#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

Insightful Statement: Unity and Uniformity

Some of the best insights I have ever said were not planned or thought of prior to them coming out of my mouth. I only say this because I comprehend my own lack of genuine profoundness. Each statement that I have made, that I thought was insightful, ended up being written, said, or expressed visually more times than I dare to find out.

When I think of these short, quippy, and timely statements I am thankful that they actually made a difference in someone’s life - possibly true but not a definite. Here’s the first of many examples:

“Unity does not mean uniformity.”

Over the past couple of years the conversation about unity, diversity, and race have been the topics of conversation at almost every dinner table my wife and I have sat at. It is interesting that it consistently comes up, and I’m pretty sure the reason is that no one has a perfect answer for how bring perfect unity in a local Christian church with a diverse and multi-racial world. 

I know of at least one person who beat to the punch when concerning unity and uniformity. Professor David Reimer said this statement in a brilliantly written paper about unity in the Old Testament. As I was researching for my sermon on Pslam 133, I came across his statement and immediately had the twisted reaction: I got excited.

I thought that something I said was pretty smart, true, and maybe even insightful, but I now see what my reaction says about my heart. 

The point is that I was being insanely arrogant.

I should have been humbled.

What I said was not unique, clever, or a genuine moment of deep profound thought. What I said was true and I firmly believe that there was insight involved, but I now believe that the piece of insight was not given by me to others but from God to me and others.

God reveled something truly freeing to me, and it is that to be a unified Church we do not need to be uniformed. God created us to be diverse. He created us to give a small reflection of the diversity that we find in the Triune God. The Trinity is unified and diverse but not uniformed.

Throughout the writing of this post, I sincerely desired to write about ten different topics in which I would give another insightful word to you. Instead of swelling up in my own arrogance and pride, I will give thanks to God for being full of wisdom, beauty, unity, diversity, and majesty.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales