Sin Consciousness v. God Consciousness

This morning in prayer the Spirit of God once again challenged me. As I began to rehearse my shortcomings and sins before God, I was reminded that as long as I focused on the sin in my life I would be doomed to relive them. Sin consciousness creates a paradigm that shapes our behavior in many ways. It causes us to focus on not doing the thing we consider to be sin instead of focusing on doing what we are called to do and being who we are purposed to be. We are consumed by our propensity to sin, which makes us more apt to sin.

A wise person suggested the cure for sin consciousness: "In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge [God], and [God] will direct and make straight and plain your paths" (Prv 3:6 AMP). Instead of being so conscious of our propensity to sin, we should be listening for (acknowledging) God's voice. Even more than that, we should be listening for the voice of God within us. You see, we not only have a propensity to sin, but we also have the fullness of God dwelling on the inside of us.

Overcoming the sin (defined as "missing the mark") in your life is easier and more effective when you are focused on the fullness of God on the inside of you rather than the sin on the inside. Stop trying not to sin and start listening for and being submissive to the voice of God on the inside of you. This is the key to being the overcomer that God has already purposed you to be.

I Will Not Be Divided

As a result of the battle and victory over Same-Sex Marriage in the courts, many people begin superimposing the HRC equal sign with a red background over their Facebook (others used the rainbow flag). As a response, some who disagreed with the decision began using the Christian cross with a red background in place of the HRC equal sign. I am not sure if this was actually in conflict with the original image, but it does incite a frustration of mine: the attempt to pull me apart by the various aspects of my existence. Some believe I should stand in solidarity with my LGBT existence over and against my Christian existence. Some believe the my African American existence trumps them all.

I want to make it very clear! I will not be divided. I am an individual who is a member of all of these communities by the mere fact that I exist. To prioritize or deny either one of them is to deny the person that I am. I am an African American, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender)/SGL (Same Gender Loving) Christian.

To signify my defiance of this trend, I placed my own symbol in a red background. It is the symbol of the Christian cross, alongside the HRC equal sign (representing the LGBT community), followed by the Adinkra symbol for "Freedom" (the Fawohodie). Together they literally translate into the following:

The Cross Equals Freedom

This symbol represents all of the seemingly conflicting aspects of my existence that have been pushed into the light of public opinion and unrest. But the message of this symbol creates a double entendre: my freedom in Christ makes me free to be who I am. I am made free because of Christ's work on the cross. I am free to be all that God created me to be, including African American and LGBT/SGL. Again, "I WILL NOT BE DIVIDED!"

How the SCOTUS Marriage Equality Decision Benefits Traditional Marriage

The following is a conceptual outline about which I invite your input. Your comments are indeed welcomed, but your questions are coveted.

CLAIM: The SCOTUS Decision on Marriage Equality (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015) benefits those in traditional marriages because it challenges the gender-based roles that do not seriously take into consideration the current social and economic realities of our time.

§ 1. Traditional marriage is based not only on the gender of the partners, but also on a rigid definition of roles based on those genders.

§ 2. The social and economic changes in our society have challenged these prescriptions.

§ 3. Alterations to these roles have been made on an individual bases, often to the dismay of the hegemony.

§ 4. The strongly held beliefs and the enforcement of those beliefs shut down conversations about roles and gender designed to enhance the quality of life for all.

§ 5. The SCOTUS was established to ensure that the hegemony does not trample on the basic rights of the individual or the non-hegemonic people groups.

§ 6. Establishing that same-sex couples have the right to the institution of marriage forces the conversation about gender-based roles.

§ 7. Traditional marriages seeking to thrive in the contemporary social and economic climates are now sanctioned to creatively explore how the roles are defined within their relationship.

§ 8. They are also empowered to raise their voices in the conversation with the lessons they have learned.

McKinney Reflection: The Training and Safety of Our Kids

In this post, I am lamenting two things that I think are important and the loss of them is evident in the events of and after the McKinney Pool Party Fiasco of 2015. The first lament is for the skill of listening. In conversations that are emotionally charged as this one, we too often let our emotions flare before really hearing a person out and trying to understand their point of view. I have found that even in the most egregious disagreement are seeds of understanding. We will never get to the point of understanding unless we can hear (and listen to) thoughts and opinions that are radically different from our own.

An acquaintance of mine, Ms. Kisa Jackson, posted a video addressing a concern about the way children are being raised today without respect for authority. Her comments were based on the viral video footage of the McKinney Fiasco. She's received several negative and threatening reactions to her views, which saddens me greatly. It is her comments and the aftermath that fuels my laments.

A few years ago, Marvin and I were down to one car. I worked in Irving and he in Oak Cliff. To ease some of the stress, Marvin rode the city bus from work to home. Each day he would tell me about how kids who attended the school on his bus route would disrespect the adults, curse loudly and dare anyone to say anything to them. Several times the DART police force had to be called because the kids were so unruly.

It is no secret that somewhere along the way, we (the African American community as a whole) lost some of the common decency that was so indoctrinated into the children of my day and before (my second lament). There was a time when authority figures were backed by the parents. That time seems to be a distant memory. Nevertheless, I do not advocate for a blind trust either way. I know of many children who endured abuse by adults because they were taught to blindly respect them. By the same token, I know many parents who have missed out on great opportunities for strengthening the citizenship of their children by enabling their bad behavior with their blind trust of them.

There is little doubt in my mind that there is some fault to be assumed by the young people who responded chaotically to both the police presence and the force in which they operated. Nonetheless, I think that their response to the police may have been informed by more than just a lack of training from the parents. Could it be that we are now suffering a consequence similar to that which we decry from racial profiling? Could it be that the narratives and actual accounts of police brutality have created a fear within our children of the police? Also, are we no profiling these children when we, from a 7 minute video, which in my opinion did not show kids behaving like the ones Marvin would tell me about. I saw kids that were confused about what they should be doing getting caught up in the whirlwind of activities from several cops trying to control a chaotic situation. What I also saw was kids reacting to what I consider to be the abuse of Corporal Casebolt of the young girl. A knee jerk reaction, unwise as it may have been (which is debatable to me.)

Regardless of the behavior of the kids, it seems to me that Corporal Casebolt over-reacted. I think it is appropriate for us to hold our public servants accountable for their conduct as we hold our children accountable for theirs. No one gets a pass on this. We all have some responsibility for the McKinney Pool Party Fiasco of 2015. Words are powerful. The ways in which we create narratives about the other cause harmful paradigms. Our lack of understanding and respect for authority inhibits our ability to work collaboratively with them for our own protection. Our children learn more by what we do than what we say, so with our words we should be careful and courageous at the same time. "Wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove."

McKinney Police... Was it Right or Wrong??? Comments are welcome. Any threats or profanity you will be reported and deleted... My name is Kisa not coon nor bit@h...
Posted by Kisa Jackson on Monday, June 8, 2015

The McKinney Pool Fiasco of 2015: A Clarion Call for Action and Conversation

On Friday, June 5, something happened in the suburban town of McKinney, Texas that would add fuel to the fires of the national conversation on police brutality. A pool party turned into a horrid scene of police officers attempting to control a group of predominately African American teenagers. In particular, a video surfaced on the internet, captured by 15-year-old Brandon Brooks, of Corporal Eric Casebolt throwing a teenaged girl (unnamed), clad in a two piece bikini, on the ground by her hair and neck, dragging her on the ground and putting his knee into her back (or one her neck) pinning her to the ground. Corporal Casebolt also drew his firearm at other teens that were frantic and reportedly non-compliant to the police officers commands. The only person arrested during this altercation was a young man who has been charged with evading arrest after he complied with Casebolt’s command to leave the scene, as claimed by the young man’s lawyer.

Two rallies were held in protest of the officers’ actions and one counter-protest rally was held in support on Monday, June 8. I attended the rally that was held at the police department, the smaller of the two protest rallies. Upon arriving, I noticed that the organizers of the rally were not black people and the community of protesters was a conglomerate of diverse races, religions, socio-economic statuses, and ideologies. All who attended stood in solidarity on one issue: police accountability.

I attended the rally with some reservations. First and foremost was the fact that not all of the information about the event was available or corroborated by credible sources. Yes, videos do not lie, but out of context a video could mean many things. So, I went to listen, to learn, and to stand in solidarity for the cause. Quite by accident or providence, I ended up on the front line because I was the only one willing to lead the National Anthem to open the rally. (I wonder if this is what it means for your gift to make room for you.)

What I appreciated most about the rally was the fact that so many different voices were heard that night. Not everyone agreed with each other about the details and the desired results, but every voice was respected and heard. Out of this conversation came a ranging of topics that cry out for community conversation. Here are some of the topics that I heard:

• Police accountability to the community
• The silence of good cops when bad cops act bad
• Community autonomy and national solidarity
• The training and safety of our children
• Systemic and structural racism
• The demeaning narrative and projected images of black people
• Diversity in solidarity
• The expectations of a tax-payer funded police force

I want to donate some time to reflect on these topics in this blog. They are too complex to give justice in few words, so each will be given an entry by itself.

I pray that the rallies are a beginning to more community conversations. I pray that someone, some people will accept the charge to provide forums where we can learn from each other. By building relationships with each other, our communities can only become stronger. There may be those who are unwilling to change their bigoted views and behaviors, but they will be left behind in this world that is more and more seeing that we are more alike than we are different—we are all human. In the words of Ella Fitzgerald, “We are all here together.”

The Liberal Christian Imperative

This article is in response to Chris Sosa's article in The Blog of The Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-sosa/stop-claiming-jesus-accep_b_7051550.html
===================================

I am a Christian and I am a Liberal. I claim both of these descriptions and neither at the expense of the other. I may be an oxymoron to Chris Sosa, based on my interpretation of his blog article, “Fellow Liberals, Please Stop Claiming Jesus Accepts LGBT People.” But I am proudly numbered among the liberals and among the Christians. As a Christian, I reject Sosa’s claim that “it absolutely does not matter what the Bible says about LGBTs or any other grouping of people.” Though I do not hold that a literal interpretation of the Bible is the authority on all morality, my Christian existence sees the Bible as a key source for contemporary moral and ethical standards. My liberal parts understand that there are sundry ways to interpret the scriptures and that the chosen interpretation is crucial to the analysis for contemporary moral standards.

I concede the validity of Sosa’s claim that homosexual sex “is not once directly described in a positive manner.” I am glad that Sosa correctly reduced the negativity related to homosexual sex to the act itself. There are many reasons why the act was condemned, but none were related to the act of intimacy between two people of the same sex. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, it may be seen as a condemnation of the act of same-sex rape, a common wartime practice of humiliating the enemy. In the Mosaic law, it may be seen as an act of theft of “manhood” (similar to the humiliation during wartime), cultural disgrace, and idolatry. Certainly in the case of the writings of Paul, it is always within the context of idolatry. But, there are other things that are specified uses of an act that are proscribed without it being interpreted as a proscription of the act in general. For instance, no one condemns heterosexual sex because of acts of adultery. They condemn adultery.

What, then, should be said about the fact that there is no positive examples of homosexual sex mentioned in the scriptures? Well, this begs the question: Are all things unlawful until they are prescribed by the biblical text? If this is the case, then anything that is not covered by biblical text should be seen as immoral (e.g. cell phones, democracy, etc.). I understand scripture much as Paul understood it: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient…” (1Co 6:12; 10:23).

Additionally, I do not see the Bible as being sanitized from human prejudices and biases. We can find throughout scripture many things that the “barbarians” did that were detestable in the minds of the human writers of what we consider scripture today. But their personal disdain does not equate to God’s disdain. Thus, I can allow Paul to have his biases against homosexuality without making it a moral proscription just because it is in the Christian canon.

Sosa believes that liberals are disingenuous when they argue the biblical text. If you are a liberal and do not subscribe to the authority of the Bible as a spiritual guide, then I would agree. But there are some liberals, such as me, that do. For us, it is our spiritual and moral obligation to look into the scriptures for theological understanding to contextualize the world in which we live. It is our responsibility to look deeply into the text to comprehend the magnetic forces upon which our moral compasses rely. A liberating interpretation of scripture, then, is not only relevant, but essential to who are followers of the teachings of Christ.

Race Relations: Having the Conversations (Video 1)

Placed here for discussion purposes. What's your thoughts?

Daily Affirmation - I Am Strong

Today, I am strong.

I am empowered by every past experience in my life. Each one has made me “stronger, wise and better.”

I am empowered by my family, friends and community whose trust I covet.

I am empowered by the desire to see Humanity live up to her higher self.

I am empowered by God who provides everything I need to succeed.

I am strengthened so that we all can be authentically free.

Today, I am strong and ready to fight the good and righteous fight.

(Ephesians 6:10, 11)

Daily Affirmation - I Am Beautiful

Today, I am beautiful.

My beauty is developed within. It starts with the essence of God within me, the breath of God giving me life.

As I connect with my inner beauty the image I project becomes even more beautiful. That connection affects the way I walk, talk, dress, and care for my body, soul and spirit.

Just like clothes do not make a person beautiful but only enhances the beauty already present, so does my outward expression enhance the beauty within.

My beauty attracts others to me whose inner beauty cries to be revealed to the world.

Today, I am beautiful so that others can find their own beauty and shine as I do.

It's Not Gossip: Judging Wise and Unwise Conversations

All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue,

you are mature and able to control your whole body.

James 3:2

Among one of the weapons in the arsenal of evil is the weapon of gossip. It is used to help the enemy divide and conquer. The devil knows that we are stronger when we stand together. The devil realizes that as long as we are unified with Christ and with each other, the devil is powerless against us. And so, this weapon of gossip has been used quite effectively to destroy good churches and ministries that were trampling on the enemy's strongholds.

What is gossip? Well, one of the problems with gossip is that it seems to be so ambiguous. If someone tells me that they are getting ready to lose their house and I tell someone else, was I gossiping? What if I were telling the other person because that person had the means by which to help? Since I hate fighting terminology wars, this article will not be about gossip. But, I do want to give some guidelines for identifying wise and unwise conversations. My hope is that with these defensive tools, the reader will become more aware of their conversation and not give place to the enemy to shoot the double barrel gossip shotgun from his or her mouth.

Four Questions Litmus Test

How does one determine when it is wise to participate in a particular conversation? I offer you this litmus test. There are four questions you should ask yourself that will help you determine whether a conversation is wise or unwise to be involved in.

1. Is the information true? Don't get stuck in conversations about things that are not true or that the person sharing it (including yourself) is not sure that it is true. And you should also shy away from shaky information or statements of other people's viewpoints. Most of the time, these kinds of information have no basis in reality, but more so in another person's perspective.

2. Will my knowledge or sharing of this information edify or benefit the party or parties involved? It is important for us to seriously think about how the knowledge of the information we are sharing or know about others affects them and their lives. If it doesn't make their life better, then you probably would do good to not participate in that conversation.

3. Will knowledge of this information protect me or the person I to whom I am sharing it from direct, impending or immediate harm? Usually, we start justifying our need for the "latest juicy news" here by rationalizing or fabricating a possible harm. This is not what I am talking about here. The harm cannot be something the "could quite possibly maybe" happen, but it must be something that will happen, to the best of your knowledge. And the harm must be direct.

4. Is the knowledge of this information necessary for the person receiving it (including yourself) to make an informed decision about an important issue? The level of importance should be determined from the receiving person's perspective.

If you cannot honestly answer yes to at least two of these questions, you can safely determine that entering into the conversation is unwise.

As ambassadors of the Kingdom of God—righteousness, peace, and joy—we are charged to protect the kingdom in our lives and in the lives of every one of its citizens. Participating in unwise conversations aids in the destruction of peace and joy in the lives of all people involved. That is counterproductive to our mission as ambassadors.

Make a commitment today to not participate in unwise conversations. I would even challenge you to go a step further. Reprove anyone that brings unwise conversation to you. Don't allow others to dump someone else's trash in your yard. If you do, ultimately you will be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

I admonish each of you, as Paul admonishes the Church at Ephesus, "[Endeavor] to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3). By doing this, we put up a spiritual force-field around our ministries against this vicious weapon of the enemy. With this, God is pleased.