Author: Jordan G Estabrook
A week ago, I had the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece at the Authentic One Night at Freedom House. Her father was Alfred King, who was a large part of his brother MLK’s civil rights movement. Many of Alveda King’s relatives were killed, including her father, but King’s spirit was still soft, kind and strong. You can tell when she spoke.
She herself had been through a lot as a result of her father and uncle’s work. Her house was bombed as a child and lived a difficult life with safety as primary concern.
Despite having grown up in a family of reverends, she strayed from Christianity and became a women’s activist, having two abortions and divorced three times.
She came back to Christianity and has continued her father and uncle’s work. As she spoke at this event, I couldn’t help but think that there were a few things that Christian conservatives could learn from her.
Stop trying to “own the libs”
I tend to believe the conservatives lean the closest to Judeo-Christian values. That’s not up for debate. What is up for debate is how we approach the truth and talk to people who are not of the same mindset.
Dr. King spoke the truth, but you could tell she genuinely cared about the opposing side. She sees people not as a liberal or leftist, though they may be that, but most importantly as a lost soul. She told the story of when God asked her to tell President Obama that she loved him. Twice.
When she told Obama the second time, he responded, “Yeah, right.”
“No, no. I really do.” She replied. And Obama told her the same and they parted ways. His sincerity is up for question, but Dr. King’s was not. I wish you could hear the inflection of her voice through my written words.
“I don’t hate Obama.” said Dr. King. And you could tell she was being truthful. She didn’t desire to “own the libs” but “show the libs” the love of Christ, even though she disagrees with their policies and moral values. How we approach those who disagree with us matters.
Don’t allow tribalism to one party overtake devotion to one God
At one point, the interviewer brought up political parties and how much she loved Trump. King graciously nodded and talked about her friendship with Trump, but ultimately, she reminded the interviewer, and the rest of the audience, that God was neither Republican nor Democrat.
While one party may get closer to Biblical values than others, we can’t be so obsessed that we create tribalism to one party rather than devotion to one God.
Being conservative isn’t enough to be virtuous. We need a Savior far more virtuous than us
There’s a reason why Alveda King doesn’t feel the need to “own the libs” or be tribal to one political party.
Her Christian beliefs overarch all other beliefs.
Her hope was clearly not in a political party, but in a God that had worked in her imperfect and broken life. The Republican party will fail you (they already have). The Democratic party will definitely fail you.
"Coming forth, you've got to love each other, and you have to have faith. And you never lose hope. Even when things are really, really, really bad - there's always hope."
God should be the anchor of our hope. Anchor it to anything else and it will break apart.
Tackle the hard topics and don’t back down
King did not back away from the hard topics. She did it in a more powerful way than vulgar and angry speech can deliver. King advocated for speaking and telling the truth like below:
"Abortion and racism are evil twins, born of the same lie. Where racism now hides its face in public, abortion is accomplishing the goals of which racism only once dreamed. Together, abortionists are destroying humanity at large and the black community in particular."
Say the truth, and don’t let the mob hinder you. Settle in yourself to be called 100 different names telling the truth then having your praises sung to your lies.
It comes down to this: speak the truth and truly love others. Dr. Alveda King blessed us with how she modeled it.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of Resident Skeptics.
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