When my daughters were pretty little, we went to Meijer on one of our weekly grocery shopping trips. I remember putting the girls in the cart and one of them put her mouth on the metal. It was late winter, and I was horrified. About 24 hours later, she was very sick.

She was too little to make it to the bathroom so as she vomited, I caught it on a towel or on my shirt as best I could.

Inevitably, her sister came down with the same illnesses pretty quickly. She couldn’t keep anything in her belly, not even water, and both girls became dehydrated. One of them had to go to the hospital because her skin stuck together when we pinched it.

I did what I needed to to protect my kids. We got flu shots, we washed our hands often, we cleaned their toys. But no matter what I did, they were susceptible to the stomach virus; a strain that was particularly harsh for them at the time.

I will admit that I am prepared for my children to be exposed to and potentially even get COVID-19. My guess is that because they are healthy and young, they’ll more than likely be okay.

But, I know that this is not how we should look at illness. What we need to be really cautious about is when we are in situations where our health could impact someone else.

I’ll be honest; I don’t quite know how to do that. If my throat gets that early-morning throat feeling, do I cancel things? Am I at risk if I don’t have any symptoms? Could I be carrying something and not even know it? I have a couple of meetings set up with people who are over 60 set up in the next week. Do I keep those meetings or cancel them?

I don’t have the right or wrong answers, but these are the things that I’m thinking about.

There are a lot of viruses out there. Yes, a lot of them have high contagion rates. But they are so common that we just get our flu shot or take our tamiflu and go on with life. At least some of us do, because some of us also die; the people who are at a greater risk die because someone, somewhere didn’t take the necessary precautions to ensure that the virus could have been contained.

COVID-19 and our reaction to it or its potential, has me thinking a lot about how we are just humans.

We are all just creatures in this very complex world. We yell at and judge one another, but at the end of the day, our bodies are all made up of the same things and that is why our bodies are all susceptible to viruses, bacteria, cancers and disease.

We have to take care of our self in order to take care of one another. If I am in tune with and take care of me, that impacts you. If you are in tune with your self and take care of you, then that impacts me.

The reality that we live in, though, is that we push through and we make excuses for both need and social pleasure. A single mom who is raising kids needs to go to work so that she can continue to take care of those kids. A boy who is running a fever feels like he needs to go to a track meet so that he can earn his varsity letter. Students who are getting out on spring break need to have fun so they take advantage of very low airfare to travel the world.

These decisions ultimately impact my mother-and-father-in-law, who are over 60 years old. These decisions affect babies whose lungs aren’t fully developed. These decisions impact the mother with stage 4 breast cancer who just wants to live long enough to see her daughter graduate.

If we take anything away from this moment, even if we think that the world has lost its mind and is causing hysteria, we should remember this: we are human beings, made of skin and bones, and we are not the most powerful creatures in the world. We are fragile and susceptible, just like everything else in this world.

We have viruses, bacteria, cancer and other diseases that can really affect us, even if it means that we spend a few days in bed or at home. There’s something beautiful about being in tune with that because maybe it can help us see that there are other creatures, human or not, that are also affected by forces that can be harmful to them.

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If we were acquaintances and I told you that I grew up in Indiana, you might make a few assumptions.

The first thing that you might assume is that I grew up in a rural area. That would be correct; a few of them, in fact.

The second thing you might assume is that I played basketball. And again, you would be correct. You might also assume that I identified — or do identify — as a Republican or a Conservative. You’d be right with that assumption, too.

Maybe at this time, you’ll stop reading. Or maybe you had a whole bunch of emotions well up inside of you: maybe some of you are joyous and others may not call me later.

But if you know anything about the way that I process the world, you’ll know that I’m constantly questioning what it means to be affiliated with anything, and if I still identify that way.

This is a difficult thing to do. Saying that I am a Conservative, even saying that I am fiscally conservative, sends jolts through my body these days. Maybe I’m having an identity crisis. Or maybe things today are not as they once were.

You see, I grew up to believe:

• The government should be fiscally responsible; it functions on the back of taxpayer money;
• The elected officials should represent their constituents’ priorities, whether they voted for them or not;
• Everyone should be honest and forthcoming;
• We all are created equally. No matter what your skin color, no matter who or what you worship, no matter where you came from, no matter who you love. We are all living creatures and valuable;
• All of us are afforded rights under the Constitution. Those rights apply to all Americans;
• The United States government, no matter how big or small, is about the betterment of our common life together;
• Everyone should be afforded the right to an education where they learn, are safe and have opportunities to grow;
• Everyone is afforded the right to have access to affordable healthcare;
• We have a right to use our voices to state our views in a way that is not threatening towards others;
• We have a right to approach the government, and they will listen;
• We should take care of the Earth. Not because it is our life source, but because it, too, is living and breathing, as are all of the creatures that inhabit its face. We are visitors here, so everything that has life and that which passed from life millions of years ago are sacred;
• We have a responsibility to one another to work together to be something better than we have ever been before.
• That everyone deserves to be loved.

Of course, these statements weren’t written anywhere like the 10 commandments or traffic laws that must be followed. Instead, they were lessons that came from just living in relationship with other people.

I seem to remember that we were taught to believe in the perfection of ideas and ideals that built this country, not on the people who built this country.

I did not understand what impact those ideas had on my being until much later in life when I began to see how the world really works.

Like many young adults, we set out believing that this world could be the place that we were promised it is, and over many years, we’ve realized that those ideas and ideals are out there, but we are struggling to find the place or time when they were actually implemented.

It seems that ideas and ideals can be perfect, but humans are not.

Some of us see that the history we were taught is not actually what happened, others of us see that while great strides have been made, there are groups of people who continue to get forgotten or threatened, we witness the fear that keeps people from standing up for what’s right and we know that fear is not unfounded.

And today, as we watch history unfold, yet again, many of us are questioning whether we are following ideas and ideals that will bind our common life together or if we, as a people, have become only those who will follow a party, elected leaders or the professionals at all cost.

I think many of us, no matter where we identify politically, feel disenchanted by the system that is supposed to represent all of us, and still, we know that it is still one of the freest systems on the planet.

At times, that is a hard pill to swallow.

I know that this identity crisis will be short-lived. I have no trouble telling you where I stand politically.

Politics, to me, means the organization of our common life together, so I stand with love, kindness and hope for all — whether we see eye-to-eye on a subject or not.

As we set out on yet another election season, as we watch today’s events unfold on a local, state and national level, I am seeking candidates who stand for the same ideas and ideals; those who at all costs will live out of those qualities.

This election cycle won’t be the first time that I vote outside of party lines, but, like others, this is the first time I am questioning who my party truly is.

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fred@mahometnews.com

Explanation is not the same as justification.

Sometimes they can be polar opposites and have no relationship or relevance to each other.

Consider the story of a young man who was raised in a small – but growing – midwestern community.

He lived in the same house and attended the same school district from the time he started kindergarten through his high school graduation.

Virtually all of the people he interacted with on a day-to-day basis – whether they were classmates or faculty members – were like him. That is to say, they were Caucasian.

Some were taller; others shorter. Some were heavier; others lighter, but they all – or at least 99 percent of them – looked pretty much the same and like him.

He supposed that some were of different religions, political views or had different sexual orientations, but those topics were never discussed. In retrospect, he isn’t sure they were even thoughts in his mind.

Upon graduating from high school, the protagonist in this story enrolled at a major university which had in excess of 30,000 students. He was on a campus with different cultures, beliefs and races.

And yet, due to the random nature of housing assignments, those he came into contact with on a day-to-day basis were mainly like him. The fourth floor of his dormitory – both years he was a resident – consisted primarily of people who looked like him. That is to say, they were Caucasian.

He supposed that some were of different religions, political views or had different sexual orientations, but those topics were never discussed.

Most of his classes the first two years at the university were in large lecture halls with more students than were present in his entire high school. He was content to listen to the teaching assistants and take copious notes, but met very few of the others in those lecture rooms.

After two years of fulfilling his liberal arts requirements at college, he had a steady diet of classes associated with his major. The class sizes were – mostly – smaller, and collaborative projects were emphasized, so our protagonist got to expand the grouping of people he knew.

Somehow, virtually all of those folks were still people who looked like him. When he graduated, he left with a degree, but little worldly knowledge about other cultures, political views or personal preferences.

Without these experiences, he entered the work-a-day world still holding on to the beliefs and values that his elders espoused and he witnessed first-hand for years at family gatherings.

So, here we are, living in a world with other adults, ready to reproduce and perhaps perpetuate the myths and misperceptions to another generation. In this context, it is easy to see how cycles continue and are passed on.

That is the explanation. There is no justification for intolerance or for being uncaring or unaccepting that not everyone – maybe hardly anyone – thinks or acts like we do at times.

It’s now decades after our protagonist first started full-time employment, carrying with him thoughts of Utopia and a sense of Pollyannaism.

He is thankful for the opportunity to associate with and learn from people who didn’t look – or act – just like him. He now has an expanded world view, not just from traveling, but from the experience of living.

The lessons learned were profound: regardless of where we live, whom we spend the night with, what activities we devote our time to or whom we choose to follow, we are all basically the same.

We are trying to successfully make our way in this world, pay our bills, support our family, serve as role models to those who want to view us in that manner, and live happily ever after.

There is no right or wrong way, no better or worse way, just a series of choices, turns and decisions, some of which take us back to – or away from – a point of view we had never even considered or couldn’t imagine forsaking.

Some days, it all clicks and is as smooth as clockwork. Other days, we take our solace in remembering the good days and looking forward to finding them again very soon.

I can say these things while filled with confidence about their accuracy. The protagonist in this story is myself. This is the story of how I lived, and learned. And grew.

As my world has expanded, my life has been enriched. I have best friends who were addicts, best friends who are gay, best friends who swear by the views on both sides of the political spectrum, best friends who struggled for years to feed their children, best friends who are doctors and best friends who have endured unspeakable pain. And, I have best friends who are like me, too.

The best part is that many are friends I never would have met had I not been open to receiving others and recognizing that we all have more similarities than differences. That is an explanation that is easy to justify.

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I love traveling on an airplane.

I’ve only traveled this way about a dozen times in my 40 years, but each time I get into the pressurized tube that will fly tens-of-thousands of feet above the Earth, I am overcome with the immense magic of what is about to happen.

When I was little, my father was part of the Illiana Skydivers Club. There are just a few times in those 18 years that I was allowed to accompany the skydivers to 10,000 feet in the twin engine aircraft so that they could open the door and jump out.

It was a smelly trip with 10 fully grown men literally sitting between each other’s legs as the aircraft climbed through the summer heat. I was stuffed behind the pilot’s seat on the floor where the only seatbelt was located. They demanded that I use the seatbelt, too.

It wasn’t until I was well-into my 30s and aware of how people on the ground interact that I boarded my first major aircraft. I remember getting on with nerves, wondering if the passengers, including myself, would become another statistic.

But we landed safely, and have landed safely in subsequent trips, which is how I am able to write this. In fact, I am awaiting an 11 p.m. mountain-time to board a red-eye flight home from Phoenix.

My daughter is laying on a large orange chair, a man has been emphatically talking on the phone since we sat down, and the majority of the people are on a device of some sort.

Within an hour, the Delta hostess will begin boarding mothers with small children and active or retired military members. And then I, a passenger in the basic boarding zone, will climb into my middle seat and prepare for the overnight flight.

Even though the lights will be dim, the magic of what is about to happen remains the same. And all rules about how humans respect each other on the ground will be transformed within the air.

Nearly 200 passengers, in a giant tube, sitting in seats that are small with only a little leg room, will be polite, kind and caring towards each other. In a civilized way, we will board the plane — and exit it, too — passengers will happily step aside so that a man can get his bag into the overhead bin or so that a woman with a tiny dog can find her window seat.

Some people will just wear their headphones and close their eyes while others will pick up the latest issue of SkyMile magazine and silently read. There won’t be much noise, except maybe a child or two, but all of the passengers will beam with patience because they know that this trip is exhausting for those parents — but they just wanted to show their child a good time.

It won’t matter who is white or black, who grew up poor or who drove a Mercedes to the airport, who voted and who they support. For a few hours people will say please and thank you to the flight attendant who just greeted them with a smile and a warm welcome.

We will all be uncomfortable, we will all be tired, we will all feel like herded cattle, but for a few hours, the world as I imagine it to be every morning when I wake up becomes true.

But that’s not the best of it.

Here’s the best part: we have no idea who the pilot is, but we trust them, quite literally with our lives. We don’t know if they have just told off the fast food workers who were closing their restaurant for the night, if they played with their daughter earlier in the day, or if they got A’s or C’s in flight school. We don’t always know if they are male or female until we hear their voices, we don’t know what their favorite drink is or if they forgot to pack a toothbrush. All we know is that they are there.

And not only do we choose to trust them, but we also hope that they succeed at what they are doing. Every. Single. Time.

I am about to board a flight from Phoenix to Detroit to Indianapolis. And I pretty much can’t wait.

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“You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner, there was one wise old Native American woman saying, “Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave.”- Dylan Brody

“Thanksgiving is an emotional time. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.” – Johnny Carson

“Last Thanksgiving, I shot my own turkey. It was fun. That shotgun going “Blam Blam!” Everybody at the supermarket was just staring. Why track them when I know where they are?” – Kenny Rogerson

Several years ago, my brother and his family lived without a refrigerator.  They had two ice chests with frozen jugs of water that they had to replace about every other day. They made the kids do that.  And what prompted them to this 17th century way of living?

Leftovers! Leftovers? Yes, leftovers were one of the reasons they gave up their refrigerator. It wasn’t the only reason, but it’s the one that stuck out in my mind.

November is filled with national ‘food “days.   There is Candy Day, Deviled Egg Day, and Cashew Day (which goes with the fact that it is National Peanut Butter Lover ‘s Month.).  November includes “Cookie Monster’s” birthday and the day that William Tell took a bow and arrow and shot an apple off his kid’s head.  (NOTE: Parents, this is not legal.) Halloween candy that was hidden under the bed has now been found by a younger sibling. Aunties and Grandmas are making fruitcakes and cupcakes, oodles of noodles, cookies and tortes, candy wreaths and three-story gingerbread houses and last but not least…. there is Thanksgiving.

People from the good ol’ U.S. of A. gobble up 690 million pounds of turkey each Thanksgiving. I have no idea how many pounds of stuffing, mash potatoes, yams or cranberry sauce/relish are made.  I do know there will be leftovers. 

Food is not the only leftover. There are leftover people lying on your sofa, leftover rude cousins that don’t know when to go home and there are leftover dishes and arguments as to whom or what will do the dishwashing.  There is leftover trash outside created by city wildlife. Leftovers can be so overwhelming. What’s a person to do?

Humor, once again, may be the best defense you have to any kind of leftover. Think of it as an emotional antacid. When tensions arise from the holiday planning or holiday crowding, (in your living room), try reaching for some quiet time with the Sunday funnies. How about one of those silly holiday movies that make you laugh and groan and laugh again?   You can also say to Aunt Mildred’ “Let’s play ‘I love Lucy episodes on Youtube,” while you both do the dishes. Either she will love it or she will leave the room. Either way, you win. Most important, learning to forgive yourself and chuckle at your humanity helps deal with the leftover blues.

November 15th was  National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. You can then prepare the space for leftovers without overcrowding. Clean out and make room in your emotional refrigerator (where you get nurtured) for more humor, laughter, and joy, especially around this time of year.  Take a daily dose of mirth as a re-laxative. It can prevent hardening of the attitudes.

Nowadays, I have Thanksgiving at our home early in the holiday week. It helps our stepfamily and my brother’s family attend to the other four holiday dinners.  We have sushi and Italian beef, and a veggie platter in the shape of a turkey. Laughs, jokes and humorous storytelling is really the main course. And we always have plenty leftovers of joy.  

Thanksgiving blessings of Gratitude, Humor, Laughter, Mirth and Joy,

Debra Joy Hart

Joyologist,  Certified Humor Professional,  Registered Nurse, Minister, Clown
Author of Grandma D’s Bubbles:  A Lesson in life and Loss
Author of (soon to be published) 63 Things I Want You to Know Before I Die (Because I Am TIRED of Repeating Myself)
Bereavement and Grief Support Counselor
TEDx Speaker: “That’s Not Funny! A 3P Practice for Grief Resilience with Laughter and Tears.
www.debrajoyhart.com
debrajoyhart@gmail.com

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These are serious accusations and we need to take a moment to set the record straight. Mr. Goss has never spoken to me personally about any issue related to the County Board, or my office. He has ignored, or declined, numerous invitations to tour the Clerk’s Office, meet our staff, view  a demonstration of our outdated and unsecure election equipment, or otherwise gather any actual facts about any issue he wants to address. 

 Mr. Goss was quoted saying, “Ammons was in over his head from the get.” Actually Mr. Goss, “from the get” I have been positive and committed while dealing with years of administrative neglect; an orchestrated exodus of veteran staff who left with intellectual property of the county; serious election security issues; incomplete or completely missing personnel records, a 10 year gap in staff evaluations; a culture of unfair promotion practices that left qualified female candidates overlooked while Republican party insiders/donors were fast tracked; and a voter registration program that was not maintained, causing serious issues that are documented by the State Board of Elections. Just to name a few. 

 And a quick point of clarification of a blatant lie told by Mr. Goss, 11 of the 14 staff members in the Clerk’s Office are AFSCME members, not “at-will employees who were likely to be fired anyway.” If Mr. Goss had any direct contact with me on this issue, he would also know that prior to being sworn in, I sent a letter to the staff making it very clear that I wanted everyone to stay, that I was interested in doing the work of serving the taxpayers, and I reassured staff that I would not hold any ill will towards any of them regardless of what may have transpired during the course of the campaign.  If you look at our staff today you will find a beautiful balance and representation of Champaign County, a goal of the County Board. I am especially appreciative of the veteran staff that stayed on, they have led by example as team players, sharing their knowledge, and providing guidance and training to our newer staff members. 

 Under my leadership we have been able to promote from within and our outside hires have led to the most diverse staff ever in the Clerk’s office. We have leveraged over $143,000 in grants with an additional $100,000 coming in 2020. We have built partnerships with the U of I, MTD, Parkland, and smaller community based organizations, hosted voter registration drives, ran an election, maintained excellent vital records, handled our portion of the property tax cycle despite issues that were out of our control.  We, with the help of former lead tax extension specialist Andy Rhodes, hosted an educational presentation for the road commissioners who needed assistance adjusting to the new aspects of the property tax cycle, and through marriage licenses, business licenses and birth certificates, we have positively impacted the lives of Champaign County residents every day. Also, we recently finished a series of six Tax Town Halls that spanned Champaign County, explaining the property tax cycle, answering important questions from the public, and offering clarity on exemptions and the lateness of the bills this year.  Mr. Goss did not attend any of those SIX tax town halls, not even the one in Mahomet, the district he represents.  

 In his interview, Mr. Goss said I “like to talk about elections…” absolutely I do, Mr. Goss, because elections have consequences.  And it appears to me that what you’re really upset about is decades of negative consequences are being unwound by the newly elected Democratic Department Heads and you don’t like what it’s uncovering, or the new direction the County is headed in. 

 In the future Mr. Goss, you owe it to your constituents to get the facts straight and show them what you’re doing.  What ordinance, resolution, or improvement to public policy have you initiated and passed?  Many people like to criticize the work of others, but where is your work?  

Mr. Goss, please stop lying to the people of Champaign County, and stop trying to cast doubt and create discord.  Republicans aren’t the Department Heads because the majority of residents of Champaign County chose Democratic leadership. It’s called the will of the people.  

 It is clear that Mr. Goss only wants to play partisan politics, lie, and misrepresent what is actually happening, a methodology that is straight out of President Donald Trump’s playbook.  Complete with attempts to stoke the flames of sexism, racism, and homophobia when he says that we are “the most unqualified candidates ever.” Ever? The fact that two women, two openly gay men, and an African-American were Democratic candidates for five county wide offices, and now in charge of the 5 departments that were previously held for decades by white male heterosexuals, is not lost on me, or the voters of Champaign County.   

Sincerely, 

Aaron Ammons 

Champaign County Clerk  

The post Commentary: An Open Letter to Jim Goss From One of “The Most Unqualified Candidates Ever” appeared first on .

The older I get, and the more I read the Bible, I see that the one thing God desires in us is humility. I wish I could have said that this is easy, but being humble is a challenge, especially because honestly, pride is a big part of living.

We oftentimes don’t think of pride as being a bad thing, because we think of it the same as confidence. But in the Bible pride and confidence are two very different things. Pride means we don’t like being wrong, love being right, and oftentimes it causes us to focus on the weaknesses of others, rather than revealing our own. This is why humility is so important.

C. S. Lewis once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less”, and in that having a willingness to look at yourself honestly to love others fully.

Paul wrote to his protege’ Timothy, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:12-15)

Paul says that Jesus came to save sinners, and of those He came to save, Paul was (emphasis) the worst. It is a pretty powerful thing to say publicly, considering that Paul was by early church standards, very influential. So why does he tell Timothy (and us) this?

Because Paul believed in his heart that there is no one, including himself, was too far off to find God. And because he believed this there was nowhere that he wasn’t willing to go to bring that message of God’s grace, and no one that he wasn’t willing to share that message with.

In the church, there is a lot of conversation regarding “the sin of homosexuality”. I want to start with the phrase, “The sin of…” because I don’t like it very much, and it is not why you might think. It is not the word “sin” that makes me uncomfortable, but the word “of”.

The word “of” is used to connect two ideas: “sin” and “homosexuality”, but in doing so it tends to subtly move the focus away from us, and avoid a very important question: What “sin” has been committed toward those who are a part of that LGBTQI community by us?

I want to address this because as “the church” we need to humble ourselves to the fact that LGBTQI people have been sinned against. And it is time for us, the church to repent. Not every one of us is guilty, and not every church is guilty, but many have, and if we don’t admit and repent, then we deny that.

LGBTQI people have been mocked, shunned, abused (verbally if not physically), persecuted, dehumanized, and cast out of the camp like the lepers in Numbers 5. And yet many of the testimonies I have read from people who are LGBTQI contain the same plot as Numbers 5.

I testimony I was privy to hear said, “I was raised in church, but when I was honest about what I was struggling with I was treated like “I was only welcome outside the camp” When I was searching for Jesus, I felt like I was pushed to the margins by His followers and made to feel like less than. I didn’t find love in the church and therefore couldn’t find healing in the church – So I left the church.”

While they do exist, it isn’t as often that I read a testimony by LGBTQI individuals where they are overwhelmed by the love, acceptance, and grace of the church. And I find this interesting because it has been proven that it wasn’t the church’s stance on homosexuality that pushed them away from the church. In fact, recent statistics show that many LGBTQI individuals would rather attend a church that preaches what the Bible says, rather than a church that is simply affirming. What I hear over and over is that it was the lack of love in the church that drove them away.

In Jesus, we find our calling and our example.

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.” (Hebrews 13:12-13) In Numbers 5 they are cast out of the camp, and in Hebrews, Christ comes to redeem those outside the camp by going to them.

One of the important things in seeing Jesus as our example is that we see clearly the ways that we have been irresponsible in applying God’s grace AND God’s truth. Every grace-filled Christian must enter into this discussion armed with the truth of what God’s Word says, AND a heart that’s eager to repent, where repentance is needed for the ways in which same-sex attracted people have been mistreated.

We must be eager to love as Christ loved. Without a compassionate heart that’s zealous to repent of our sin and reach out to love others, we are not the church.

So then we have to put away the desire to laugh at memes, crude jokes, even using God’s Word to condemn others. We have to acknowledge that there are far too many blogs with the name “Christian” that are graceless spaces whose message is that those who have sinned are outside the camp. If that is so then I wonder where Paul pitched his tent because by his own admission he is out, not in.

So in addressing sexuality as the church, we begin by acknowledging, confessing, and repenting from the sin the church has committed against same-sex attracted people. Then, and only then, can we start to study so that we can reach out in truth and love, and have conversations regarding what we believe, living as the church who bears the name of Jesus Christ.

So the church must begin as Paul did in writing to Timothy, looking inside ourselves first and repenting of our own sin, before trumpeting the sins of others. Repentance has to be a part of our lifestyle in Christ that begins with us, not just others.

This doesn’t mean we agree with sin. Jesus Himself certainly did not affirm everyone’s actions, and He never said sin was okay, but He also was adamant that sin was never a reason to withhold love. Jesus came to save sinners, all of us, and that should humble us, and position us to be a part of Christ’s work, “to seek and save the lost” (Matthew 18:11).

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned pride and confidence. I did so because I desperately want us to trade our pride for humility, and properly place our full confidence in Christ. It is only when we do that that we can address this like Jesus, with grace AND truth.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

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In the summer of 2018, my family and I had the opportunity to attend a lecture at Answers in Genesis, given by Ken Hamm, its founding director. While I don’t agree with Ken Hamm on a number of topics and issues, the lecture he gave on race was thoughtful and challenging. So much so that much of what I am going to share in this article is from my memories of that lecture.

Racism is based on the idea that there are different human races, the “white race,” the “black race,” the “yellow race,” the “red race,” and so on. While it is generally assumed that people share similar characteristics, racism relies heavily on highlighting the inherent differences between people groups in an attempt to elevate one group over another in rights, privilege, and position in society.

The idea of racism has been around as long as different kinds of people groups have existed. The clearest example to give us some context comes from Hitler and the National Socialists Party (the Nazis), who promoted the idea that races were in competition with each other for superiority. Superiority being greater rights, privilege, and position.

The term race has not always been defined as it is today. Prior to the 1800’s most people referred to “race” as cultural groups such as the “English race,” the “Irish race,” etc. This view however changed in 1859 when Charles Darwin published his book, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,” originally titled, “The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life”.

According to Darwinian thinking, different races descended from different ancestors separated by location and over periods of time. Some were more superior than others, in which he presented the idea of “natural selection” being naturally selected for survival and dominance. This has been popularized as the survival of the fittest.

I want to be very clear that my desire is not to debate, or even denounce Darwin’s theory of evolution in this article, but instead to have us understand that it has negative consequences. Darwinian thinking has played a major role in promoting the idea that different people groups or “races” of people evolved at different times and rates, making one more superior than another.

As a result of Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection, people started thinking in terms of different people groups as representing different “races,” some selected to succeed over others. It might be helpful as I use the words success and superiority, that we think of the word “power” and “control” because that is what it is ultimately about.

Even today as I am writing this article a prominent Yale scientist, David Gelernter, publicly denounced Darwinian thinking as not only improbable scientifically, but statistically and ideologically “a dead loss.”

Interestingly, people who love to pit science and the Bible against one another may be surprised to find that there is far more agreement than disagreement.

In Genesis chapter one, God created man in His image, elevating by that action the worth value and status of each person made in His image, and all share a common ancestry. This is important because if God created us, He also created the great diversity that we experience among us.

In Acts 17:26, in the King James translation says that we are all “one blood,” one race, the human race. We are intrinsically bound together by not just a biological truth, but also a spiritual truth.

Jesus, in one of His few prayers recorded from John 17, prays to God that, “they (we) may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

In fact, the Book of Revelation says that all the peoples of the earth, with all their differences, will gather as “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9).

Armed with these two truths, science and the Bible, we cannot continue to perpetuate racist philosophies and ideologies to the success of one people group over others. Instead, we need to see others as we see ourselves and embrace that we are all one race; the human race.

No. Sadly, the answer is found in Darwin’s original published title, “The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.”

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On my annual trip to Colorado, I did something that I have never done before: I climbed a 14,000 ft mountain. 

When I was first asked if I wanted to climb a mountain to spread Epilepsy awareness, I was all for it. I had visited Colorado for a month and not once had hiked any of Colorado’s 53 14ers, and it was something on my bucket list.

Since I go on annual hiking trips with my grandparents, I felt like I had enough hiking experience to go.

But when I heard that the trail was four miles long, both my brother and I started to get cocky. 

“I’ve hiked quite a bit, and I hiked a lot more than a four-mile round trip just last year!” I kept thinking. “I can hike this easily. Piece of cake.”

I was wrong.

When the night before came, I was anxious and still very cocky. My uncle, brother, and I all started our day at 4:00 in the morning and began our two-hour drive to Mt. Sherman. 

After the long ride of restless sleep, we parked our car on a road along the side of a mountain! Just from the bottom, we already had a spectacular view. 

By 7:30, all of our group members had shown up and were ready to go. We walked down the road for a while, then found the trailhead and started our hike.

This was about when I decided to start showing off. Instead of going my regular pace and taking my time, like I normally do, I began hiking fast enough to be near the front of the line. 

The first hour or so was like any hike. I looked at flowers, saw some scenery, and started thinking to myself “you’re at the front of the line, that’s got to impress somebody!”

Then we went above treeline. And things got harder.

I don’t know about when I got tired, but I know I got tired quickly. But most people get tired at some point in a hike. It’s normal. So I kept going.

About ten minutes later, my breathing got more labored, and shorter. I have been tired during lots of hikes, but I had never had to work so hard to breathe. I decided I needed a rest.

My brother and I, now far from catching up to the leaders at the front, needed frequent breaks. The flowers didn’t cross my mind anymore; I wasn’t lost in thought. All I could think about was my breathing. I started to lose motivation and thought about giving up.

After many breaks, we finally got near the summit! It was about 400 yards away, and I knew that we would make it. 

But then out of nowhere, these huge gusts of wind started blowing my brother and me all over the place. It must have been hilarious to see two kids get blown every which way from an outside view, but I was freaking out! It got to the point where it was unbearable. But I was so close.

The thing that stopped me from summiting was the fact that I thought I couldn’t do it.

My brother and I walked back all the way down, never reaching the summit. My legs hurt, my lungs felt like they would pop, but that didn’t really bother me.
What bothered me was that I knew I could do it. If I had changed my mindset, I knew I could have climbed all the way to the top.

The mistake I made was to change the way I thought when things got tough. 

I underestimated the hike. It was the hardest four miles I have done in my life. Though the mileage was short, we climbed up almost 2100 vertical feet.  

But I also underestimated myself. The peak wouldn’t have been any harder to reach than where we had stopped. And yet I didn’t make it; that was on me.

I didn’t know what it took to climb a mountain. And now I do, and it is much harder than I expected.

The next time things are harder than I anticipated,  I’ll try to see that as me having to work harder as well. Besides, it can’t be harder than climbing a mountain! 

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