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Against God’s Will? A Look at Interracial RelationshipsBy Chantell Smith We all sat sipping the remnants of our milkshakes, when the topic popped up - interracial relationships. “Well, I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong . . . I don’t have anything against anybody who would - I just wouldn’t do it myself,” said one. Then another friend chimed in, “Well, I do think it’s wrong. It’s against God’s will.” “How?” I asked, puzzled. “There are too many difficulties they have to overcome, and a lot of people don’t agree with it, you know, so it causes confusion. And what about their kids, you know they’ll be looked down upon.” “But didn’t Miriam get leprosy when she spoke out against Moses?” I wondered. “See, that proves it causes confusion - Miriam got leprosy,” he retorted. Realizing the uselessness of arguing, I just let it be. The concept still concerned me, though - “Against God’s will?” Generally people feel a need to justify their actions or feelings about a subject to prove they are right. This is a natural human response. What I don’t understand is sometimes we, as Apostolics, feel a need to use God as the justification for our actions or our feelings about a subject that isn’t consistent with God’s nature or scripture at all. Some people’s aversion to supporting interracial unions stems from cultural and familial factors instead of scriptural. My purpose, however, is not to prove whether or not this “aversion” is Pentecostally Correct or not, but rather to point out the fallacies in trying to use scripture and/or citing what “the will of God” is to justify it. First of all, the New Testament states, “Then Peter opened up his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” (Acts 10:34) If God sees it as this, it shouldn’t matter what race a person is when it comes to relationships, romantic or otherwise. Besides, Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) Now, just as I’ve used scripture to support my point, some people use scripture to support their stances, but in a way that misinterprets the original meaning. For example, a friend who was dating a Christian of another race confided to me she felt uncomfortable around his mother because she didn’t agree with the relationship. She found out his mother believes interracial relationships are an example of being “unequally yoked.” She took “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (II Corinthians 6:14) as a reason to deny interracial dating. But this verse is undeniably discouraging the union of believers with non-believers, not one race with another. Another example I have heard used are instances found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 7) where God forbids the children of Israel to intermarry with other peoples. Again, this references God not wanting the Israelites to marry those who didn’t serve Him, but rather other gods such as Baal or Moloch. It wasn’t because God simply wanted to prevent miscegenation. Case in point, God smote Miriam with leprosy because she, along with Aaron, spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12). Ethiopian, as in a woman of another race. Many difficulties arise when two people of different races decide to get married besides racial differences—cultural differences, families’ non-acceptance, and raising children, to name a few. American society as a whole has to adjust to its ever-increasing cultural diversity. Because of the differences between many cultures, including those that come to the United States from other countries, and because these diverse cultures are increasingly interacting with each other on a frequent basis, it is getting more difficult to uphold walls of bias and prejudices that we may harbor against others of different cultural backgrounds. There is no easy solution. We must somehow realize, instead of emphasizing our differences, that there is a common denominator within this diverse cultural mix of people—humanity. Nevertheless, these mixed couples continue to persevere despite societal obstacles. If these people are in love and are committed to making a potentially difficult relationship work, most likely they have considered all of these factors and they are willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. These reasons that may be added obstacles for interracial couples to overcome are not a basis for concluding that it is not meant to be, and most certainly not that it is “against God’s will.” Now,
as I sit sipping the remnant of a Frappucino at the Starbucks on campus, I look
around and see the rich diversity of the student body.
It reminds me of the rich diversity of people that make up the Body of
Christ. What a sad offense when we
divide ourselves over differences instead of coming together by emphasizing our
similarities. Regardless of color, race or national origin, we are all
children of God. Now, whether you oppose interracial relationships on the basis
of a desire to marry within your own race or any like sentiment is a matter of
personal preference. But let the
reason be because it is simply your personal preference instead of inserting God
between the lines to justify it. ninetyandnine.com
ã 2000, Chantell Smith --------- Chantell Smith is a freshman at the University of Alabama. When not trying to keep her head above the swirling tide of midterms and papers, you’ll probably find her talking on the phone, writing in her journal, practicing the piano, or asleep. |
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