Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.
-Proverbs 31:8-9
It looked like nothing but a doodle. If you were paying close attention, Jordin Sparks’ hand conveyed a powerful message for ALL Americans. Millions may have just tuned in just to see how the NFL was going to handle President Trump’s unnecessary, divisive, and petulant remarks in such a delicate time as this. I had been struggling to write what I’m about to write because I don’t want to be misconstrued and I certainly do not want to be taken out of context.
Let me be clear: I do NOT hate our President, I do pray for him, his family and his leadership because I do believe that his success is our success. Also, I wholeheartedly believe we shouldn’t give up in our prayers for the President because God promises He hears us and answers all our requests, as long as they come from a pure and selfless heart (James 4:2-3). Jesus is ultimately the One who can transform every heart that is willing, even President Trump’s.
EVERY. HEART.
And He who promised is faithful.
That is the theme of this blog,
always and forever.
Because?
Redemption.
However, I’m grieved to witness how our President’s words have stirred up strife and rage in the hearts of so many, including my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I dread scrolling through my social media feeds to discover friends arguing with friends about politics and friends stating their opinions with a lack of tact and humility. Friends posting images and statements merely inviting fiery reactions and quarrels, which incite more of the latter.
What is the source of wars and fights among you?
Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you?
-James 4:1
I hope we can all at least agree with this: our President, the leader of this great nation, has caused division in times when we need unity now more than ever.
Congratulations, we’ve all been manipulated!
Please, let’s not follow his lead on this. Yes, he can do better…
BUT SO CAN WE!
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, sinners,
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
-James 4: 6-8
I pray the verse on Jordin Sparks’ hand speaks loudly and clearly to us believers and most importantly, to those who feel the desperation and the agony of how it feels to be an American today in a divided America. Unfortunately, it is the first time I witness tragedy after tragedy and unity isn’t in sight.
Perhaps, according to you, I’m not as American as you, so I should keep silent.
No, I wasn’t born in the US mainland.
I wasn’t born in a US state.
I was born in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, a US territory.
You know? The one that is drowning by the minute as you and I try to debate the right posture for the National Anthem.
And I am a proud Puerto Rican, with extra passion in my blood due to my Italian heritage… thanks dad!
My point is: Being Puerto Rican doesn’t make me less American than you.
I left my island with my family as a young girl in pursuit of a new life after Hurricane George stripped us from all we ever knew. The United States of America welcomed me with open arms and it instantly became my home at 13 years young. There’s no National Anthem or flag that could ever contain the gratitude I feel towards this nation and its generous people. It is truly a great land and living here makes me realize why others are willing to come here with the possibility of never going back to their country of origin again. I will always honor and respect the men and women who serve us to the point of death, as they are the closest representation of what Christ did for us on the cross.
I will always honor and respect America; however, I refuse to worship her.
I am an American citizen now, but I am eternally a citizen of Heaven.
I may never kneel personally, but I now understand why others have chosen to do so.
They do it because no one hears the cries of their brothers.
They do it because their cause is being undermined by OUR loud opinions and OUR American experience.
I’d like to believe it is a cry of desperation, and not a punch in the face.
They say they don’t sit, but kneel out of respect to the military. They say they don’t mean disrespect to America or those who serve her, and I’d like to believe the best out of this. All we get to see are their actions, not their motivation. Motivations can be better explained by those who do the action itself.
I read this quote the other day and it made me ponder and wonder,
Kneeling can only be sacrilegious if America is your religion.
-Shane Blackshear
Love for our country is essential and I’m not arguing against it, but does it outweigh our calling to love her people? Are our All-American ideals solely etched in the flag or are they permanently in our hearts? I’m not accusing you of living in idolatry, that’s only for you to answer to the Lord Almighty Himself. But I beg you to internalize this Proverb and this quote and ask yourself where your true alliance lies and where your indignation and fury stem from?
I also beg you to read the rest of James 4.
You know where it says “You adulterous people!,” it isn’t referring to adultery as we know it, but idolatry. In the Greek, it is “moichis” (male form) and “moichalis” (female form) and it means “as the intimate alliance of God with the people of Israel was likened to a marriage, those who relapse into idolatry are said to commit adultery or play the harlot.”
Key point: the intimate alliance of God is with the people, not with a piece of land or flag.
Let’s ask ourselves, what do we do on a daily basis that offends God? How are we practicing idolatry in our own lives? How are we being the salt and the light in every interaction and opportunity He gifts us on a daily basis? And yes, this includes your Facebook and Twitter.
I only wish we show the same outrage towards this non-issue of kneeling and inflict it upon our current priorities as a nation.
There’s a correlation, I hope, between our alliance to our country and our response to the poor, the needy, and the disenfranchised.
According to James 4, there is a greater judge in our Father than the one that resides in our minds.
Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
-James 4:11-12
That’s the beauty of being an American, you don’t have to participate nor agree but we must fearlessly and fiercely fight for each other’s freedoms. (All this as long as it doesn’t violate yours and the Constitution, of course).
Please note the difference between the words judge in Proverbs 31 and criticize and judge in James 4. The Hebrew word in the Proverbs verse is shaphat and it is a calling, a duty to protect and defend righteously the oppressed and punish those who do the oppressing. “American” Christianity hasn’t always fought for the oppressed when it comes to social justice. According to Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage by Donald Dayton, the popular Christian magazine Christianity Today, which proclaimed to publish Biblical truths back in the 1960’s, defended “voluntary segregation,” accused Martin Luther King of “communism and an integrationist ideology,” and highly discouraged interracial marriages. Do you know the famous “I Have a Dream” speech? The magazine condemned the 1963 March on Washington, where Mr. King gave this historical speech, calling it a “mob spectacle” due to its civil disobedience.
And I get it, this is all in the past. But my utmost hope is that we learn from our past mistakes and we don’t end up in the wrong side of history because we don’t see there’s still racism embedded in our society and we dismiss it because it has no direct effect on us.
The Greek words in the James verse are katalaleo and krino, which are both used in these two verses multiple times. Katalaleo refers to speaking evil and slander while krino addresses how we base and dispute our opinions. Are our opinions condemning of another soul and do they break someone’s spirit in the process? Are they uttered with the hope of restoration and redemption or the desire to expose and vilify their trespasses? So motivations behind our words and actions matter and the only One who can judge them righteously is the Lord Himself.
Christian, our mission is so much higher than trying to prove who is more American and who is more righteous in their patriotism. Please, for the love of God, let’s not get distracted. Our world is already so unkind and judgmental, let’s not throw gasoline into an already fired-up blaze with our holier-than-thou lectures. Instead, let’s get to work! We have been created to be eternally-minded kingdom builders, not short-term judges and world fixers with the attempt to correct people’s characters while neglecting our own sanctification in the process.
There are definitely some wounds that have yet to heal and unlikely voices we must listen to and respond to with supernatural God-given grace and humility.
Do you know what’s more offensive than kneeling during the National Anthem? Not fulfilling the calling of Proverbs 31:8-9 because we stand SO offended by protests and what others say or do to us. Stop with the click bait headlines and the so-called experts and commentators we base our opinions on, instead lend an ear to someone who doesn’t look or think like you do. Hear their stories. Bitterness is always rooted within a painful story. Be broken by their brokenness. I believe in James 4:8 because I believe God draws near to the brokenhearted, as Psalm 34:18 so eloquently proclaims, “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.” Don’t assume their testimony, but sit still and listen and try to understand where they come from and why they think the way they do. You might actually learn something new and holy because in times of distress our God is near them, and if we’re also near them, He also promises to be near us.
Our bright light fades when we make nonsensical statements and we forget the needs of others while creating such senseless arguments. I challenge you to shift your eyes to those who have been significantly affected by the last few natural disasters. I’d like to see more awareness in social media and our network news about what’s going on in these places. But our media only gives us what we want and what we ask of them. Hence, they are still informing us about the NFL protests and showing us ex-fans burning their favorite player’s jersey.
Our sister and neighbor Mexico, our Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are all in a humanitarian crisis and desperately need us.
Let’s not ignore their cries of help. Speak up for those who truly have no voice.
It is déjà vu all over for me as I sit in impotence and watch my fellow Puerto Ricans deal with the aftermath effects of Hurricane Maria. There are about 3.5 million American citizens right now in dire need of the basics: food, water, electricity, and gas. Imagine your home being flooded or without any air circulation and being bitten by all kinds of bugs and mosquitoes while fearing they have the potential to carry diseases. It is estimated that half a million of Puerto Ricans lost power since Hurricane Irma, so that means they’ve been without it nearly 20 days. There’s also barely any means of communication for families to tell their loved ones they’ve survived or to tell them what they need to make it out of this apocalyptic state.
So yes, maybe this is a tad more personal to me than it is to you, but please keep praying for the things that do matter and be open to help or donate.
Think about what will be written in the history books decades from now. I truly hope the debate of whether kneeling during the National Anthem is right or wrong takes a smaller portion on these pages and our next generation remember us by our generosity and kindness in times when others needed us the most. If we don’t respond to these cries, it wouldn’t surprise me people will grow more disillusioned with this America. An America, so far, ruled by her pride, not her compassion.
We have the opportunity to change the course of history today. Look up places around you accepting any supplies for donation such as: non-perishable and canned foods, cases of bottled water, diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, batteries, air mattresses, generators, clothing. (So before you burn your football jersey in protest to the NFL, perhaps you could send it to someone who would deeply appreciate it).
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.
-James 4:13-17
Do your own research to make sure your aid dollars go as far as they possibly can in the right direction. These are mere suggestions…
Donations Sites for Hurricane Relief:
Sign this petition to waive the Jones Act (Click here for more information)
One America Appeal: by our former presidents
Donations Sites for Earthquake Relief:
Pray for our God Almighty to guide you in His wisdom
to fulfill His will in such a time as this.
This is the time we get to show them His love,
for they will know Him by ours.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
-John 13:35
Ally Velsor 