It’s time for some of us to stop talking and start listening and hearing. Whites have had the floor for a long time now. We have had the upper hand and have misused our privilege. Intentionally or unintentionally, people have been suppressed, held down, beaten, taken advantage of, and disregarded as members of our society.
I humbly confess any part I have played in using my life, my goals, my thinking at the cost of others chance for advancement or to be heard. I hope I am better than I was and I pray that tomorrow I will be better still.
To conclude: you must all have the same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble with one another. Do not pay back evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay back with a blessing, because a blessing is what God promised to give you when he called you. (1 Peter 3:8-9)
I haven’t always been willing to listen because I thought I knew and understood the problem. I never realized that I was part of the problem. It grieves me to think of the opportunities I have missed to hear the heart of my friends. I am brought to tears when I think of how I assumed because we were friends that meant they were treated in the same way I am. The truth is, we never discussed it, I never asked, and I am not sure I could have heard clearly enough to understand what a normal day is for an African American or person of color. Their days are not like mine.
I’m ready to shut up, listen, walk with you, and be part of the solution. Tell me how and I’m in- all in.
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. Proverbs 18:2
Let us be gentle with one another as we move forward. Let us be loving. I still cling to Jesus command to love one another. I want to be more like that. Father, change us all. Let this be the moment that change begins.
Read more of my walk: Lord Change Me, Radical Love in Radical Times
maggiemarcum 