Is God Colorblind?
A good friend of mine asked me the other day, "doesn't God see our color" and while many verses come to mind from the scriptures, that identify that God is not into skin color nor does He desire that we be, I think this scripture answers best. 1 Samuel 16:7 says that "...man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."
The term "colorblind" is symptomatic of the problems that we have listening for understanding in this country. Only in a country where we are unable to talk with each other in a meaningful and civil manner could such a benign term as "colorblind' be viewed as hateful and evil. .
The concept of "race" in our society has done a great deal of damage to our conception of who we are as people. We now use "race" to facilitate skin-color dynamics and policies in most every area of life. The answer to our problems concerning "race" in America is not to amplify "race," but instead to eradicate the concept of evaluating people based on skin color.
Sadly, the recent events since the death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement have served NOT to make us realize that we should all respect the dignity of every human being, but rather ironically that we should use skin color as a determinant for how we respond to each other. Isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place?
America is awash in the dynamics of skin color. That is of course due to our stained history of slavery and the contrived manipulation by our ancestors in many areas of our society, from science to business, from education to entertainment, and from politics to professional sports, we created a narrative about people based on skin color and we have been unable to stop it or shake it off.
That's what makes Black Lives Matter, the phrase, so deceptive. Anyone who says "All Lives Matter," which contains no color, is portrayed as "racist" bent on dehumanizing people with "black" skin. Think about that for a second. Do we really believe that if we leave out color then there is something sinister going on? That's because the supporting framework for all discussion requires heightened sensitivity to anything based on skin color. We can't have a basic concept of "privilege," it must be "white." We can't have people who feel a sense of guilt, it must be seen as "white guilt." And we have reified the concept of skin-color "race" by creating the term 'people of color," which the creators of "whiteness" would surely be joyous that their ideas were supported so well by the people that they looked to disenfranchise. After all, they wanted to distinguish themselves and provide their privilege based on that distinction, so the use of "skin-color" terminology only serves to aid and abet the the original aims of "race," i.e. separation, segregation and division.
So What Is the Answer?
The answer is simple. UNITY! We are The HUMAN Race and the fight for humanity has been joined by those of us who believe that "skin-color" is as superficial as eye color or hair color. As a Christian who believes in the Imago Dei, that every man is created in the image of God, I know that God sees us as the souls that we are and not based on the differences that He created in us. So next time someone challenges you about being "colorblind," tell em God is too.
