What Would You Do?

A black man owns a corner grocery store. This black man hates all white people and bans them from his store. What would you do? Would you get offended? Picket his establish? Sue him? Get state and federal government involved?

Politically, legally and socially I would do nothing. It’s his store. In my opinion he is entitled to own and operate his store as he sees fit. In fact, I might even thank the man for his honesty, for it kept me, a white man, out of a place I was not welcomed. The marketplace will dictate the fate of the black store owner and his enterprise.

I would pray for him. Hatred in any form such as racism, bigotry, prejudices, etc., are not attributes of God so therefore should not be attributes of any man. I would pray for God’s light to shine on such a dark soul.

If I needed a heart transplant, I would request the store owner’s heart when he died. Obviously he doesn’t use it so his heart should be in great condition.

The best thing to do (outside of praying for him) would be to lead by example. What Jesus did was a manifestation of who he was. Jesus didn’t practice what he preached. Jesus was what he preached. There was no plurality or dualism with Jesus. His actions were a result of his being. We are to be that too.

This is where man runs into problems. Unlike Jesus, the inner man and the outer man often conflict with each other. The impulse today is to let the carnal man have control. As a result we see protests, riots, physical attacks and acts of brutality upon any thought, practice or moral that is not in line with our own.

It has become justified in today’s society to force a will (and to will a force) over another for the sole reason of disagreement. Brute strength then becomes the determinant of rights and liberty, not God or truth.

Be Jesus. Speak and do nothing but that which comes from God the Father. This means we need to be in God’s word and in His house. To know God means two things. First, it means that we are cognizant of God and acknowledge Him as such. Second, it means we have a developing, growing relationship with Him. The latter cannot be fully realized with a closed Bible standing on the wrong side of the church doors.

Let the black grocery store owner be and do as he sees fit. If you want to see him change, make sure you are in fact that change he needs to be.

Who obtains mercy? Those who are merciful. Who sees God? The pure of heart. Who are the children of God? The peacemakers. Who is blessed? The merciful, pure of heart and the peacemakers.

Stop and think about this for a moment. Have you ever drawn anything closer to you by pushing it away? Nope, not ever, never. All things are repelled by opposing forces. Attacking or confronting this black man in attempt to make him change will do nothing but push him from you and deepen his hatred towards you. Confrontation tends to create allies for the opposition. You may win the legal battle, but you’ve lost the war of truth, justice and liberty. In other words, you’ve lost the Godly battle and you’ve encased this man’s heart in spiritual Hell.

Never force your will. Force doesn’t change, only hardens. Lead by example. One person will read the Bible, but one hundred people will read the Christian. Be the change.

Bill Hitchcock