Parents, I am very encouraged by the number of you in our church and in other places who are obeying God’s word engaging in family worship and Bible teaching with your children at home (Deuteronomy 6:1-9). If you haven’t yet ventured into obedience in this area, I want to issue you the challenge to begin tonight! Here’s a great example of what will happen.
Through a turn of events (which I will not describe) it became clear to me and my wife that our children have been given a wonderful blessing. Living in our small, Ohio town, Troy, worshipping in a loving church that is very accepting of various ethnicities, and going to Troy Christian School has insulated them from almost all contact with the ugliness of racism (though I’m not naïve enough to miss their exposure through media and their own sinful hearts). I am thankful for this insulation yet also aware that they must be taught by God’s word on this great evil.
This is the beauty of what family worship and time reading the Bible together provides. Currently we are reading through the book of Proverbs talking about the verses that stir us. Chapter 20 led us to verse 23, which gives a way to discuss the racist remarks of Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers NBA basketball team. It says, “Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and a false scale is not good.”
“Differing weights” of course refers to manipulating measurement of goods sold to give less to the consumer while getting more money out of them. They seller demands right treatment for himself by insuring that the buyer pays his price while at the same time he denies right treatment for the buyer. The net result is the seller is stealing from the buyer.
But it says something about racism too. If I demand good treatment for myself, my family, ethnicity, and yet deny that same treatment equally for people of all ethnicities, my racism makes me equal to the thief robbing people of something more valuable than money. Racism robs people of their humanity which bears the image of God.
People are sent to prison for stealing money from others. Yet racism is allowed to go unchecked most of the time. According to God, that’s not ok. A false scale is a crime in God’s book because it steals someone’s money. Racism is an abomination to God too because it robs them of something much more valuable.
For more on racism and the Donald Sterling story go read Philip Holmes article over at Christ And Pop Culture.
And for more opportunities to teach your family to honor God in all of life, start doing family worship tonight!
