Jessica Levy Books

I have no cute anecdote to begin this post. The unfortunate truth about the world is that anecdotes abound, but they are not all pleasant and meaningful. Many true stories are downright ugly. Such is the case today, as our nation has once again become snagged on the gnarled thorn of hatred which it insists has been eradicated. The historical advancements in the way our country addresses differences in skin color have been shrouded, forced underground, no longer able to operate fully exposed to light, but are still very much alive. It serves the majority well to ignore it on most days, but then every once in a while, it emerges into exposure and we are confronted with the reality of inhumanity that plagues the hearts of far too many. Some people cannot ignore it, though. Some people must live it. Every. day.

As a middle class white girl growing up in Southern California, I never had concerns about playing in the streets with neighborhood kids. I didn’t give a second thought as a teenager to hanging out with my friends at the mall or walking to school together. The few times I’ve been pulled over while driving, I knew it was because I had exceeded the speed limit and I never considered that I might be unfairly accused or treated any way other than that afforded by the law. In my bubble, racially motivated oppression and hatred was a thing of the past and we were just one big, equal family.

I am told the word for this is ‘privilege.’

Yet I seem to recall…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

What is called a privilege in this age, the freedom to live a full life in pursuit of your goals, is asserted as a right in our Declaration of Independence, outlining tenets by which our country was established. Not just a right, but unalienable, unable to be taken away, endowed at creation and not transferrable. How far we have fallen! The free access I have to an inherent right is now effectively a privilege, because the same right is not available to all. Instead, many of my human brothers and sisters fear for their lives, the lives of their children, not because they have chosen to embark upon a dangerous quest, but just in everyday activities I take for granted! White children and black children sit together in school, learning that they live in a world of equality, but when they get home, only some of those parents have to sit down with their babies and have a conversation about how not to fall victim to the very real threats they might face on a daily basis. Surely they are already victims, innocent victims of this perpetuated disease of the heart!

What is the cure for this disease? I know of only one.

The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.

MARK 12:28-31

The love we receive from God and pass along to our neighbors must become the loudest voice. It must become our most frequent response. We must speak love through every word, every action, every post. How do we love our neighbor? Leviticus 19:16-18 ESV: “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

And who is your neighbor? Who are your people? It may be tempting to look at our own physical neighborhood to find our neighbor and often we define our “people” by those who share our skin color or our culture or our interests. But if LOVE is going to be the language we speak, if LOVE is going to be the loudest voice, we must find a neighbor in every single person we encounter. Jesus said so himself. An “expert of the law” trying to justify his own actions asked Jesus in Luke 10:29, “Who is my neighbor?” In response, Jesus shared the parable of the Good Samaritan, about a Jewish man who had been attacked by robbers and left wounded on the side of the road. The man was passed by two people who would have been considered neighbors, would have been considered to be his “people,” for they shared a culture and a skin color. They not only passed by the suffering man, but they crossed the road so as not to be confronted by his struggle. Sound familiar?

A Samaritan man then came traveling on the road. Now, it is worth recognizing that Samaritans and Jews were not the same “people.” There was long-standing enmity between these two people groups, which is likely why Jesus was using this as an example. The Samaritan man bandaged the wounded man and took him to a safe place to take care of him. He even paid for the man to have an extended inn stay in order to rest and heal. The Samaritan was a neighbor to the suffering man. It was not his skin color or traditions or cultural similarities that made him a neighbor, but his love.

In this world at this time, as in all times, we have a choice to make. We can cross the road and ignore our neighbor, go about our business and enjoy our rights-turned-privileges. We can seek revenge, bear grudges, slander, and feed hatred.

OR

We can reach out to our hurting brothers and sisters, help them onto their feet, and love them. We can join hands with them and speak love to the world. We can demonstrate the love God gives us every day by choosing to be part of healing our people. Today, I choose to intentionally, wholeheartedly, and unceasingly love my neighbor. In fact, it would be my privilege.