A few weeks back, a friend of mine reached out to check on me—just to see how I was doing. I was about to text him, but just as I was searching for his name, the phone rang and it was him. We talked for a solid hour. It was refreshing! I’m not sure how … Continue reading LOOKING FOR GOOD NEWS
Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone about something you’re well informed about and they refuse to accept actual true things as true? Like… they will shout you down to die on their hill of misinformation, make believe, and deception! There’s absolutely no getting through to them, because their mind is already … Continue reading BURST YOUR OWN BUBBLE
Ok, the election is over. So now what? If you are a United States citizen and you voted for the president in this election, one of two things has happened for you: 1. Your candidate won, or 2. Your candidate lost. Great! …so, now what? A record number of people turned out for this election. … Continue reading DID YOUR SIDE WIN?
You ever read something and be like, ‘wait a minute… that don’t make no sense!’ Well, that was my reaction when reading this passage. Like so many others, I’ve read this several times before, and I saw the apparent contradiction, but I just let it be. The way my faith compels me to approach scripture … Continue reading SHARE THE WEIGHT, BUT CARRY YOUR OWN FREIGHT
As I write this, my wife Jamila and I are less than 36 hours from welcoming our third (and final) child, Khalil, to our family. We’ve got two boys, Kingston (9) and Kendrick (1.8), and we won’t be trying for a girl. On the advice of someone more seasoned than us, we’ve decided to accept … Continue reading NEW KIND OF LOVE
Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me! I promise this isn’t about what you think it is. For as long as I can remember, Proverbs 31 has been used to teach about the “wife of noble character.” In fairness, that’s what verses 10-31 are about. tIt’s a good thing. It’s a great model to follow! But there are directives for men in here that tend to get overlooked.
The story of the paralyzed man being healed does not expressly state that these men who carried him were his friends. We come to this conclusion because of what they cared about; and consequently, what they couldn’t have cared less about. Well how do you know what they did or did not care about? Funny you should ask. There’s a simple axiom that explains it all: “Actions speak louder than words.”
Everyone knows about love languages. I see it all the time, on Twitter… people proclaiming their love language. Insisting theirs makes the most sense. Suggesting there’s got to be something wrong with people whose love language is that one, or this other one. Some people have made up love languages too. Like, wings. Wings is not one of the options. Stop it. Lol (wings are good, tho)
For some, words are not enough to signal a new direction. Several social media posts get reposted with screenshots of previous words, articles, or accusations accompanied by two simple words, phrased as a question: “This you?" It seems necessary to remind people of their worst when they were trying to be better—to be their best.
As humans, we are homogeneous creatures. We are naturally drawn towards and prefer to be with other people who are like us. I’m Black. I like being around Black people. Quite frankly, it feels safer. But just because it’s most comfortable does not mean it is right to live my life trying to avoid people who aren’t like me. We have to move ourselves out of what is comfortable in order to have any meaningful relational development with people who aren’t just like us.
