Tearing Down Walls by Building Up Relationships
Introduction
There have been some strong words lately about the great need for change in our country and who’s fault it is we are struggling. From the recent events in Charlottesville, VA it has become apparent that a large group of (white) believe that people of color, especially immigrants, are the cause of the woes that they face in their lives. These people have been misled by some people who are seeking power. While it’s an effective political tactic to blame groups of people, it doesn’t help create solutions. I learned a long time ago that you could either use your resources (time, talents, and treasure) to fix the blame or to fix the problem, but not both.
There is only one way to move forward toward solving our problems and that is by working TOGETHER. The problems that effect people of color also effect white people and vice-versa. The myth that we can improve the station of one group of people by holding back another group is deadly. We are all in this together. We must unite together behind our common goals if we are going to make progress. Unity is not only a common sense approach but also one informed by the Christian faith; we were all created as God’s image bearers and can accomplish more together than we can apart.
Jesus led the way towards unity in his work of breaking down the dividing wall of hostility and it is time that those of us who claim to follow Jesus join him and lead the way in uniting our community as one.
In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote of Jesus that, “he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14, ESV). In other words, Jesus, in his work on the cross, has broken down the barriers that separate us as fellow believers. Barriers such as race and socio-economic status should matter no more for those who have been made one in Christ Jesus.
The reality, however, is that our community is sharply divided, even among those who profess to follow Jesus. We remain divided along lines of race, political persuasion, social standing; lines that are colored by unhealthy stereotypes of our neighbors.
It is these unhealthy stereotypes of others that hold us back from working together for a better community. Tearing down these stereotypes is the first step in coming together and we can only begin to tear down these stereotypes by building up relationships. Relationships destroy stereotypes. If we take the time to get to know one another on a personal level, we find that the stereotypes we have learned typically don’t hold true.
Let’s put our differences aside and rally together. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and get to know someone who doesn’t think, act, believe, look, or talk like you. You might be surprised at how much more you have in common once you get past those stereotypes.
