Phillip Holmes
After the audio of Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, was released to the public, a lot of people had a lot to say, but one particular response caught my eye. Rapper Meek Mill tweeted, “Donald sterling is the definition of racism …. He could b your judge…. Your doctor…..you teacher etc.”
While his words could incite paranoia, they’re also true. Men and women with views like Donald Sterling’s could be in the courtrooms, doctor’s office, classrooms and even in our pews.
The Proof is in the Pudding
Don’t think for one second that believers that think like Sterling don’t exist.
When I was in college, I entered the office of an older white gentleman who had mentored me, in a sense, and had done some significant cross-cultural things to advance a movement of Reformed blacks. He was also highly esteemed in our circles. From time to time, we talked about my desire to be married, and he encouraged me to pursue it.
However, I had a problem. I was Reformed and black living as a minority immersed in Anglo culture. Because the majority of the women I was surrounded by were white, naturally, some of the relationships I pursued were interracial. I found myself running into the roadblocks of disapproving parents who didn’t want me marrying their daughters.
When I expressed my frustration to the gentleman, he asked how my family would feel about my marrying interracially. I revealed how the gospel had done a marvelous work in my family’s heart regarding this issue. He pointed out that interracial marriage was hard and should therefore be avoided.
The conversation ended awkwardly. I left his office and never returned. Years later, he admitted to a group of men that he could not bear the thought of one of his daughters marrying a black man. This church leader was an incognito racist.
Being against interracial marriage is simply a sign of a much deeper issue. They reject the sufficiency of God’s standards for marriage (between two believers of the opposite sex), the intrinsic worth of the individual they’re opposing, and ultimately the oneness of all ethnicities in Christ.
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SOURCE: Christ and Pop Culture
Phillip Holmes is co-founder and vice president of the Reformed African American Network. He is currently a Master-of-Divinity student at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson.
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