Can We Make The Dream A Reality?

"I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. " 

Martin Luther King

I believe that the quote is the most important quote among many memorable quotes in Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. It has two thoughts in it. Not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. 

I don't think I have a racist bone in my body, but I do have extreme predjudice against a person who lacks character. I hate thieves, abusers, murders, rapists, child molesters, liars, drug addicts and drunks etc. Character is not an illusive term. You know character when you see it, and you know character when it is absent.

Many churches today are very segregated. There's the white church, the black church, Hispanic church and the Asian church. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a fact and has more to do with its neighborhood than it has of race. One of the things I enjoy most about going to the Rock church is its extreme diversity. If you looked out from the pulpit, you would see the highest example of diversity. There is every skin color in the world represented in this congregation. Young people, old people, fat people, skinny people, children, blind people, tattooed people, ex-convicts, ex-prostitutes, ex-gang members, rich and poor. I never feel race in this place of worship. The common denominator is a belief in God and the relationship with him. We have a small church group whose commonality is we all attend the Rock. Small groups and ministries area very important part of making a large church smaller and more intimate. In our group there are four whites, one of whom is from Poland, three black woman and one Hispanic. We are as close as any group of people can be. We may see color, but we don't see color. We see people coming together.

I do believe that race relations have improved, but still a fact of life among some people. Some of them even call themselves Christians. I do see that people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as exploiters of their own people. Without the race industry they wouldn't have a job. Their rants do nothing to bring people together.

If people learned the content of character, as taught by every religion in the world, it would be a better world. We need a world that pays more attention. Little children don't see race, they see a playmate. We need more playmates.

Have a nice MLK Day.

Sam