I Must Decrease

For Abri

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

These were the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30 in response to his followers when they asked him about this new fellow, Jesus, who had recently burst onto the scene. Jesus and His followers were just over there baptizing people, the same way John had been, and a dispute broke out about purification. Instead of a long dissertation on theology, John simply states (among some other things) that he himself must decrease and Jesus Himself must increase. He just boils it right down. I am no longer important here, only Jesus is. My way of baptizing is coming to an end so that Jesus' way takes center stage.

How impossible to say is that simple little statement in today's world?

No, we aren't expecting another Messiah to enter the arena. We aren't anxiously awaiting yet another God-Man that has been promised to us through scores and scores of prophets over the last thousand years. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, already came, died, rose and reigns and there is no other that will ever take His place.

However, speaking to my fellow white Christians who I love with all my heart, we know that all the words of scripture are God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproofing, correcting and training us in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), right? So quite simply, the words of John the Baptist are exactly the words... in fact the ONLY words... any of us should have on our tongues right now. I must decrease.

As we look around at our world today and what is happening, who of us are actually saying in regards to the voices of people of color, "You must increase, but I must decrease?" Who is voluntarily shutting up so that a person of color's voice may be heard louder than their own? Who is taking their well-meaning "But I also grew up poor..." statements and voluntarily swallowing them before they become actual sound waves? Who is saying, "I must decrease" so that black voices can actually be amplified right now?

Some, just maybe not enough.

Something dawned on me recently. Without looking in my bible or searching on Google, I can recall from memory a basic history of the Jewish nation starting with Abraham/Sarah, Issac/Rebekah, Jacob/Esau, and Joseph & his brothers. Then, on a good day, I can probably take you through the fundamentals of the 400 year Egyptian enslavement, introduction to Moses, the burning bush, "Let my people go!", plagues, Passover, Red Sea, wilderness wandering, and finally the Promised Land. Now, I teach high school students and write a blog, so I do a fair amount of reading and research on various biblical subjects in preparation for these things. However, I am also just a personal consumer of my bible. I want to know the history of my faith. I desire to know the biographies of the strong men and women who paved the early way for me. I don't want to be ignorant in a conversation about my faith because the consequences of that for me specifically would be bad teaching and/or uninformed writing. I might be led to make assumptions that weren't based on actual fact and I certainly wouldn't be comfortable engaging lost people in our world.

So...

Speaking strictly from a historical viewpoint, if I'm intimately familiar with facts surrounding the enslavement of the Jewish nation that took place thousands of years ago, why is it that I know an embarrassingly small amount about the enslavement of African Americans in my own country that only ended a hundred and fifty years ago?

Again, no new Messiah is coming, but dang! Just from the sheer perspective of humanity, there is no excuse for my ignorance on this topic! As ashamed as I am to admit it, it's likely that I have willfully kept myself in ignorance because I don't want to confront the fact that the atrocities enacted toward people of color were committed by people who look like me. They are not me, but honestly that's not much of a salve. But, forcing myself to face the facts is the exact sickness my stomach needs to feel in order to fully engage.

A note of importance here. God did not make a mistake when He ordained me, Leslie Susan Norris, to be born a white baby girl. He doesn't make mistakes, period. So when I say that my stomach is sick over the barbarism of fellow white people, it is the outpouring of my feeling repentant over those evils, not my guilt for being born white. I can feel extreme sorrow without feeling ashamed of my own reflection. White guilt isn't helping anyone. In fact, it probably salts the wound further because it causes eyes to be diverted away from the actual problem.

But, I digress. Back to the real issue. In a beginner's attempt to say, "I must decrease," I am digging into American history like I've never seen it before. Boy do I have a long way to go. Here are some of the things I have only scratched the surface of, but will absolutely read about in depth in the months to come. (Note: Fellow white people, specifically believers, if you read any of these questions below and immediately feel the need to justify white people's struggles, I urge you to say, "I must decrease" and read about these topics with fresh eyes.)

• For what purpose did the slave trade even begin and why were Africans targeted for it?
• When did slaves first appear in America?
• Exactly how many years were black people enslaved in this country and when was it officially abolished?
• After the Civil War, what was the Reconstruction Period and how did that pave the way for systems and policies to fail black people for centuries to come?
• What was disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Period and how did that further lead to a systems and policies breakdown adversely affecting black people?
• What effect did the Jim Crow Laws have on the lives of black men and women before they were repealed and how did they also contribute to broken systems and policies?
• Was Jim Crow an actual person? (This was a serious question I had to look up because I did not know.)
• After the Great Depression, how did the New Deal negatively affect black workers?
• What is "redlining" and what was/is it's negative affect on families of color?
• Including MLK, who were some other major voices during the Civil Rights era and what were their personal stories and messages for the American people?

These are literally a drop in the bucket, but they are a jumping off point to un-learn bias and then re-learn with fresh eyes. Little by little, this is how the term "systemic racism" begins to make sense to me when before it just seemed like too much to comprehend. There are undeniable facts that have caused harm to people of color in this country that I vow to learn more about that a week ago I could go on ignoring. Why? Because I was privileged to do so.

Yikes.

I could easily ignore those early years of American history because the cards weren't stacked against me by corrupt government officials in 1865. Quite the opposite. I had powerful men fighting battles for me over 100 years before I came into existence. How I wish I could feel nothing but healthy pride in that, but unfortunately those battles were fought unfairly. They were just plain nasty, but I came out on top simply because my skin is white. This is ugly, dark, deeply sinful business and I am learning that not learning is no longer an option.

So, I plan to read and read and read some more. I am getting together with other white, Christian women and together we are seeking out the voices of Christian women of color to learn from. We are buying books to discuss together. I am seeking out local businesses owned by people of color and I am going to buy from them. I am researching racial reconciliation organizations whose heart is centered in gospel truth where I can give money and hopefully one day when I've done my homework, time.

I know now that my "individualized, respectful, non-racist" behavior towards people of color isn't what any of this is about. Obviously that is important, especially as a Christian, but good grief this is so much deeper! Literally layers and layers deeper. Information is crucial, not so that I can gain the world and lose my soul, but because hard truths matter. They mattered deeply to Jesus, so they should matter deeply to me.

This is my journey. I know yours will look different. I just urge you in whatever path you choose to take in the aftermath of recent injustices, say these words one more time...

I must decrease.