”Lesser Than” Advent Devotion for December 5, 2021

Lesser Than

By-Barbara Nelson, Financial Secretary

At that time, I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue
the lame: I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and
honor in every land where they have suffered shame.
--Zephaniah 3:19

I had a meaningful conversation with my sister-in-law (SIL) recently about my niece, Alexa. Alexa is a sweetheart. Alexa is also half-Black. On our vacation this summer, an incident occurred that made me stop and think. My white SIL told a story about how she and Alexa were at the post office, making separate transactions. The clerks were rude to Alexa, yet they were very attentive to my SIL. When SIL related the experience to us, I was rather dismissive of the outrage that she had for her daughter’s dignity. In my naivety, I thought it couldn’t have been discrimination based on skin color. Perhaps, it was because Alexa was a still a young person. We got back to WI, and three months later, I was still thinking about that conversation.

I called my SIL and apologized for my dismissiveness. I always like to think the best of people, but it blinded me to the reality of my niece’s life as a person of color. This was something that Alexa had been subjected to her entire life. I can only imagine how my niece feels every day in a society that treats her as a perceived “lesser than.” I will never know what she faces day to day, or what any person of color might experience daily on a much bigger basis. I cannot see through a Black woman’s eyes, but I am grateful that my own eyes are opening, thanks to a careless comment and the willingness to talk with someone who knows more than me.

Father, blind us to color, make us deaf to discrimination, and mute to unsavory words. May we see beauty wherever we look, hear the sounds of peace everywhere we go, and speak only in love to everyone we meet. Amen