the people around you deter you from your cause. Racism, unfortunately, is every black person’s reality, and the world must come to terms with it, so together, we can fight against it.

The reality and the silence

The murder of George Floyd has opened up a long unspoken disease that has plagued the world for years. Black people have had to work twice as hard to be accepted and believed in. A black person is easily condemned before they are even tried for their crime. Many young black people have had to deal with low self-esteem and low self-identity because their world tells them that they are not good enough and don’t deserve stuff. It is sad to hear and see young women bleaching their skin to be light-skinned and accepted. Black people abuse through racism has become so normal that no empathy is shown by the people who met out the offence. Many black people have been bypassed for jobs, opportunities, promotions and benefits because of the colour of their skin. Others have entered into rooms, even churches and found themselves isolated because the people around them couldn’t get over their colour skin. In many companies and businesses, the black person is easily picked on for the slightest mistake.

The bible says in Leviticus that,

When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God. “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.’ Leviticus 19:33-34 (MSG)

This verse tells me that loving a foreigner or someone different from you is a command from the Lord.

Enduring the trauma of racism has been compounded by the fact that other white people who are not racist have chosen to go silent on the issue. We all know what injustice looks like, so when you witness an injustice, you don’t have to allow your colour, race or gender to define how you respond. You have to allow your heart, mind and spirit to respond. For so much injustice that has happened to many black people, the silence of white people has added to the pain.

When my husband worked in Bristol, his manager, for some reason, disliked him and constantly discriminated against him. The worst thing about the situation was that his colleagues knew what was going on, but they never said anything. Another line manager who knew what was happening decided to look for another role for him in London because the manager said he would fit in the London office because it’s diverse. When Eben moved to his London office, one of his colleagues from Bristol finally wanted to say something about the manager who hated him. How sad is that? The colleague had a voice when Eben was being discriminated against and said nothing, and now he has something to say?

God’s people

The most fascinating this is that everything about the black person is so different from a white person, from our hair’s texture, how it is managed, to our accent and our personalities. As you would expect, in most black-dominated churches, the vibe is different to white-dominated churches. So many times, I have been asked how often I wash my braids, and my response is always that our hairs are wired differently. But God has brought us all together, to live as one, to be people who are influencing the world together. We need to accept our differences and get the most out of each other, so we don’t deny our world of the blessings that God has endowed each person.

God created us in His image, and so we are all one people in His sight. We can’t be fighting against each other and pulling each other down. We have to find the jewel in people and help them be the best version of themselves. God created us all differently, and we must celebrate the different cultures and the diversities around us. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, all lives matter, and no one is immune to sickness or death. Let us value our differences and treat each other with respect and honour.

The colour of your skin is priceless, and you need to find the value in who you are. You are precious and valuable in the sight of God, so do not look down on yourself and let the world beat you down because of your skin colour. Our children should be educated and inspired to accept their uniqueness. You should live beyond the label the world has put on you and lift your head and walk in your purpose and calling. The only label that matters is the label God has put on you, which says, ‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made by God’ Psalm 139:14. You have been endowed with unique abilities compared to none other. You should take hold of the promises of God and make sure you leave a mark wherever He leads you.

What now?

Racism is to be discussed, and we should be ready to educate our children about it. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that by the age of 2-4 years, children already have unconscious racial bias and so speaking to our children about unfair treatment due to the colour of the skin is a good way to expose them to the reality of racism and ensure that they value people of different race and colour. In some white-dominated churches, you find that the children in the kids work tend to socialise and mingle with people of their same colour. We have a role in teaching our kids to accept people of a different colour.

In all this, I am thankful to God for surrounding my family with lovely white families who have been a blessing and angels to us, and it has been amazing to be in such amazing relationships with them. We had a chat with some of them, and it was really enlightening to know how they see us. It was a confirmation that not every white person sees black people as lesser than them. For that reason, we need to continue to hope, pray, have conversations, and educate to push down the barriers erected by people living in ignorance. There is hope in all of this that things can and will change. As we have recently found out, many don’t know the struggles that black people go through every day to live up to the standards of the western world.

This is the time for every black person who has ever experienced racism or unconscious bias to open up to their white friends and tell their story. As the bible says, how will they know? Unless they are told, we have a job to tell our story.

May you be filled with the Fullness of God and the Power of His Love!