Living a life that Matters

DO JUSTICE. LOVE MERCY. WALK HUMBLY.

“all too many have been more cautious than courageous and remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.” -MLK

Today was a pretty memorable day for me. It is Martin Luther King, Jr day. I started my day off fasting and praying by partaking in the Daniel Fast. I’m doing this 10 day fast with members of New City Church. It’s a fast that was done by Daniel in the Old Testament that included a diet of fruits, nuts and water. I do this fast for spiritual cleansing and to draw nearer to my heavenly Father so I can stay in tune with His will. I went and saw the movie Lincoln again earlier this week. It’s an incredible movie about how President Abraham Lincoln fought to pass the 13th amendment in 1865 after signing the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery. I am always encouraged by those who fought so hard for our freedom today. Today I celebrate the life of a man who stood up to injustice and changed the world today because he had the courage to be a voice. How ironic that today is the Inauguration of our President (who happens to be African-American) and that it is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the MLK march in Washington. Yet today we are still dealing with the topic of slavery. Just a couple of weeks ago, I stood with 60,000 young adults in Atlanta to shine a light on the 27 million held in modern-day slavery. We launched End it Movement, a cause to raise awareness on slavery and to help fund the organizations that are putting an end to it. I am thankful to call myself a child of God and to lend my voice to this injustice because of the grace He has bestowed on me. I pray that all the efforts of those who stood up to injustice in the past will continued to be carried out by this generation and by future generations to come.

Shining a light on Modern-day Slavery

My amazing African-American friend and sister-in-Christ Candace sent this to me today. These are some excerpts from a letter that Martin Luther King wrote while sitting in a jail cell in Birmingham.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice..”

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

“We will have to repent in the generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime — the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – Birmingham Jail, 1963

THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC