I have prayed about responding to the Southern Baptist Convention condemning the Confederate Flag.
Does the SBC think this symbolic gesture will actually bring healing to the SBC and our brothers in Christ? Flags are not racist; people are.
The removal of the flag is very much like the cleaning of the outside of the cup and platter in Matthew 23:26. Jesus admonished the Pharisees their “insides” were what was dirty. Removal of a what is perceived as a symbol of sin does not remove the sin, as it is still in the heart.
Likewise, racism is a sin of the heart, not of the skin. All men are guilty of sin. All men, if we are man enough to admit it, sin in the area of racism—white or black or brown. It is one of Satan’s best tools. Even if it is a small first impression when we meet those of different races, it is racism. It is sin ,and only faith in Jesus Christ can remove that sin. It has to be from the inside out, not the outside in by thinking that a mere flag causes racism. It does not. It is much deeper rooted.
I am Southern Baptist to the bone, but I am very disheartened by the SBC dependency on the removal of a flag to cure the convention’s sin of racism. It is not even a good start.
Maybe we should try loving one another just like we are. Jesus did it.
Donald Kimbell
Ruston, La.
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