Stomping Out Prejudice - Martin Wiles

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1 John 4:20 NKJV

The one place he didn’t want them was…the church.

The monthly deacons’ meeting had rolled around to a popular topic: racial relationships. What brought the matter I can’t remember, but I do remember the conversation. The church “policy” was rehashed. If a person of color entered the sanctuary, the pastor was to close the service as quickly as possible.

I scanned each deacon and said, “Well, you will have to find someone else to do it because I won’t.” It was a conviction I was willing to risk my job over.

More discussion followed. One deacon told of how he worked and even ate lunch with black people. Then came the bombshell, “But I want to be able to go one place where they aren’t.”

Church was his getaway. The place that Martin Luther King, Jr., said was the most segregated place at eleven o’clock every Sunday morning.

Although laws have been passed and wars fought, prejudice lives on. And it extends its ugly claws far beyond race. It creeps into the political, cultural, gender, social, economic, ideological, and even religious arenas of life. Sadly, it affects many believers. Those who allow it to re-interpret the above verse and haven’t learned what God taught Peter when he asked him to go to a Gentile’s house: “God has shown me that he doesn’t think anyone is unclean or unfit (Acts 10:28).

Our sinful nature makes all people struggle with areas of prejudice—but it doesn’t make it acceptable. Pride creeps in, making us think we’re better than another person or group.

Examining one’s family history often reveals the root of prejudice feelings. I never fell prey to racial prejudice—though my family of origin did. Perhaps because I lived through the various “rights” movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

Trying to justify feelings of prejudice with remarks such as, “That’s just the way I am,” or “That’s the way my parents were,” won’t rid it from my life or justify it. Confession and repentance are necessary.

God created and loves all people. His word is clear: if I claim to love Him but hate others, I’m a liar. But the good news is that He is capable to ridding my life of prejudicial feelings. All I have to do is ask and be willing to do the hard work.

Give God your feelings of prejudice so your work and witness for Him won’t be hindered.

Prayer: Father, help us to love all people as You love us. 

Tweetable: What is separating you from others? 

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Revenge’s Dead End

He and I were good friends, but now I was getting the cold shoulder.

In spite of our age difference, Ray* and I clicked. He planted my garden, helped me pick up trash along the road, visited with me, and was an all-around good friend. Until I made my cardinal mistake. His sister died, and I wasn’t there for him. I had no excuse; I was busy, stressed, and in selfish mode. My apology was met with a scowl and a gruff, “It’s a little late now.” Not, “It’s okay. I forgive you. We all make mistakes.” Just, “It’s too late.” As a result of his stubbornness, I had a few vengeful thoughts toward him. Read more...

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Work for Peace

Caressing a plate of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, I plopped into my favorite recliner and turned on the local news channel. Story after story unfolded, each illustrating that peace was absent.

Story one. Israel and Hamas are fighting. Again. Both sides are injecting rockets on each other’s buildings, military personnel and civilians. Other countries are gathering officials in an attempt to broker a truce. Read more...

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 4 - Martin Wiles

Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT

Homework, projects, and tests tested my patience. His lackadaisical attitude angered me. 

Unlike my daughter, my son had no affection for school. “Dad, I need help with my homework” meant, “Will you do it for me?” Projects were no different. He wanted me to do most of the work while he got the credit. Helping him study for tests was extremely taxing. Though perfectly capable of mastering the material, his desire and initiative were absent, keeping the knowledge from seeping in and frustrating me when he couldn’t produce the answers. The thought of helping him with school assignments caused the anger emotion to flare even before we began. 

Anger can be a bothersome emotion, causing all types of issues and leading to all manner of reactions. Knowing some facts helps me deal with it in a healthy way. 

Fact 10: Anger can and will consume. Being consumed by healthy emotions such as love and kindness is good. The type of anger that consumes is likely against someone who has wronged me. I haven’t taken revenge…but I want to. Not wanting to confront them or do anything illegal, I choose to stew over the hurt. I repress and get depressed. Instead of dividing my mind, anger controls my mind. I have trouble thinking of anything else except the hurt. 

Fact 11: Anger saddens God. Sin always disappoints and saddens God. Sin ruined the pristine world He created and the lives of the first two people He formed when they chose to disobey Him. What could have been wasn’t. What will be won’t for thousands of years. Uncontrolled and wrongly expressed anger is sin. Sin prevents God from using me as He wants. With it, I can’t realize His perfect and freeing plan for my life. 

Fact 12: Anger excites Satan. Any sin will do for Satan, sinful anger included. If he can convince me to justify my sin and live in it, he wins—temporarily. He knows sin will thwart God’s plan for my life, or at least interfere with it. When I regard sin in my heart, God will not hear me—and I won’t hear Him. Anytime Satan can keep me from advancing God’s kingdom, he gets excited. 

Ask God to help you process feelings of anger in a healthy way that promotes good. 

Prayer: Father, when Satan seeks to incite our anger, we ask You to replace it with love, kindness, and understanding. 

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 3 - Martin Wiles

Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. Proverbs 29:11 NLT

I invited him into my office. My betrayer. 

Her confession came in the quietness of our bedroom. “I’ve betrayed you.” Only once she said—but it had been more. Shock was my first emotion. How could she. I was a well-known figure in our small town. Now everyone would know my wife had been unfaithful. The church would call for my resignation, my profession would be scarred, and our family would have to move. 

As I pondered the future, another emotion bubbled: anger. What would I tell the kids? How would I break the news to our parents? What would I say to the person she confessed unfaithfulness with? He was a good friend and church member. After a cooling down period, I chose to forgive him. Uncontrolled anger could have steered me in a different direction. 

Anger can be a confusing emotion that propels me in different directions—some unhealthy. Knowing some facts helps deal with it in a healthy way. 

Fact 7: Anger affects relationships with God and others. My relationship with a good friend was destroyed. Though I forgave, I couldn’t continue our friendship. We moved on, and so did he. Anger often leads to sinful actions. When I regard sin in my heart, it affects my relationship with God. When I’m boiling over with anger, I can’t hear Him clearly. I’ll miss opportunities He sends my way. 

Fact 8: Anger drives others away. I’ve known a few people in my lifetime who were just angry continuously. One was a man I worked with after high school. Life had delivered some disappointing blows. Back surgery at an early age left him walking with a cane and unable to lift heavy items. Low paying jobs, financial struggles, and borrowing from one source to pay another were his norm. Though I remained his friend, many others avoided him because of his bitter spirit. 

Fact 9: Anger leads to unwise decisions. The most unwise decision I could have made would have been bodily harm to my wife and her conspirator. Had I let anger seethe in my gut, many other unwise decisions would have followed. Understanding God’s forgiveness of my offenses led me to forgive and helped me avoid dangerous decisions. 

When situations arise that anger you, ask God for wisdom to process the anger in healthy ways. 

Prayer: Father, enable us to handle our anger in ways that demonstrate Your love and forgiveness.

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 2

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:19-20 NLT

He was living on the street, so we decided to let him move in.

I hadn’t heard from my son in a while. Then one day my daughter informed my wife and me he was living on the streets. We made contact and invited him to live with us. Since he had been living a rough lifestyle—which included drug use, we established conditions. Not fully trusting him, we didn’t give him a key to our house. While we were at the grocery store one day, he called wanting us to hurry home so he could get in. After subsequent calls, my blood was raging by the time we arrived home. After a heated argument, I invited him to leave. My anger cooled quickly, but his took months. I wasn’t slow to speak, nor was I slow to get angry. 

Anger is an often misunderstood emotion. Knowing some facts helps us deal with it in a healthy way.

Fact 4: Anger divides the mind. During the short time my son lived with us, neither my wife nor I could focus on anything but our situation. We constantly worried about what he might do next. We lived in a state of tension. When anger preoccupies my mind, I can’t focus on spiritual things. My nearness to God—along with my ability to hear His Spirit speaking to mine, diminishes. I can’t think about two things at once, so when anger has me dwelling on one thing, I’ll be avoiding everything else.

Fact 5: Anger steals focus. This aspect flows from the previous. Anger divides my mind causing me to dwell on the situation that has angered me. Satan plays in my mind, keeping my thoughts focused on the person or circumstances. As long as he can keep me focused there, he can keep me from focusing on what God wants me to do.

Fact 6: Anger eats physically, spiritually, and emotionally. My body isn’t compartmentalized. What eats at me emotionally—anger in this case, will affect my physical well being if I don’t process it quickly. And when I’m in emotional and physical turmoil, my spiritual life will suffer. I may blame God, neglect God, or ignore God.

Ask God to help you be slow to speak and slow to get angry.

Prayer: Father, when people or circumstances aggravate us, direct us to You for comfort and guidance rather than toward an angry spirit. 

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 1 - Martin Wiles

And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Ephesians 5:26 NLT

Funny how quickly a pleasant morning can reverse itself. 

Mom had rented a booth at the local flea market. We arrived early and begin unloading our wares. The gentleman who had rented the space beside us was doing the same. Only he was placing some of his items on one of our tables. Since I hadn’t made my way back to where I needed to be with God, I informed him of his mistake using a few choice words. Silence followed my tirade. Either he didn’t hear me or chose to ignore this young whipper snapper. But Mom called me to the side and said, “You can’t talk to him like that. He’s a member of our church.” 

Of all the emotions, anger is perhaps the most misunderstood. Knowing some facts about it can help. 

Fact 1: Anger isn’t a sin. Another translation of this same verse reads, Be angry and sin not. Anger is one of the natural emotions God created in the human makeup. When people wrong me, offend my family or friends, or when circumstances seem unfair, it’s natural for me to get angry. Jesus was angered by the money changers who cheated the people coming to worship God. He was also angered by the religious elite who misinterpreted the intent of God’s Word and placed the people under cumbersome rules. 

Fact 2: Anger often leads to sinful acts. Though anger is a natural emotion, it’s also a volatile emotion. Anger in and of itself isn’t a sin, but anger often leads to sinful actions. Mine did at the flea market. How we process anger is crucial. Righteous anger leads me to correct injustices through moral and godly avenues. It moves me to act, but the actions won’t be sinful.

Fact 3: No one can make you angry. I’m guilty of saying, “He (or she) makes me angry,” or “That makes me so mad.” In reality, I chose to get angry. If someone can make me angry, they have power over me. And if that’s the case, I can blame them for my anger and the resulting actions and then justify them in my mind. But I can’t. Anger is my choice. 

Let God show you how to process your anger in beneficial ways. 

Prayer: Father, when we are angered by others or by unpleasant circumstances, show us how to process our actions in godly ways.

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Flashback Friday - Martin Wiles

Conquering Guilt Part II

Series: Conquering The Past

My journey back to God began with a pack of cigarettes and an offer to teach a Sunday School class.

For ten years, I had experimented in forbidden but enticing areas. Forget what God wanted. I wanted what I wanted. And I fervently ran after it. By the time the offer disembarked, I had put aside my questionable activities-except for tobacco use. After all, the Bible didn’t say, “Thou shalt not smoke.” (But it did say my body was a temple of God’s Spirit). Read more...

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Conquering Guilt

Series: Conquering the Past

I was a young adult feeling God’s call into ministry who was also feeling guilty.

God’s call came on top of ten years of running and accumulated guilt-over ignoring the original call, bad decisions, bad relationships and bad habits. While all repented of, their memories tormented me. And Satan stoked the fire: “How could you claim to be a Christian and…?”  Guilt can be genuine or false. Real guilt arises when God convicts us of sin with the intent we change courses. False guilt channels through the same path, but the author is Satan and his goal is destruction. Read more...

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Segregated No More - Martin Wiles

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when… he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. Ephesians 2:14 NLT

As a child, the only color difference I knew about was what my parents taught me and what I noticed in a box of Crayola crayons. 

When I was in the fifth grade, our family moved to Jackson, Tennessee. For the first time, I saw a person of color. I didn’t understand the word segregation, nor did I ever wonder why there were no people of color in my classrooms. 

In the 1960’s, my hometown was a hotbed of racial tension, but I didn’t understand why. I simply knew the National Guard was called in, bricks were being thrown through car windows, certain areas of town were under curfew, and several local college students had been killed by the police. I knew the town had a bowling alley, but little did I know the owner refusing to let people of color in would start a riot that would eventually lead to a book entitled The Orangeburg Massacre. There was a wall of separation.  

Prior to Christ’s coming, Gentiles were considered beyond saving in the eyes of most Jewish people. Much like African Americans and other minority groups were in the eyes of many people. But Jesus shone the love of God the Father for all people. He went to the rejected, the scorned, the shunned, and the avoided. He taught that God loved all people equally. 

Fortunately, I grew up in a home where my parents and grandparents taught me to love all people. Color wasn’t important, nor was social standing. God created them all: red and yellow, black and white. They were all precious in his sight. 

Only people see the differences that divide us in reality: skin color, race, class, culture. Since God loves all regardless of any of the preceding, I should as well. I’ve made that my life’s goal and taught my children to do the same. If Christ loved so much that he would die for all people, how can I possibly love any less? 

Let God’s love for you break down any walls of segregation you’ve built. 

Prayer: Father, may we see all people as You do: worthy of love and capable of doing great things in Your kingdom.

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