We Should Strive to Be Imitators of God (Excerpt from "Things I've Learned From the Word")

Sometimes, there are verses in the bible that simply do not require explanation. If I read Mark 12:30, where it says “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul, and with your entire mind, and with all of your strength”, that means that in everything that you are and in everything that you do, you should love God. There is really nothing to explain. If I refer to Psalm 37:4, where it says “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart”, then the bible is saying that if you place God first in your life, and you do it out of love not out of obligation, then God will reward you with everything that your heart desires. The first verse of Ephesians Chapter 5 is similarly self-explanatory.

Ephesians 5:1 says “therefore, be imitators of God”. While some might know exactly what that verse is referring to, others might ask how they can be imitators of God because God knows everything, sees everything and can do everything. Well, if you read further into the scripture, the bible explains the meaning of that verse.

The second verse of Ephesians Chapter 5 says that we should walk in love, meaning that we should show love for everyone in every situation all the time. Consider this; if a person walks in water, with every step that the person takes, his feet are going to get wet. If a person walks in mud, with every step that the person takes, his feet are going to get dirty. So if a person walks in love, with every step that the person takes, love will flow from his very being. This doesn’t mean that we have to be push overs, but it also doesn’t mean that we walk around looking for a fight. It means that we should be polite, respectful and understanding, and treat people the way that we would want to be treated.

What this means is if someone is nice to us, then we should be nice to them. However, if someone is mean towards us, we should try to understand that they might not know God the same way that we do. In this instance, we would show them some kindness and believe that God can soften their heart, and that God can help them to realize that they are living a life filled with hate and anger.

As we read further into Ephesians 5, the text says that immorality and impurity should not be a part of who we are because, as it says in verse 5, the immoral or impure have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Verse 6 says that we should let no one deceive us with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, so therefore we should not be partakers with them.

As we live today, the world would have us to believe that certain things, things that the bible says are sins against God, or that God would be unhappy with, or that violate the Ten Commandments, or that will not allow you into heaven, are acceptable. However, Luke 11:28 says those who hear the word of God and obey it are blessed. That means that God will bless us more if we hear the word AND live according to the word. Romans 12:19 says that the Lord will enact vengeance against those who have wronged us, so we do not have to seek our own revenge when we are wronged. Just as we turn to God when things are difficult for us personally, we should also turn to God when things are difficult socially.

The Best Money Advice I Can Give: Make Sure that You Can Afford to Live Alone

One of the best pieces of advice that I have ever given my children was that many of the problems in relationships stem from money issues. Keeping in mind that I said many and not all, I told my kids that the best way to minimize, and potentially eliminate those money problems is to make sure that they can afford to live on their own. This means that whatever their living situation is, they need to make sure that they can afford everything by themselves.

The idea of being able to afford everything alone seems unreasonable based on today’s economy. However, it also forces people to reach higher in order to have the lives that they want. 

If a single person is able to afford all of their living expenses alone, when they bring a second person into their home, whether it is a roommate or a spouse, as long as the first person’s revenue does not change, the housing will never be compromised. In addition, if the second person is also able to afford all of the living expenses, should either party’s revenue get interrupted, the living expenses can still be covered. 

Consider this; if each person can only afford half of the expenses, hence their reason for living together, and one or the other of them suddenly finds that they are unemployed, the entire household falls apart because the other half of the expenses is suddenly unavailable. On the other hand, if each can afford the total of the expenses yet was only paying for half, they both should have been able to increase their savings. If one or the other is suddenly at a loss of revenue, not only will both have savings to call upon, the employed one’s revenue will also be able to carry the house until the other is able to recover. 

Without having to worry about money, the two people are less likely to fight over money and are likely to be more supportive when one of them falls on hard times. Without the resentment over the feeling that the couple is struggling due to one’s lack of revenue, other smaller fights are likely not to happen. While I cannot guarantee this in every case, know that most fights that couples have are not actually about what the couple is fighting about at the time.

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Do Not Be Afraid to Believe in God

Recently, after being served my food at a restaurant, the server told me to enjoy my meal and to have a blessed day. My son, who was with me, was surprised because, as he explained, didn’t hear people wishing him a “blessed” day as opposed to a “nice” day very much, in addition to not hearing “God Bless You” after a sneeze, the “God” part being left off. I explained to him that many people are afraid to openly express their religion or their spirituality or their belief in God because they are afraid to offend someone who might not believe. I told him that this made as much sense as people trying to hide their race or gender for the very same reason. 

Matthew 5:16 says that we should let our heavenly lights shine so that others will see our good works and will thus be led to give glory to God in Heaven. The simple act of wishing that someone be blessed by God is an example of someone fulfilling this instruction. This server was clearly not afraid to show that he was a believer in God, and in showing that he was not ashamed to be a believer, the bible says that God will not be ashamed of him at judgment.

There are many who will read this who may not believe in God, but for those who do, we should be as willing to let people know that we believe in God as we are willing to discuss the NBA Finals or the Real Housewives of Atlanta. This is not to say that we should attempt to force our beliefs onto every one that we see, but a simple act like saying “God bless you” or wishing that someone has a “blessed” day might just be the thing that lets a person know that there is a way to overcome whatever problem the person might be suffering through. 

As I told my son, there are people who do not like certain races, or who might have a problem dealing with one gender or another, but we persist knowing that we still need to live our lives. In a similar fashion, we should not be ashamed to let others know that we believe in God. If someone is offended because we wish them a “blessed” day, they will let us know, just as they will probably let us know that they do not like Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, men or women. In those instances, we move on, knowing that we did what God has asked us to do, and then we ask God to bless them anyway. 

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We Gain Lessons and Blessings From Every Event in our Lives

There are things that happen in everyone’s life every day. Some of these things are positive in nature and some are negative. Either way, no matter what it is that has happened, whatever the event is that has occurred; attached to that event or happening will be a lesson and a blessing. The bible says that wisdom is more precious than silver and will bring more profit than gold, so the key for us all is to take advantage of the lessons that we learn from the events in our lives so that we can experience the blessings that will come from them.

When we find ourselves in situations where something bad is about to happen to us, or where something bad has happened to us, the lesson with that is simply to not allow ourselves to be in those situations again. The blessing that we gain from that is the wisdom to know that when that situation is beginning to unveil itself, we know the signs and can avoid the situations and their negative outcomes. At the same time, we also now have wisdom that we can share, which is how we bless others. The bible says that the generous person, the person who blesses others, will be enriched or prosperous. So as we gain wisdom to help ourselves, we also gain wisdom to help others, which, as the bible states, will help us as well. 

When my children are complaining about things in their lives that might not be going as they would like for them to, I simply remind them that there is something to be learned and something to be gained from their experiences. If we look back at our lives, we can probably find the lessons from our experiences, and if we apply the lessons, we will be blessed beyond anything that we can imagine. We just have to be willing to learn, even from ourselves. 

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Behaving Like a Racist Makes You a Racist

Funny thing…if a white person says something derogatory about a person of color or performs an action to the detriment of a person of color, that white person will be considered a racist or a bigot. However, if a person of color says something derogatory about a white person, whether in comedy or as an act of defiance, that person of color will be considered to be acting out in response to many years of oppression and racial mistreatment. The sad reality is that racism is racism, whether as an action or as a reaction. 

Racism is defined as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. One of the things that I have taught my children is that if they want to be respected, then they have to show respect. While it is true that there will be instances where decisions will be made based on race, religion, gender or some other classification, more often than not, people will get out of life whatever they put into it. If a person behaves in a racist manner, they will be considered a racist, even if they are simply, in their minds, reacting to racism that they themselves had to endure.    

This piece is not designed to do anything more than say that racism is wrong, while some will see this as anti-black, anti-white, anti-comedy or anti-something else that can create controversy and conversation. The truth is that as a black man, I have been mistreated racially by white people, but I always looked at those instanced as exceptions as opposed to as the standards. The bible tells us that God wants us to treat others the way that we would want to be treated and that we should leave acts of revenge to God, and this is what I teach my children. Behaving is a racist manner in response to being racially mistreated makes us no better than those who we claim to have oppressed us. 

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