And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. – Acts 17:26
Why No Kumbaya, My Lord?
One would think churches are places where people make an extra effort to erase the lines of racial division, to serve as examples of unity in Christ to an unbelieving world. After all, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, members of the same family, heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ.
But Christians are fallen (although forgiven) humans, and sinners all, and we still carry impure preferences and prejudices. Generally speaking, blacks prefer to be around blacks, whites prefer to be around whites, and [insert group here] prefer to be around [insert group here]. The “can’t we all just get along” refrain is noble and well-intentioned. We can try, but differences will always be obvious. These differences don’t have to divide, but too often they do.
According to a CNN article titled, “Why many Americans prefer their Sundays segregated,” interracial churches (at least 20 percent of members belong to a racial minority group) are rare. Nothing new there. Most people prefer being around their “own kind.”
Why? Because it’s just easier. And less stressful. And easier. No matter what we say publicly, we have an affinity for people who look like us.
The article mentions racially tinged issues that pop up in interracial churches. For example, in some churches there’s tension over length of service, style of preaching and music, and even how to address the preacher. Former minister and author Curtiss Paul DeYoung, who is white, says he led a racially mixed church that became “all-black” and left because of the tension.
(I expressed my preference for white churches, which is based in part on preaching/teaching style. See Truth and Consequences.)
Whites overly concerned about being called racists have to walk a fine line these days. Every little comment or even a single glance can be interpreted as evidence of virulent hatred lurking below the surface. Silly, yes, but true. Anyway, the article’s long, but a good read. Check it out.
Why Did God Make Different Races?
By the time I got to the end of the article, I thought, “Ay-ya-yay! No wonder interracial churches are rare. Who wants to deal with all that on Sunday mornings?” After tolerating racial or other kinds of tension during the week, who looks forward to facing it at church, a place of sanctuary?
Then I asked (the air) a serious question: Why did God make different races (or ethnicities, if you prefer – let’s not get bogged down with that)? Yes, we are members of the overarching human race, but groups within this race have obvious and apparent differences. Man is made in God’s image, but why did make his creatures with physiological differences?
Explanations abound. God made diverse skin colors, hair textures, facial structures and features, etc., to display his handiwork, so he can be glorified. Perhaps he made us with such obvious differences so we can learn to see past them and gaze upon our similarities.
And what, if anything, does God’s displeasure of the Tower of Babel have to do with it? Noah’s descendants built a tower to glorify themselves, and God confused their language and “scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth.” Did this scattering abroad facilitate the development of distinct ethnic groups? Was that God’s secondary purpose?
Race, race, race. Until Christ returns, we must deal with it. We can run, but we can’t hide. I wish we could. I wish I could. I blog and write about it, because I believe I have something unique to say; that uniqueness is tangled up in the color of my skin. My sister says I shouldn’t run or hide or apologize for blogging about it so often. Commenting on a post where I criticized J.C. Watts for creating a black news network:
“[Race] is a beautiful thing God has created. It is this fallen world that has made it a problem. If we all come from God’s perspective, it’s a beautiful thing. I love to be at events where there are like-minded people in all kinds of different colors, shapes and sizes. Look for the good and beauty in what God has created. Don’t throw it away because mankind has corrupted it.”
When I see God, perhaps I’ll ask why he made different races, but I suspect such trivialities won’t occur to me then, anyway. 
Why do you think God made different races/ethnicities?
