#DearWhitePeople - A Reflection on Harmony

I apologize for how long it has taken to write this, but I finally felt like I should write this post. So, here it is.

The previous two posts have been about how the movie Dear White People is about identity and relationship, but the final thing I noticed about the movie is that it is a movie about harmony.

This movie is also about HARMONY.

If you still have not seen the movie it should still be obvious based on the title of the movie that it deals directly with race, ethnicity, and diversity. If you only read the title of the film you would think it would be confrontational, which in some respects it is, but the film is actually a satirical view of how people think of diversity in the United States. I think the aim of the film is to point out issues in how we think, feel, and talk about race, but I am unsure if the goal of the movie is enough. Although I believe the goal is an amazing start, I also believe that I thirsted for more progress.

Director Justin Simien said, “The intention was always to hold a mirror up and tell a dirty truth, even if the truth was uncomfortable.” 

The goal of simply showing people the dirty truth is not enough. In my perspective, Simien’s goal was accomplished but I do not remember any kind of hinting towards a solution to the problem. Racism is real and sinful, but what is the solution to hate, division, ignorance, and pride? There didn’t seem to be any help with the answer.

I believe that this is because there isn’t any specific answer in and of ourselves. I think it is because of one big reason: we aren’t instinctually drawn to diversity. 

Why do I say those things? Well, it’s because we are sinners who love to be comfortable.

Being in a diverse community of people from different races and ethnicities makes life more complex and uncomfortable. We might accidentally - or on purpose - say or do the wrong thing. We are all drawn to people who are just like us, and it’s because it is easier! Being in a diverse community is hard and we struggle with placing our lives in a community of people unlike us.

The only way we can truly love our diversity is to understand our unity with Christ. If we have faith in Jesus we are unified together, which makes us family - a diverse family! Since we are all made in the image of God, we can reflect God’s diversity, unity, and harmony.

Quick theological point: God is diverse and unified which creates perfect harmony within Himself. There is one God who eternally exists in three distinct Persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each are distinct (diversity), each is fully God, and there is only one God (unity).

Stop and think about this for a second: God’s diversity within Himself doesn’t create division or hatred; God’s unity and diversity within Himself exists in perfect harmony. God has revealed Himself to be perfectly diverse without affecting His unity, and since we are all made in God’s image we are to celebrate our diversity without affecting our unity in Christ.

We have the privilege of living in harmony with one another, but this is only possible through the blood of Jesus on the cross. We have the freedom in Jesus to love our neighbors, no matter what race or ethnicity they might be. We have the freedom and privilege of looking to Jesus to be our foundation of unity. His amazing grace to us is shown through the church, which should be diverse and unified while living in harmony with one another.

I lead a Missional Community at Karis Church, and I am very grateful to God for allowing our group to be racially and ethnically diverse. I am eternally more grateful that we are unified by the blood of Jesus, and that we are committed to one another to pursue harmony as we live our lives together. God has been very good and gracious to us.

Let us all look to the Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - for our example of unity, diversity, and harmony.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales

#DearWhitePeople - A Reflection on Relationship

In the last post I wrote about how the movie Dear White People is about identity. We unfortunately place our identities in faulty things when the truth is that God is calling us to place our identities in Him.

This movie is also about RELATIONSHIP.

A majority of the movie centered on relationships that were rooted in deceit, pride, and prejudice. These relationships were never based on authenticity, humility, or reconciliation. Only at the end of the movie do we get a glimpse of all three merging into any relationship. That moment came when Sam, the main character of the film, opens up to her boyfriend about her struggles with her dad battling cancer. In a beautiful moment, Sam is open and honest with him at the same moment he realizes that he needs to humbly listen and comfort her. When both of those happen in tandem it become clear that reconciliation is occurring.

So, the main question is this: Are your relationships marked by authenticity?

So, are our relationship with one another marked by authenticity? Most people feel like being completely authentic with someone is impossible, for one reason or another. Maybe the fear is that they won’t accept you. Maybe the guilt you feel is too heavy to be forgiven. Maybe you feel like it’s not a big deal and it’s no one’s business.

Trust me, the best relationships I have today are due to a reciprocal authenticity with the other people. Just the other week I was sitting in someone’s living room crying about how I feel like no matter what I did I would not be accepted and that I am a disappointment. This painfully beautiful conversation was the beginning of a reconciled relationship between a brother in Christ.

"We believe the best about one another. We wade through the worst with one another.”
- Pastor Kevin Larson

No one in Dear White People is ever completely authentic to who they are until the end of the movie, and even then there is only a flash, a glimpse into authentic relationship.

You guys, do not wait until the end of your story to be completely authentic. Being honest with someone is hard, but the rewards of being honest are a kind of unity that only comes from loving, being loved, forgiving, and being forgiven.

As important as being authentic with others is for your life, being authentic with God is eternally more important. God already knows how flawed and imperfect you are, and that’s exactly why Jesus needed to die on the cross to forgive your sins. He needed to rise again to defeat Satan, sin and death. He already knows you - the real, authentic you. Place your faith in Jesus. He was perfectly authentic - sinless, full of grace, and full of mercy.

Being authentic is to be done by faith. It is to be done in God’s grace. It is to be done among God’s people, and it is to be done on mission to share the good news of Jesus with the world.

God is good and gracious

Jacob Luis Gonzales

#DearWhitePeople - A Reflection on Identity

Well, if you are looking for a mindless movie to see in the theaters, Dear White People is not the movie to see.

Ali and I ventured to a small, local place on Saturday night to see the directorial debut of Director Justin Simien, Dear White People. This self-proclaimed satire on race, ethnicity, and identity is set in the present tense; this movie is uniquely and profoundly perfect for today - not yesterday or tomorrow, but today. The movie is focused on four main characters that round out the movie to intentionally display the experience of being black in America. 

As interesting and compelling as each character was to watch, I believe that there were three themes that need to discussed. In my perfect world, I would have the time to investigate each character to properly communicate the intricacies of their experience throughout the course of the movie, but we live in a fallen world so these reflections will have to do.

This will be the first of three posts on Dear White People. I hope you enjoy my perspective and my desire to lovingly discuss important things in the movie, your life, and my life.

This movie is about IDENTITY. 

The moment when it became evident that this movie is about identity happened in a conversation between two of the main characters, Troy and CoCo. CoCo has taken on a new name because of her fear of ridicule of her birth name Colandrea.

Troy: “Is that what you want… to be famous?”

CoCo: “I want everyone to know my name.”

Troy: “Which one?”

This simple moment was profound due to its weight not only on CoCo but on each individual in the movie. Now, I could break down each character’s struggle with identity but I think that might take a year to write about, so for now let’s make it directly personal.

What is YOUR identity? Who are you? What would you say makes you… you?

You place your identity in something. This “something” could be a boyfriend or girlfriend. It could be your talents or skills. It could be the approval, acceptance, or love of someone in your life. Or it could be your race and ethnicity.

The problem with placing your identity in those things is that they will eventually let you down. Those things are not worthy of your mind, heart and soul. They will destroy you in the end because they are not designed to be all-sufficient. They were designed to be enjoyed, but they are not designed to be where we find our deepest joy. 

When I was growing up all I wanted to do was play baseball for the Chicago Cubs by the age of 25. I had it all planned out, but my plan never had a chance. I can’t remember a night when I went to sleep growing up without my body hurting, my body was specifically weak in my knees. That might not seem like the biggest deal, but here’s the thing: I was a catcher. I needed my knees. I needed strong knees and a strong arm. I had neither. When I was a Junior in high school I was indirectly told that if I kept catching as much as I was, I wouldn’t be able to walk at some point in my life.

I was a catcher… but what was a gift from God, I treated as if it were God. Being a catcher was my identity. Being a baseball player was my everything, but God didn’t want me to place my identity in a gift from Him. God wanted me to placed my identity in Him. It took much longer for me to realize that’s what He was doing, but now I can say that it needed to happen so that I would see how nothing would give me the satisfaction, hope, and joy like God can.

Only God is all-sufficient, so he is calling you to place your identity in Him and Him alone.

So, how does the movie play a part in this? Well, each character believes that there are certain parts of their lives that they need to be hidden. Some do this out of fear of ridicule, some do this to not be the stereotype, some do this to overcompensate, and some do this because of the pressure to fulfill someone else’s image of them. 

In the movie, as well as in America today, people believe that what makes them truly themselves is their race and ethnicity. But, the sad part about this is that being one ethnicity or the other is not meant to be our primary identity. Being Latino is a part of who I am, but it is not everything. Being a Christian is what drives me to appreciate God creating me as a Latino man, but I don't view my race and ethnicity as the point of my creation. The point of my creation is to glorify God in my life for Him.

We live in a fracture world with a lot of hate, prejudice, and division, but I trust that God’s plan for the future will come to pass. Only through the good news of Jesus do we see that one day in heaven there will be people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” worshipping together (Rev 7:9). That is such a beautiful picture of the unity of all people while still remaining diverse in people groups and languages.

As I conclude the first reflection on Dear White People, I hope to restate my main point: Only God is all-sufficient, so he is calling you to place your identity in Him and Him alone.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales