Still Stuck On MLK

I’m still stuck on Martin Luther King, Jr.

I watched the Golden Globes last night and was very entertained by all of the stuff. Nothing like living vicariously through movie stars!!!

But each time a commercial came on, I was taken back by the thoughts that life is so much more than entertainment and how we spend our time. I could not shake the feeling that so many before us had sacrificed their very lives in order to make this world a better place.

So what am I doing to honor that? Sitting snugly in my tower watching the less fortunate beat their heads against the wall?

So that left me, again, pondering the changes that MLK delivered to our country – ready or not.

“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their tired bodies, education and culture for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down that god-centered men can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the alter of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and non-violent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land – and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree – AND NONE SHALL BE AFRAID.

I still believe that we shall overcome……..MLK

History is made up of significant events which shape our collective future, and the leaders that make that possible influence our destiny.

Dr. King made so many contributions to our society in his short life and I can only imagine the burden he carried with that. He made a pilgrimage to India to study the teaching of Gandhi and it was there that the eternal truths of the life of Jesus melded with the social successes of Gandhi and the notion of non-violence became so entrenched in his philosophy that he alienated most of the other civil rights leaders of the time.

He, through his gentle actions and rhetoric was instrumental in making America aware of the unspeakable flaws that had always tarnished the beliefs that our country was founded on. The America I grew up in was very different that the America we enjoy today. I grew up seeing the “colored” entrances, bathrooms, water fountains. So much has change in MY lifetime.

And I still hear the doubt in our society and as a Christian, it makes me sick.

We should always honor Dr. King because he, as the proverbial voice crying in the wilderness, showed us the way to mend fences and move towards creating a society in which all people could share in growing something instead of destroying it. He led the fight from the ghettos across the tracks to Main Street. And yes, the result of so much of this was legislation designed to make sure this never happened again – and that very legislation has created more problems as resentment has festered toward the “quota’s” that were set to help us get through this.

Again, I don’t have the answers because I am not a prophet – I do not proclaim God’s word to the people who have strayed from the truth. But I am aware, and because of that I will vigorously defend this man.

So thank you Dr. King. Thank you for calling us back. I pray those that have ears will continue to hear.