Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

More alike than different

OpinionTerry Maples  |  July 13, 2015

Two contrasting stories from June 2015 are etched into my mind—one upliftingly positive and
the other hauntingly negative. My reflection on the two experiences confirmed for me we are
more alike than we are different.

I officiated a meaningful wedding ceremony in Virginia. What was different about this particular
event was that it was the marriage for our daughter Anna and her fiancé Josh. I have conducted
many wedding ceremonies over the past 32 years, but, I confess, a wedding is totally different
when it’s your little girl who says, “I do!”

Anna and Josh’s love story is not so unique. They met in college. First there were interested
glances, then there was conversation, and finally the first date on Valentine’s Day. Following a
lengthy courtship, Josh proposed to Anna at the summit of one of their favorite mountain trails.
Josh and Anna are alike in many ways: they are children of proud parents, they have siblings,
they were raised in Christian homes, they laugh, they cry, they work hard, they play, they pray,
they sing, they love their pet, they crave time together at the beach, they hope for a bright
future, they love God, they worship, and they attempt to live lives of faith and purpose. They
share many common goals and values.

Anna and Josh are different, too: in temperament, in expressiveness, in communication style,
in social interaction, in decision-making, and in musical taste. The diversity in God’s amazing
creation is good!

Yes, Anna and Josh are similar and different. However, I haven’t mentioned the most striking
and obvious difference—Anna is an extremely white-skinned, half-German, half-Southern girl
from Virginia, and Josh is a dark-skinned young man from Uganda. In addition to their
contrasting appearance, there are a few, very interesting cultural differences, as well.

The beauty of this story is that the wonderful celebration of marriage had nothing to do with
the color of skin. Two members of the human family, much more alike than they are different,
committed to spend the rest of their lives together. The ceremony and reception were
meaningful and joy-filled. One of our long-time friends commented in her blog: “It was a joyous
event filled with love, laughter, and prayers.”

The contrast between the high of Anna’s marriage to Josh and the racially motivated murders in
Charleston less than two weeks later is stark. The events in Charleston on the heels of our
daughter’s inter-racial marriage made us feel like we were on a roller-coaster ride—the high of
love, inclusion, acceptance; a low of hate, anger, prejudice.

Many prophetic pastors have preached beautifully crafted sermons following what happened at
Emanuel AME Church. I’m grateful for their God-given courage to speak out about the
devastating impact of racism. There is still so much that needs redemption in our world.

Now is the time for action. Love always leads to action—something I mentioned multiple times
in Anna’s wedding ceremony. Anna even asked me to include my definition of love in the
marriage homily: “Love is the active willing and working for the good of another.”

I’m convinced action starts in our homes. We teach by what we say and do AND by what we fail
to say and do. Children are savvy. They detect the hypocrisy of singing “Jesus loves the little
children, all the children of the world,” while hearing words of hate or expressions of racial
superiority at the dinner table. It’s not enough to say God loves everyone equally. We must
work for equality for all. This work starts in our homes then extends through our concentric
circles of influence.

Action is also needed in our churches. Teaching and modeling love and respect for those who
are different is the Jesus way. Together, we cultivate capacity to nurture relationships that
bridge the racial divide. Check out the excellent work of The New Baptist Covenant
(www.newbaptistcovenant.org), and consider engaging in a covenant of action with an AfricanAmerican congregation.

Though racial tensions are running high in our country right now, I’m hopeful about the future!
Yes, progress is slow, but I see different attitudes and actions emerging in the current
generation. My generation is still reeling from the lies we were told. I vividly remember hearing
the old men in the hardware store where I worked during high school talk about God’s design
that made black persons inferior to whites. My gut knew something was terribly wrong, and
Spirit convicted me about the incongruence between what I heard from these church members
and what scripture teaches. The cultural myth was thoughtless and unchristian. As a result, I
worked hard to make sure those around me did not see the differences in color—lest they label
one better than the other. In hindsight, however, I believe trying to ignore color is not helpful.
The contributions of each color and culture are valuable and deserve recognition.

What I see emerging in this generation is the capacity to notice and appreciate the differences
in color. I see this played out in my children. Anna was able to see and appreciate both the
color of Josh’s skin AND the divine spark of God in him. Our son Andrew attends grad school
and takes classes that awaken consciousness to all the subliminal ways our culture has
promoted racism. Andrew will teach English in an inner city, low-performing African-American
school next fall. I believe his love, appreciation of color and cultural contributions, and nonjudgmental attitude can and will make a difference. This generation has much to teach us about
inclusion and equality if we will listen!

We have choices to make about what we believe and how we treat fellow human beings. Let’s
choose the path that leads to love, grace, equality, and acceptance. For truly, in God’s eyes, we
ARE more alike than we are different!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Social IssuesracismFaithful LivingTerry MaplesRacial ReconciliationequalityCharlestonEmmanuel AMEinterracial marriage
More by
Terry Maples
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

      News

    • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

      News

    • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

      Opinion

    • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

      News


    Curated

    • ‘He Gets Us’ organizers hope to spend $1 billion to promote Jesus. Will anyone care?

      ‘He Gets Us’ organizers hope to spend $1 billion to promote Jesus. Will anyone care?

    • National Prayer Breakfast breaks from ‘The Family’ with new organization

      National Prayer Breakfast breaks from ‘The Family’ with new organization

    • The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right

      The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right

    • Twitter reinstated white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He lasted 24 hours.

      Twitter reinstated white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He lasted 24 hours.

    Read Next:

    Life post-Roe: Is there middle ground between religious liberty and medical freedom?

    AnalysisMallory Challis

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

      OpinionChris Ayers

    • Colorado cake maker back in court, this time for refusing service to a transgender woman

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

      OpinionBert Montgomery

    • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

      OpinionBill Thurman

    • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • On the baptism of our firstborn

      OpinionEmily Hull McGee

    • Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Life post-Roe: Is there middle ground between religious liberty and medical freedom?

      AnalysisMallory Challis

    • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • 165 religious leaders plead with White House to abandon immigrant travel ban

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Boebert babbles about God, Satan and the Second Coming

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Los Angeles faces a homeless ‘emergency’ as global warming changes the equation

      AnalysisMallory Challis

    • My father’s faith

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • As more Americans delay health care they can’t afford, it’s time for the church to be a light once again

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • United Methodists on alert for dissidents ‘poaching’ members and pastors

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Colorado cake maker back in court, this time for refusing service to a transgender woman

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 165 religious leaders plead with White House to abandon immigrant travel ban

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • United Methodists on alert for dissidents ‘poaching’ members and pastors

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Faith-based leaders discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of Biden’s proposed border policies

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • U.S. churches more likely to have adult and youth education programs than interfaith or ecumenical work

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Here’s Johnny! Embattled SBC pastor back in the pulpit and will headline a men’s conference

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Dan Hobbs, early leader of ABP and CBF, dies at 95

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘Public safety ecosystems’ could help replace nation’s broken criminal justice system, evangelical leaders say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Reparations should begin with recognition of human dignity, Delbanco says in 50th annual Jefferson Lecture

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Church of England won’t allow same-sex marriage but may allow a liturgical blessing of civil unions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 1-20-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Class-action suit against Department of Education alleging discrimination in Title IX exemptions dismissed

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Supreme Court will hear former postal employee’s appeal that he shouldn’t have to work on Sundays because he’s a Christian

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New survey: Republicans and white evangelicals are outliers in fear of immigrants invading U.S.

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Religious liberty advocates applaud Biden administration rollback of Trump policies allowing faith-based discrimination

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘Religicide’ a growing threat worldwide, authors warn

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

      OpinionChris Ayers

    • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

      OpinionBert Montgomery

    • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

      OpinionBill Thurman

    • On the baptism of our firstborn

      OpinionEmily Hull McGee

    • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • My father’s faith

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Doom-scrolling, sourdough starter and three kinds of kin

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Putin needs to be taken down

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • How my eyes were opened to America’s broken immigration system

      OpinionChristian Vaughn

    • Meditating with Buddhists and other Asian lessons

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • The Black resistance tradition and its fight for U.S. democracy

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Five book recommendations on creation stewardship for 2023

      OpinionDon Gordon

    • Queen Elizabeth was a role model for women in faith and leadership

      OpinionChrystal Cowan

    • Two football coaches went up to pray …

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • ‘Grief brain’: The three big deficits of grief

      OpinionLaurie Taylor

    • Prayer might not be enough

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • Mending broken pieces and broken lives with kintsugi

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • When my church and I let Jesus down: Jesus in the distressing disguise of the homeless

      OpinionChris Ayers

    • What I’m learning as a Maston Scholar: ‘Don’t forget!’

      OpinionAlfa Orellana

    • A world inside a world, spinning around

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Faith and civil rights went together for Martin Luther King

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • My love-hate relationship with football

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • ‘He Gets Us’ organizers hope to spend $1 billion to promote Jesus. Will anyone care?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • National Prayer Breakfast breaks from ‘The Family’ with new organization

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Twitter reinstated white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He lasted 24 hours.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In Rare Rebuke, Elaine Chao Calls Out Trump’s Anti-Asian Attacks

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Extreme Israeli group takes root in US with fundraising bid

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Review: Decolonizing Christianity

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Two Leaders Of The New US House Could Put Baptist Diversity In The News Spotlight

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Making Sweat Feel Spiritual Didn’t Start With SoulCycle

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • White Christian nationalism isn’t pro-life. It’s pro-order.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Stop Using the Bible to Dehumanize Transgender People | Opinion

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Saint, But Also Just A Man — That’s The Glory Of It

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A Houston synagogue is tightening security after a woman broke in twice, damaged a Torah and harassed children

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Islamic paintings of the Prophet Muhammad are an important piece of history – here’s why art historians teach them

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Lutherans ordain first Palestinian woman pastor in Holy Land

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • 2 States Introduce Radical Bills To Prosecute Pregnant People For Abortions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Flyers coach Tortorella defends Provorov’s Pride boycott

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Dream bigger’: How weekend marches keep advocates’ fight for Roe v. Wade alive on 50th anniversary

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rinse, Repeat: Should Believers Be Dunked Again?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Meet the real Jewish Republican of color being floated to replace George Santos, the fake one

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Florida Gov. DeSantis leads the GOP’s national charge against public education that includes lessons on race and sexual orientation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians Unite in Support for Apache Fight to Save Oak Flat

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Group of faith leaders sue challenging Missouri abortion law

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Exporting garbage to the nations’: conservative Christian rifts spreading like cracked glass

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS