Under God, we respect eachother. In doing so, no distinction is made between race, creed or nationality. Under God we respect all, except certain others to the extent their back is turned to God.
If there is any doubt that there is to be no distinction on account of a group a person belongs to, Galatians 3: 28-29 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” If there is still any doubt, consider this: When both the Old and New Testaments were written, people who were different in race, creed and nationality existed in the world. The Bible, particularly in Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 doesn’t say we are to only love neighbors who are like ourselves in terms of race and nationality. Similarly, nowhere in the rest of the Bible does it say we are to respect only those who are like ourselves in terms of race and nationality.
As far as creed goes, well, the Bible says not to let those into your home who follow other gods and deny or turn their back on our one true God. But under Galatians 3: 28-29 we are all held in the same regard through Jesus.
Jesus in Matthew 7:12 says, “…whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” In that regard, if someone does work for us, we should not pay them any less for their work than we would expect to get if we did the same work. If someone who does work for us, asks for days off with pay, or just for days off, and we would want the same thing if we were in their shoes, we shouldn’t deny them, If people working for us want to work where there is no risk to physical safety, and we would want the same thing if in their shoes, we should not deny them.
Most of us know who Martin Luther King was. Many of us know he was killed in a city down south in the U.S. where he was standing up for the rights of sanitation workers who were underpaid, and who worked amidst unsafe conditions. Most of these workers were black, and they worked for a family-owned business who denied them decent pay and safe working conditions among other things. The owners were white.
Why the owners denied the workers these things, is up to them to answer to God. Did they deny these workers because of their race? Did they deny these workers because they felt they could do anything they want, EVEN IF THEY WOULDN’T WANT OTHERS TO TREAT THEM THE SAME WAY IF THEY WERE IN THOSE WORKERS’ SHOES?
Had the owners acted under God, they would have abided by Matthew 7:12 and Galatians 3:28-29. There was no apparent reason for them to do otherwise. Did any of the workers convey to them that they, the worker, did not believe in God? Did any of such workers act in an evil manner? My guess is that the owners did not know what was in each worker’s heart. For all the owners know, each worker was law-abiding, and had households that they took care of as best they can. Of course, if they had gotten paid more, they would have done a better job at it!
Nowhere in the Bible does it say to first regard a stranger with suspicion or disdain, whom we know nothing about, before deciding it is OK to treat them as we ourselves would want to be treated.
Not too long ago, there were many in the South in the U.S. who went to church on Sunday, but on the following Monday put up two types of signs over bathrooms and water fountains. One sign said, “Whites Only,” and the other sign said “Colored.” On the following Monday they said that blacks weren’t allowed in certain hotels, they weren’t allowed in certain schools, they weren’t allowed even to sit at a counter in a Woolworth’s. And this applied to all blacks, even though many among them were THEMSELVES attending church on Sunday. Why? Because they were black.
There may be those out there that might say, ‘Well, Galatians 3: 28-29 doesn’t mention black people,’ or, for that matter, ‘Galatians 3: 28-29 doesn’t mention Mexicans.’ And if they had some further familiarity with the Bible they would say that the Scriptures that were breathed out by God doesn’t mention blacks or Mexicans. To them I would say that on the other hand, Matthew 7:12 doesn’t say ‘So whatever you wish that others EXCEPT FOR BLACKS AND MEXICANS would do to you, do also to them…’ Why is this important? Because God is love. Because different races and nationalities existed when God breathed out His Scriptures. And in that spirit, because the second commandment of Jesus doesn’t say to love eachother as you would yourself, UNLESS THEY ARE BLACKS OR MEXICANS OR IN SOME SIMILAR MANNER DIFFERENT THAN YOU.
Under Jesus we are all regarded in the same way with each of us being accountable for our own actions instead of for the actions of others.
If there is any doubt that there is to be no distinction on account of a group a person belongs to, Galatians 3: 28-29 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” If there is still any doubt, consider this: When both the Old and New Testaments were written, people who were different in race, creed and nationality existed in the world. The Bible, particularly in Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 doesn’t say we are to only love neighbors who are like ourselves in terms of race and nationality. Similarly, nowhere in the rest of the Bible does it say we are to respect only those who are like ourselves in terms of race and nationality.
As far as creed goes, well, the Bible says not to let those into your home who follow other gods and deny or turn their back on our one true God. But under Galatians 3: 28-29 we are all held in the same regard through Jesus.
Jesus in Matthew 7:12 says, “…whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” In that regard, if someone does work for us, we should not pay them any less for their work than we would expect to get if we did the same work. If someone who does work for us, asks for days off with pay, or just for days off, and we would want the same thing if we were in their shoes, we shouldn’t deny them, If people working for us want to work where there is no risk to physical safety, and we would want the same thing if in their shoes, we should not deny them.
Most of us know who Martin Luther King was. Many of us know he was killed in a city down south in the U.S. where he was standing up for the rights of sanitation workers who were underpaid, and who worked amidst unsafe conditions. Most of these workers were black, and they worked for a family-owned business who denied them decent pay and safe working conditions among other things. The owners were white.
Why the owners denied the workers these things, is up to them to answer to God. Did they deny these workers because of their race? Did they deny these workers because they felt they could do anything they want, EVEN IF THEY WOULDN’T WANT OTHERS TO TREAT THEM THE SAME WAY IF THEY WERE IN THOSE WORKERS’ SHOES?
Had the owners acted under God, they would have abided by Matthew 7:12 and Galatians 3:28-29. There was no apparent reason for them to do otherwise. Did any of the workers convey to them that they, the worker, did not believe in God? Did any of such workers act in an evil manner? My guess is that the owners did not know what was in each worker’s heart. For all the owners know, each worker was law-abiding, and had households that they took care of as best they can. Of course, if they had gotten paid more, they would have done a better job at it!
Nowhere in the Bible does it say to first regard a stranger with suspicion or disdain, whom we know nothing about, before deciding it is OK to treat them as we ourselves would want to be treated.
Not too long ago, there were many in the South in the U.S. who went to church on Sunday, but on the following Monday put up two types of signs over bathrooms and water fountains. One sign said, “Whites Only,” and the other sign said “Colored.” On the following Monday they said that blacks weren’t allowed in certain hotels, they weren’t allowed in certain schools, they weren’t allowed even to sit at a counter in a Woolworth’s. And this applied to all blacks, even though many among them were THEMSELVES attending church on Sunday. Why? Because they were black.
There may be those out there that might say, ‘Well, Galatians 3: 28-29 doesn’t mention black people,’ or, for that matter, ‘Galatians 3: 28-29 doesn’t mention Mexicans.’ And if they had some further familiarity with the Bible they would say that the Scriptures that were breathed out by God doesn’t mention blacks or Mexicans. To them I would say that on the other hand, Matthew 7:12 doesn’t say ‘So whatever you wish that others EXCEPT FOR BLACKS AND MEXICANS would do to you, do also to them…’ Why is this important? Because God is love. Because different races and nationalities existed when God breathed out His Scriptures. And in that spirit, because the second commandment of Jesus doesn’t say to love eachother as you would yourself, UNLESS THEY ARE BLACKS OR MEXICANS OR IN SOME SIMILAR MANNER DIFFERENT THAN YOU.
Under Jesus we are all regarded in the same way with each of us being accountable for our own actions instead of for the actions of others.
