On My Mind: It's Not A Social Problem, It's A Sin Problem

 

When I first read about this incident involving Gwen Berry, 
 an American athlete who deliberately turned her back 
 and walked away while the national anthem was
playing at a recent U.S Track and Field competition
I was disgusted and angry by her selfishness
and lack of respect for our nation.

Gwendolyn Berry, (left) looks away as her team mates DeAnna Prince and Brooke Andersen
 stand for the national anthem after the finals of the women's hammer throw
 at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trial  which were held
 in Eugene Oregon this past weekend.

Picture courtesy:
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

According to CBN News: "Berry placed her left hand on her hip and
shuffled her feet.  She took a quarter turn, so she was facing the stands,
not the flag.  Towards the end, she plucked up her black T-shirt with
the words, "Activist Athlete" emblazoned on the front and
draped it over her head."

A definite attention and headline grabber, don't you think?

While Berry may have been a sore loser because she won the bronze medal instead
of the gold in the hammer-throwing competition, her disgraceful behavior 
definitely threw a monkey's wrench into her plan to call attention
 to herself as a pitiful "Activist Athlete".

"They said they were going to play it before we walked out, and then they
played it when we were out there," Berry complained, according to the
New York Post.  "But I don't really want to talk about the anthem
because that's not important.  The anthem doesn't speak for me. It never has."

Since her scheme fizzled right in her face, she is now calling out the event
organizers for being "inconsiderate" to her over playing the national anthem.

According to CBN, this is not the first time Berry has acted badly during
an athletic competition.  Two years ago she was sanctioned by the
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for raising her fist
on the podium after winning at the Pan-Am Games.

If our national anthem does not speak for her and never has,
then why did she choose to participate in an international
sporting event in which the playing of the national anthems 
 of the countries competing is such an integral part?

This month observed the 78th anniversary of D-Day, 
 the storming of the beaches at Normandy, France which began
the invasion by Allied forces whom would eventually liberate 
 Europe from the evil tyranny of  Hitler's Germany.

 I suppose the sacrifices made by those young American soldiers,
many of whom were black, and many the same age as herself,
who gave their lives so that future generations of Americans,
 including hers, could live and breathe the air of
  freedom doesn't "speak to" her  either.

This young woman's antics to draw attention to herself and then
 whining and complaining when she did not achieve the desired results,
is not only typical of the adherents of the "woke culture"
but, as I mentioned earlier, her behavior made me angry.
  However later, after I had time to calm down and think,
the gentle counsel of the Holy Spirit reminded me to ask God 
 to bless and have mercy on this troubled young woman. 

She, like many other members of her generation, have been led to
believe that they are entitled to feel the way they do because people,
and our society in general, have stigmatized them, primarily due 
 to their skin color and race.

  And while I am not denying that America has 
 suffered much race-related strife and violence over the years,
  before pointing the finger at and accusing others, members of the
"woke" culture need to take a good hard look at themselves
in the mirror and realize that what is reflected back at them 
 is a flawed human being, and, that prejudice and racism
are conditions which are not so much a social problem, 
but a sin problem, which affects every
human heart, including their own.

The only reprieve that human beings have for escaping
the penalty of sin and death as the fallen sons and
daughters of Adam, regardless of their race or skin color,
is to surrender themselves at the foot of the cross.

Jesus came not only to grant us a reprieve from the 
curse of sin and death, but, to pierce our hearts with 
 the light of His truth and His mercy, so that we 
can experience healing and inner peace 
in unbroken fellowship with Him,
 as the sons and daughters of Almighty God.

Recommended Scriptures:

1 Corinthians  Chapter 15,  II Corinthians Chapters  4-5,
Galatians Chapters 4-5

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