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By Ed Sunday-Winters
When the Supreme Court handed down their decisions on two Ten Commandment cases this summer, they ruled both for and against the Ten Commandments. In the Kentucky case, they ordered the display removed. In the Texas case, they allowed the display to remain. People on both sides of the issue were disappointed with the outcome. Some Christians took the ruling in the Kentucky case as one more indication that our country is abandoning our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Too many times, we as Christians get bogged down in what we perceive to be wrong. We might do more good by taking note of the actions of our leaders that do reflect our understanding of Scripture. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, as the old saying goes.
Case in point: The U. S. Senate issued a formal apology in June for never having passed anti-lynching legislation at any time in its history. From the late 1800s up through the 1960s, thousands of African-Americans were lynched; millions more lived in terror of the possibility of becoming a victim of the practice. Several times, the House of Representatives passed legislation making lynching a federal crime. Each time, the legislation was defeated in the Senate. How? — the time-honored practice of filibustering (talking until everyone falls asleep or goes home). Interestingly, those filibusters were led by some of our Southland’s finest Judeo-Christian senators.
When Christians today advocate for a return to our nation’s religious roots, I often wonder if they have any awareness of what sort of branches those roots have sprouted through the years. The practice of lynching was an accepted part of our culture for just around a hundred years. James Heflin, Senator from Alabama, said in 1930, “Whenever a Negro crosses this dead line between the White and the Negro races and lays his black hand on a white woman, he deserves to die.” There was no shame in it. The final act of humiliation was the photograph of the victim hanging from a tree with a crowd standing around below looking as if they had done something that required courage or virtue.
I have no idea why our Senate chose this summer to issue this apology, but they did. In Bible terms, they repented. What is more Christian than asking for forgiveness?
Those who are repeatedly trying to force our nation to fit into their vision of moral correctness, at times have no problem proclaiming their own righteousness, vilifying their enemies, and forcing their views on the rest of us. The character and tone of their speech bears an eerie resemblance to the speech of those who defended lynching, or did nothing to stop it. In contrast, those who are seeking to follow Christ, regardless of their station in life, do so with humility, with love for their enemies, and a desire for forgiveness and mutual understanding with regard to wrongdoing.
The Bible clearly teaches that God’s law should be written on our hearts that we might readily put it into practice. Much ado is made about posting it in public places. Just about the easiest thing in the world to do is put a plaque on the wall. Living a life that embodies those words is a much more difficult proposition.
Joy and peace,
Ed
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