Reflections of Faith and Justice - a Devotional by Benjamin MaysSample

The Christian faith as revealed in the Bible makes it clear that man is unique among the creatures of the earth.It is not too much to say that when God reached man in the creative process, he did for man what he did not do for any other creature. The author of Genesis tells us that God breathed into man’s nostrils his own breath, and man became a living soul. God did not do this for the beasts of the field nor for the fowls of the air nor for the fish of the sea—only for man.

The writer is accounting for the uniqueness of man. He shows clearly that man is “somebody” and that he is important not in his own right, but because God conferred dignity and value upon him. For this reason it is a foolish notion that man has special distinction merely because he belongs to a particular race, nation, or family. It is also important to note that when referring to creation the author of Genesis makes man a unique creature in his declaration that man was created in God’s own image. The Christian faith fully comprehends man’s unique place in the universe. Centuries before modern science demonstrated man’s superior status, the Christian religion had affirmed it….

Science has demonstrated that there are four types of blood, called O, A, B, and AB. If an examination is made of the blood of an African Negro, an American white man, an Indian American, an Englishman, a Chinese or a Japanese, it will be found that all have one of these four types. Also people behave pretty much the same way the world around. If we are kind to them, they are likely to respond with kindness. If we insult them, they are likely to turn against us. The human family is one.

From the standpoint of the Christian faith, man has a common father, God. From the point of view of science, man has a common ancestry. It is implicit in the Christian faith that all men are brothers, sons of one father. Science proves that by blood all men are brothers.

If God is a common father and if all men are brothers, then it inevitably follows that the human family is one family. It belongs together. The destiny of each individual wherever he resides on the earth is tied up with the destiny of all men that inhabit the globe. Whether we like it or not, we cannot do anything about it. It is a fact.

Science has proved that by blood all races are kin. Christianity believes that God is the common father and that human life is of intrinsic worth. Yet it is not enough for anyone simply to say, “I grant these things.” It is too easy to call all men brothers and then act as if only some men are brothers. We must go further. Either all men are brothers or no men are brothers. Either God is the father of all men or he is the father of no men. Either the lives of all children are sacred or the life of no child is sacred.

If the Americans and the English are brothers, then the Americans and the Russians are brothers. If God is the father of the Chinese, he is the father of the Japanese. If the life of the Queen of England is sacred, then the life of a miner in Wales is sacred. If the life of the President of the United States is of supreme worth, then the life of a mill hand in one of the Carolinas is of supreme worth. All have worth. Even the Christian who excludes nonbelievers from God’s fatherhood cannot logically deny that among believers there should be no barriers based on race, color, or nationality.

History is filled with examples showing that God has raised up significant persons from every race and land and from every level of society. Although they came from two extremes in the socio-economic world, William Shakespeare and John Milton were among the greatest of poets, Ludwig van Beethoven and George Frederick Handel among the greatest musicians, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt among the greatest presidents of the United States, and Robert G. Menzies and Winston Churchill among the world’s greatest leaders. Though from a minority and much persecuted people, our greatest prophets and many of our leading scientists, composers, philosophers, and statesmen were and are Jews. Amos and Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Micah were Jews. So were Abraham and Moses, Jesus and Paul. Spinoza the philosopher, Mendelssohn the composer, Einstein the physicist, Freud the psychologist, Disraeli the statesman, Karl Marx the economist, and Brandeis the jurist, all of these were Jews.

Rabindranath Tagore, a Hindu of Bengal, ranks as one of the great poets of modern time. T. Z Koo, Chinese, and Toyohiko Kagawa, Japanese, are among the most widely known Christians of our day. The greatest exponent of the doctrine of nonviolence was Mahatma Gandhi, of India. African Americans are among the most skilled artists of our time. Marian Anderson, Roland Hayes, and MattiwildaDobbs have thrilled the world with their songs. Some of America’s outstanding educators are African Americans, and stand high as writers, diplomats, scientists, and religious leaders. Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Mordecai Johnson will be remembered as outstanding among educators. Ralph Bunche in diplomacy, George Washington Carver in science, and Howard Thurman in religion stand at the front in their respective fields. The uniqueness of man cuts across nationality and race. Truly God is not partial.

We quote approvingly the anthropologist, Franz Boas: “If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be represented.”

- Excerpt from “Seeking to be Christian in Race Relations” by Benjamin E. Mays, Chapter 2