Why Men of Color ‘Need’ To Be Christian Egalitarians

One of the most powerful stories in the New Testament is Jesus’ parable about ‘The Wicked Servant.‘

Whereas this parable resulted around the issue of forgiveness, nevertheless, it speaks strongly of ‘equality.’ That is, all humans are equal in God’s sight. Don’t believe it? Let’s take a look at the passage.

The parable enclosed in Matthew 18:21-35, talks about a servant who was unable to settle his very huge debts and upon his plea for mercy, his creditor canceled the entire debt.

However, this same forgiven servant, upon departing the presence of his creditor, ran into another servant who owed him pittance, and demanded a payback. The servant was so poor he couldn’t even afford the pittance and begged the first servant for more time.

But the first servant was so enraged and wanted what belonged to him, that he threw the second servant into debtor’s prison – all over nothing!

Upon hearing these happenings, the creditor of the first servant called for him, and was so enraged that this servant whom he had forgiven ‘much’ threw another servant who owed him so little, into debtor’s prison. So he ordered that the first servant to debtor’s prison, never to be free until he paid every penny he owed his creditor.

Jesus ends the parable by saying the final outcome of the first servant (jail time until full repayment) is how God will treat anyone who refuses to ‘forgive’ another what he or she is owed.

Yet, this simple parable speaks so much more than about ‘forgiveness.’ It speaks to the rule of thumb by which Jesus interpreted the Kingdom of God, i.e., love of God and love of neighbor as ourselves.

What has this to do with gender equality you may ask? Let me tell you.

One of the most beautiful things I learned in seminary was ‘how to read and interpret the Bible.’

It was so simple, yet so easy to miss that it took the professors’ constant reference and presentation of it my entire first year, for it to stick. And this was it – that the entire Bible should be read and interpreted through the ‘hermeneutical key’ of Genesis 3:15.

Whereas other seminaries might teach other ways of interpreting the Scriptures, I am grateful that the one I attended chose and upheld this simple method, because interpreting the Scriptures through Christ, also means interpreting them through his teachings (and his life, and his death, and his resurrection…okay, you get it!).

In the light of Jesus’ life (teachings and experience), we see love of God and love of neighbor as its central theme and no two parables highlight love of neighbor more than the parable of The Good Samaritan and The Wicked Servant above.

Again, what does this have to do with gender equality, particularly gender equality among people of color? This…

That no man (i.e., male) of color would agree that he is less than a white man in any way, and most certainly not because of the color of his skin…

So why would a man of color refute the claims of inferiority as apportioned to him by racists, but uphold the claims of inferiority of women because of the difference in one ‘small’ part of their whole body???

God has destroyed the debt of full humanity that racists sought to take away from colored people, but colored people want to uphold the miniscule debt of sexual organ difference between them and women and use that to argue the superiority of the man over woman?

Let me tell you exactly how that will go (and how it’s been going)…

The LORD will allow the re-enactment of the debt of full humanity that the racists previously held over the heads of colored people. According to this debt, even a man of color is less than any white person (and their possessions!).

Men of color, can you live with that?

Can you live with being less than the dog, car, chair of the white person, so that the loss of their property is worth your life, because you’re not considered a ‘full human’ but somewhat a ‘lesser human’ because of one major difference – the color of your skin that spreads all over your body, compared to one small organ that lies between your legs and the legs of a woman and which cannot even be seen except one chooses to expose it in private to one person at a time???

A woman (or man, for that matter) can ‘dress up’ and pass for a man, but a black man could never dress up and pass for a white man!

Would you care to tell me again about the difference between you and women and why women should be considered, treated and subjugated to places less than men???

Let’s take this further to incorporate the full parable…

The initial payment of the first servant’s debt required the sale of his wife, children and property and that is what it will and has cost the men of color who have refused to uphold the equality of men and women among their own people!

Our children are walking the streets, y’all, because of the refusal to work hand in hand as one with your own women!

Our children are being raised by others, while most of you languish in jail or some other kind of deprivation because you are ‘judged’ differently and receive different sentences because of the color of your skin.

Our people are condemned to a modern day slavery that still ‘scatters’ and divides families because of the color of our skin. Yet we turn around and impose that same slavery mentality upon our own people by promoting gender inequality among our own people.

So, I ask, if a Black man will never concede that he is less than a white man because of the color of his skin, why would a Black man concede that a woman is less than him because their genital organs are different? Organs that today, thanks to medicine, can be even replaced in a lab???

I’ve heard some argue “but the Bible says so,” meaning that (they interpret) Scripture to say God said women are less than men.

To such, I say read Luke 16:1-8 and learn what it means to use your best judgment to understand God’s Word and hold on to the hermeneutical key of Jesus. Particularly, the part about the love of neighbor.

Does that key justify the subjugation of women, and your own women at that?