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Editor’s note: This guest column was written by Dr. Oren Renick, School of Health Administration, Texas State University. He is a member of the Shepherd’s Centers of America Board of Directors. Renick’s book on racial reconciliation, “Smoke Over Mississippi,” was recently published as an expanded second edition. It is available through Amazon or Insight Press.
Who is your Neighbor? "And the pharisee asked, 'Lord, which is the greatest commandment?' "Jesus answered saying, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and with all your strength. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.'"
Mark 12:30-31
I ask you, who is your neighbor? Think about that carefully. We have seen how interconnected we are with all humanity. The pandemic of COVID-19 and the pandemic of unrest after the murder of George Floyd — with both spreading globally — have shown that we are all one race, the human race. So again, I ask you, who is your neighbor?
I contend that your neighbor is anyone who lives on this planet called Earth. We are all created by God. Race, creed, or religion does not change who our neighbor is. We are all human beings. Hate has no place here on earth. Love is the medicine of peace and racial reconciliation.
You may be thinking the problems are too great and raw for you to be effective in any meaningful way. Remember this: You are but one person, but you are one person. You cannot do everything, but you can do something. What is the something that you and I can do? We can reach out to our neighbors where we live with love and empathy. We can listen to unrest and try to understand why there is unrest. We can see where there is a need around us and try to do something about that need. Remember, “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.”
We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Be your brother’s brother or your sister’s sister regardless of that person’s race or station in life. Don’t just talk the talk of a better world. Walk the walk by making your corner of the world a better place. Stretch your comfort zone. Reach out to someone that is not like you. Be a friend. Listen. Hear what that person is saying and try to understand. Be your brother’s brother or your sister’s sister. We can become change agents by helping downtrodden or oppressed people stand as valued and dignified human beings.
Hating, judging, bullying, devaluing any other human being hurts us all. Love, kindness, understanding and empathy helps us. The Bible is not a book of hate, but of love. We are told that if it is not of love, it is not of God. The Bible is a book of peace, love, acceptance and grace. Anyone who perverts the words of Jesus into war, hate, exclusion, and bullying has not understood the words of Jesus, who came that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. Abundant living is not one of fear, anger, oppression and racial unrest fueled by inequality. Abundant living is one of love and acceptance.
As we approach the celebration of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, it is my prayer that all people can be free to have the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that our Constitution promises. May we grant equally to all the promise of America. What is that promise we as a society keep forgetting? That promise is for every one to have the right to work, to live and breathe, to be himself or herself and to become whatever that person’s vision is for a good and fruitful life. That my brothers and sisters is America’s promise. I pray that all of us are willing to allow everyone the right to claim that promise.
The civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer said it best, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
She observed the unfinished business of the civil rights movement and proclaimed, “All my life I’ve been sick and tired. Now I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Aren’t you?
