Some of us claim bringing up a past action we’ve committed only pulls us back into that dark place from which we worked so hard to disentangle ourselves. That was before I knew the weight my actions carried.
Fair enough. It seems safer to silence shameful thoughts and experiences. But does Honesty get a voice in the conversation?
Honesty calls us to see our past actions as opportunities for victories and mistakes. The mistakes we make confirm our humanity, and humans long for connection. Speaking aloud the experiences that shame us kill the power those experiences have over us. “Shame cannot survive being spoken,” Brown assures.
Personal shame that eats away at our ability to connect with others is dangerous. Skin-color shame is a whole different, but equally dangerous can of worms. We call this contention racism, a shaming tool that started gaining a foothold on our American soil over four hundred years ago. My friend, Amy, recently recommended Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in United States History and Life by David Billings, and it is shining light on how our deeply prejudiced history forms our current conversations about race.
I’m only in the beginning chapters of this book, but it is confirming what I believe: Jesus-seekers have a responsibility to speak about the present day consequences of years-old racism. As believers in Jesus, we must acknowledge the skin-color shame that “light skinned people” forced on black people, starting with African slaves stepping foot on the soil, this side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the early 1500s.
How can we not speak about the ramifications induced by skin-color shame that our ancestors utilized for profit and power? Much like The Hate You Give suggests, speaking the truth is the first step toward changing the world we live in. Speaking the truth frees us to love justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly with our Creator (Micah 6:8).
Does the Bible Call Us to Change?
Yes, the Gospels clearly call believers to change.
In Matthew 9, Jesus calls Matthew away from his work at the tax booth. Counting his collection for the day, Matthew is interrupted by Jesus’ command, “Follow me.” The Word narrates that Matthew didn’t question or hesitate. He simply followed Jesus to a nearby home where people, tax collectors and sinners, began to gather.
Jesus is reclining. People are chatting. The disciples are gathering. All is well. And then the Pharisees enter.
They take a quick look around the room. They want to know what the heck is going on. But they don’t ask Jesus. In voices spoken just loud enough for Jesus to hear, the Pharisees ask the disciples about why Jesus would surround himself with these people. The Pharisees question, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus, across the room, responds to the Pharisees: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Jesus’ response, I used to think, was spoken from a place of compassion for the sinners and tax collectors he was communing with that day. After all, Jesus came for the least of these, even the sinners and tax collectors.
But now I think his response was meant for the Pharisees, as well. The Pharisees were sick with discrimination in their hearts and rule-following perfectionism in their psyches. The Pharisees were in desperate need of a physician. The Pharisees needed something to change the ill-judgment pervading their condemning hearts. That is why Jesus gives them a job. Jesus commands the Pharisees, ” Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
By instructing the Pharisees to “learn,” he is charging them to change. “Learn” comes from the Greek word, manthano, which means to “ask, study, be taught.” Jesus points out that the Pharisees are missing something huge when it comes to understanding his love for all people — whether it’s prostitutes, widows, or tax collectors. Jesus advises the Pharisees to learn about the real meaning of mercy because their hearts need to change.
If we defend ourselves against the possibility that Jesus calls us to change, we might as well put on the cloak of Phariseeical thought, deafened to Jesus’ instruction. Jesus wants all people to learn about how He loves all people generously, mercifully, and courageously. That we might change.
And isn’t change part of the every believer’s walk with God? If He is growing us, isn’t He changing us?
The conversations about body shame, whether it’s skinny shame, fat shame, or skin-color shame — none of it should scare us. These conversations are our privilege. These conversations, especially about racism, should change us.
