Equality and Inclusion?
Good Morning,
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Moses was concerned about his ability to speak clearly, but God did not set up a special program, He asked a simple question of Moses.
Exodus 4:11 “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?”
Allow me to put these thoughts into our political spectrum of diversity and inclusion.
In the political world, their intension is obvious. People will scream about social injustice, but they will not implement their solutions universally. Allow me to illustrate. Someone wants an equal number of diverse groups in the engineering department. Quality, gifted students are rejected from the programs and forced into other areas of training, simply because there are too many people like them in the program, but diversity on the football field or the basketball court is not a priority. Reality comes into focus in the sports realm. If one athlete is not as good as another, he is not going to play or even make the team; his ability is the priority factor, not diversity.
If we forced athletic teams to be diverse completely, we would lower the quality of the athletic teams, and we would cause a great deal of other trouble. The best player in the WNBA is not going to be able to compete on an NBA team. This fact is not an insult or shameful; it is simply a matter of athletic ability. The same is true in medicine or engineering. When we force the engineering programs to be completely diverse, we then have a lower standard, or a lower ability to learn. If someone is doing surgery on you, you want the best, not someone who was hired so the hospital would hold a politically-correct balance of staff.
The foolishness of demanding equity and equality, as it is being defined today is so clear if we would just be honest. Some people love spreadsheets, numbers, and details, and they glory in finding missing nickels and dimes in their bookkeeping; but the same scenario would drive other people completely crazy. Some people are good with their hands mechanically, and others are gifted teachers. Great teachers do not simply know the information, they have the ability to transfer that information from their minds to the listeners, and the listeners leave the room having learned. All of us have had teachers that knew the information, but could not communicate it or compel us to learn it. There is no shame in being who God made you to be. Do not listen to liberal politicians who do not want to believe in God.
I have watched people work with horses who are amazing in their ability to train the horse to do things that we think are impossible. The same is true with all kinds of animal training. We could make similar statements about people who work with landscaping, those who have an eye to know what rocks and what trees and what sidewalks would be the most beautiful. Some people have the eye-to-hand coordination to shoot a basketball or hit a golfball in an amazing fashion, and others are craftsman with wood or stone.
It is common knowledge that there are scholarship programs in higher academic areas that will limit how many Asians get involved. There are schools that simply say the Asians are getting all the scholarships, and that it is not right. If the scholarship is to be offered for academic achievement, who cares what their background is; let us work with those who are exceptional.
As long as we keep God in the picture, it’s okay to be different. God made us with different gifts and skills. The world is huge, and there are endless requirements to design, build and implement. Just because a guy can shoot a basketball does not mean he can be a good cook; but when I go to a nice restaurant, I want a good cook – I do not care if he can play sports.
Some of the greatest people are not good classroom students. They can watch you weld or tie fishing line and learn easily, but in the classroom, they struggle terribly. Why force those people into a college classroom if that is not what God made them to be. When America had vocational schools, we were a more biblical nation. We had more respect for people’s gifts and abilities.
We all know there are people who are simply funny! They know how to say things in the right way or come up with the right vocabulary, perhaps they are the better at observing humanity. Whatever the reason, the Bob Hopes of our history are great people. I do not know if Bob Hope could put a new crown on my tooth, and I do not care.
If we will bring God into an intimate relationship with our families, and throw out the foolish political correctness, we might have less insecurity. When Jesus gave us two basic commands, to love God and to love people, He laid the groundwork for a fulfilled life and a satisfied soul.
I played basketball in a very small high school, and we played against other very small high schools. I looked fairly good in that environment. As soon as I stepped onto a college basketball court though, I found I was not as good as I might have thought. I did not have to play college basketball, I just needed to find out what God wanted me to do. Now, fifty years later, I am very happy with the path that God led me on, and it does not matter whether basketball was a part of that path or not. I found the plan of God and have enjoyed a satisfied and fulfilled life.
God asked Moses, “Who made your mouth?” The answer is what we need to consider, not whether we get the same chance as someone else.
As a child of God, I have the exact same opportunities everyone on earth has. I have the chance to do God’s will with my life, and in pleasing Him, I find personal fulfillment and happiness.
Pastor