I live in a city where too many government bureaucrats and citizens want to see me fail. When I first moved to Chicago over 25 years ago, I never thought I would express such a sentiment.Â
My life’s purpose has been to minister to those seeking Jesus in their lives and to help youths escape a life of crime and poverty. You would think these are rational and commonsense goals that everybody can get behind. But we live in deeply ideological times when everything seems upside down at times.Â
Those who want me to fail call themselves allies to Blacks, but their actions always result in the same song and dance: keeping Blacks down and victimized.Â
The head of the Chicago Teacher’s Union blames white supremacy for the failure of far too many Black children to read and do math at grade level.Â
Our mayor moves to shut down some of the top performing schools where many young Blacks escaped to for a better education because it wouldn’t be fair to the Blacks in poor performing schools.Â
Our city’s attorneys let far too many crimes go unsolved, allowing murderers to murder again, and yet they’ll bend over backwards to give that great exploiter of Black pain for personal gain, Jussie Smollett, a clean slate.Â
And these people want to see me fail because I don’t buy into all their racial drivel and because I refuse to give power to race.Â
My crime here is that I believe everyone that crosses my path is an individual with all the inherent unalienable rights and is an American. That’s how I treat every single one. I don’t care about your pigmentation, I see no virtue or crime in your skin, but I do care about your soul, your character.Â
However, corruption — of any kind — is one of the oldest human stories. And the answer to corruption is one of the oldest known to man: faith. Faith is belief in God. Faith is a leap. Faith is trust in something larger than yourself. Faith is trust in your fellow man. Faith is The Good in the purest essence of that word.Â
Those want to see me fail believe in race. I believe in faith.Â
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I believe the people I minister to are good souls. I believe the youths that face temptations on the streets every day are good souls that need opportunities. I believe I am that bridge between my people and the better world that they seek, earthly and heavenly.Â
That is why I have no fear of those who want to see me fail. Faith is light. Faith is hope. Faith is strength for resilience. Faith creates opportunities.Â
That is why I never bought into the false God of race. God has shown me the power of faith over and over, and I am more determined than ever to give power to this faith for as long as He lets me walk this earth.Â
There is no greater sin than betraying this faith.Â