The “Why” Behind Meaningful Apologies

 Photo by Ken Treloar on Unsplash

**If you haven’t already read my post, “To Anyone Who Has Ever Been Hurt by a White Person” you can click the link below.

To Anyone Who Has Ever Been Hurt By A White Person

**I am including the poem at the beginning of each post in this series of 3,

1)WHY,

2)WHY NOW,

and

3)WHY ME.

Meaningful Apologies:

To Anyone Who Has Ever Been Hurt By A White Person

I do not expect

a poem to erase the past.

But I do hope this poem

Leaves a beauty mark that lasts.

To the ones who have been hurt,

ignored or left behind

I want to say I’m sorry.

I want to just be kind.

If you were forced onto a ship

And brought here against your will,

Ignorance and evil

Were the ones who wrote that bill.

An apology won’t heal the wound

But I am so sorry anyway.

I won’t ignore the past.

How can I love you well today?

If your land was taken

By white men long ago

There’s no excuse. That’s abuse.

It’s time we let you know.

We’ve treated you as if

Your life was second best.

I cringe in utter horror

A history I detest.

Black lives matter.

Yes they do.

To the Native American community,

I SEE YOU.

The United States of America

Is divided to the core.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

God has something more.

Pride comes before a fall.

The fall we have perfected.

A humble heart bows down low

Before the ones they’ve neglected.

I’d like to make a vow

I’d like to start today.

I want to be your friend.

I want to hear what you have to say.

God sees us as family.

We’re related; I’m so glad.

Can we rewrite history,

Bringing good from all the bad?

God is in the business

Of making all things new.

Nothing is impossible;

I’m in.

Are you?

I LOVE YOU- I REALLY DO!

My “Why?”

Why am I writing this post? I am writing this post because a meaningful apology is right and long overdue.

I may not personally be responsible for America’s past and/or present racism but I can take a stand and extend a sincere apology for the sin of racism in our country and tell a watching, hurting world, that anyone who puts a Jesus stamp on white supremacy, or white nationalism or neo-nazism, is not representing Christ. Racism is evil and followers of Christ will never stand in that corner.

God has a history of stirring hearts to write things down. Here are just a few of my favorites.

“My heart is stirred by a noble theme
    as I recite my verses for the king;
    my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” Psalm 45:1 NIV

It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it… Revelation 1:10-11 NLT

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words…”” Exodus 34:27 NIV

And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. Habakkuk 2:2 ESV

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you” Jeremiah 30:2 NIV

“He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it through out his kingdom:” Ezra 1:1 NLT

I am sharing what God has been stirring in my heart because He said so.

I am writing it down, making it plain in a post, and pushing publish!

He is faithful to confirm His Word. Ezra and Nehemiah spoke volumes as they let their hearts break over the sins of their own people. They repented in the first person for the shameful history of Israel and took responsibility before God for the atrocities of their past. They did not make excuses. They did not make vague, empty apologies. They named the sins. They acknowledged that they deserved punishment. Then they humbly laid down before the Lord, begging for mercy, pledging to get up and let God lead them into a new day,

a better day,

a God’s plan, not man-plan, kind of day.

Nehemiah wept,

 “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants…And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.” Nehemiah 1:5-6 MSG

May I follow the example of those who have humbly gone before me.

James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” It is right to apologize for racism; therefore, I am. My heart shatters into a million pieces when I think of the faces of my African-American friends forced to leave their homes on slave ships or my Native American friends forced to the margins of the land they rightfully called home. It’s PERSONAL – we are talking about PEOPLE, not politics, peace or platforms.

I come before you Lord and acknowledge that your white children here in America have not all been faithful to You. We have a history of racism in this country and that is not from you. Racism is evil. We cannot change the past but we can learn from it, acknowledge and name the sin and aim to move forward as instruments of light, as conduits of Your love, grace and mercy, empowered by your Holy Spirit.

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