The nature of the gospel demands that we treat all of God’s people equally and fairly. It also demands that we ourselves think that others will do the same. The Gospel’s equity is plain to see and all of God’s people benefit from this Christian grace. James challenges us to lay aside our prejudices and lay hold of the faith which is in Christ.
THE SITUATION
I recently found myself providing a particular service to a group of people in a multicultural setting. After going about my duties I was approached by an African American woman who insisted I was showing preference to “the White Folk” over her when performing this service.

It was like an Acts 6:1 complaint, but only in reverse.

At first I thought I was on candid camera, or a friend was playing a joke on me. But when I saw that she was serious, and that she genuinely thought I was being intentional in what she though I was doing (showing preference to a “white person” over my own “a black person”), my heart melted.

I apologized profusely and made every effort to correct what was considered a slight against her. But she would have none of it, and rebuffed any attempts that I made to correct the situation.

The whole incident left me reeling.

THE PROBLEM

I have often considered myself to be among the least prejudiced group of people on the planet – almost to a fault. As a black man, I have always championed the cause of those who have been discriminated against based on the color of their skin. I have supported other minorities in their cause against racial profiling and discrimination. To an extent, and to the ire of some friends and relatives, I have been sympathetic to the homosexual and Muslim communities concerning some of the more overt and baseless forms of discrimination.

Does this mean that I am somehow immune to racist tendencies or cannot exhibit these tendencies from time to time?

No…of course it doesn’t. But what it does indicate is my desire to take seriously God’s justice and His defense of those who are being treated unjustly based on a certain criterion that is unfairly applied. More specifically, it indicates my desire to take seriously the equity of the gospel message both in faith and practice.

Perhaps it is this last point, my desire to reflect the same impartiality on others that God lavished on me through his son Jesus Christ (Acts 10:34-35), that has left me reeling. For me, this incident wasn’t so much an issue of race as it was an issue of the gospel.

In some way, shape, or form, my actions communicated a behavior that is completely antithetical to the gospel message. As I have come to understand through this incident, even the appearance of gospel inequity can taint and harm the message of equity found in Christ.

But how are we to navigate through such muddied waters? How can we as God’s people strive for impartiality and gospel equality in an age where the issue of race and racism is still a living reality for so many?

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