MOST Powerful SPEECH on Racism-Priscilla Shirer (Motivational/Inspirational video)
i ran across this post from natasha i do not know her but i reposted it because one of my friends posted and i read it and removed by it an african-american lady named natasha wrote this so this morning she says i went into a convenience store to get a protein bar and as i walked through the door i noticed that there were two white police officers one about my age and the other several years earlier older they were talking to the clerk at the store who was also an older white woman she was behind the counter and they were talking about the shootings that have gone on in the past few days not only in dallas but in different parts of our nation so when i walked through the door natasha writes they all looked at me and then fell silent i just went about my business to get what i was looking for and as i turned back up the aisle to go and pay the oldest police officer was standing at the top of the aisle and he was watching me as i got closer to him headed toward the register he looked at me and said how are you doing i replied i’m okay how are you he paused for a moment looked at me again with a very strange concerning look in his eyes and he asked me again no really how are you i looked at him and i said i’m tired actually his reply was me too then he said i guess it’s not easy being either of us right now is it i said no it’s not and then the police officer hugged me and i cried she that set up says i have never seen that man before in my life i have no idea why he was moved to talk to me all i know for sure is that he and i a white police officer and a black woman in a convenience store in the middle of dallas in an early morning hour shared a beautiful moment together no judgments no justifications we just knew that it wasn’t easy being either of us right now it occurs to me it occurs to me that in a group this size with black people and white people with hispanic people with asian people with every creed and class and background and culture and color that no matter if you’re single or married tall or short no matter what side of town you live on where you came from how well educated you may be or may not be it occurs to me that no matter who you are it’s not easy being any any of us right now not only because our culture and our country is in trouble but the reality is our own homes are in trouble that our marriages are under assault that our sense of peace of mind and peace of heart our financial stability every part of our lives is being shaken up and if you and i as the church of jesus christ if we keep our attention zeroed in on the people or on the physical tangible occurrences or difficulties that are right in our face every day if we turn our anger and our frustration and our attention onto the physical tangible things we can see and forget that we have an enemy that is underneath the surface that has a hand in it all if we forget that he is there we will waste all our time and energy offering the wrong solutions in the wrong places and it is to this end that i believe the apostle paul wrote to us in the book of ephesians the book of ephesians scholars say is the highlight of all that paul wrote y’all know the apostle paul he was a bad brother he gave us most of the new testament he penned incredible words letter after letter to people that he hoped would read them and their lives would be changed and transformed that they would know who they are but scholars say of all that he gave us to teach us who we are in christ the book of ephesians is like the cherry on top of the cake because he spends the first half of the book just rehearsing who you are as an adopted daughter or son into the family of god he just wants you to know that that you were not rejected that you were hand-picked and chosen by god above he wants you to know that you have been lavished upon with all the grace and the glory and the riches of god our father he wants you to know that you have been completely forgiven that you are chosen he says i’m praying that the eyes of your heart would be open so that you would know the bigness and the greatness and the depth and the riches of his choosing of you he spends most of the book just telling you who you are [Applause] and then he gets to the end and he offers fair warning he says these words in ephesians chapter 6 the last chapter in the book beginning in verse 10 he says finally you be strong in the lord and in the strength of his might he says you put on the full armor of god so that you may be able to stand firm against the scheme somebody say schemes against the schemes of the devil he says for our struggle it is not against flesh and blood but it is against the rulers against the powers against the world forces of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places he says so therefore you better lay down all your earthly weapons that do not work and take up some weapons that will actually have benefits in your life he says take up the full armor of god so that you may be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm he says you ought to just stand firm therefore in this passage the apostle paul introduces almost for the first time at least this overtly he introduces the concept of spiritual warfare he says i want you to know that the enemy that you think you have the one you can see the person that is sitting next to you maybe that you think is the cause of your difficulty or your frustration or that co-worker that one that if she says one more thing to you you go knock her out that one or your boss or that person that you have contention with or that financial struggle even the struggle you have in your own mind and even your own heart the apostle paul says would you realize that your real problem is not flesh and blood it is nothing you can see it is not the white police officer or the black police officer it is not the asian person or the hispanic person it is not the government it is nothing that you can see there is an invisible enemy and he is banking on the fact that you will forget that he is there he so wants to disguise himself behind the tangible physical problems of your life that you will forget he’s often the one that is influencing some of the most difficult circumstances not only in our nation but in our own homes the apostle paul says you have an enemy and he’s very very real and he’s banking on the fact that you will forget he is there the apostle paul says in ephesians chapter six he says come on y’all pull back the curtain and let the enemy know we got our eyes on you that it’s not your spouse who is the problem there’s an enemy it’s not your boss who is the problem there is an enemy it’s not even your own personal internal turmoil that is the main problem there is an enemy who lives to stir dissension and division and to see jealousy and envy to call to you and i not to have any peace of mind and peace of heart and the enemy wants or paul wants you to know how strategic the enemy is y’all because he says listen the enemy is scheming against you somebody say scheme listen if i find out that somebody has done me wrong i mean i’m upset but i can get over that but if i find out somebody has been planning to do me wrong now that’s a whole nother story i find out you’ve been scheming against me meaning you’ve been sitting back studying my tendencies and my patterns you’ve been watching for where i come and what i go and you’ve been trying to take advantage of what the weaknesses of my flesh are you’ve been looking into my personality to figure out what would be the best way to throw me off course when i find out that not only have you been studying me but you’ve been studying my husband trying to look into his history so that you can figure out given my history and his history the best way to make explosions of anger happen in our family when i find out you’ve been trying to explore his weaknesses so that you can tempt him away from his heart and his emotions being at home with me when i find out that not only have you been studying me and my man but you’ve been also looking into my three boys these little men that the lord has given me to raise in the fear of god and you’ve been trying to figure out the best way to thwart them from reaching the destiny that god has assigned to them you’re trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of their fears and their weaknesses and their deficiencies when i find out you’ve been studying me and the people that i love you better believe that now a holy indignation rises up on the inside of me i’m not just gonna stand back and let you run rough shot over my family i’m not just gonna stand back and let my city decline continuously and just act like you were not there uh plan us for the fool i will be the one and i pray the church of jesus christ will be the one that will stand as gatekeepers in our community and say not today not on our watch
