Taught and Caught
As I was spending time with My Shepherd this morning, I started reflecting on those who stifle our voice. I was listening to a male politician look over at his opponent and demanded her silence. This did not sit well with me. So, I started thinking and reflecting on this issue. In 1972 the writer and activist Alice Walker spoke with conviction at her alma mater Sarah Lawrence College. She delivered a very powerful message, encouraging women of color to embrace their value and voice. Her novel, “The Color Purple,” she encouraged self-respect in the face of mistreatment. She noted that there are those who would dismiss, limit, or neglect a person’s value. There is a reality to the struggle. There will always be someone who stifles another’s voice. Walker gave inspiration to women everywhere and assisted them in their determination to overcome these limitation and neglect. She encouraged women everywhere to do their best and be their authentic self. In her own words, “No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.”
I see this all the time. Powerful men having powerful positions and dismissing women of equal position and devaluing their contributions. I have personally experienced this many times in my thirty-three years in the ministry. I see it firsthand, or I hear about it later. It happens in the workplace, it happens at home, it happens in our churches, and unfortunately, it continues to be passed along to the next generation. Simply put, we need to stop this cyclical injustice and inequity.
Young women need to hear this message of empowerment. The message is simple: you have value, you matter, your voice is heard, and your life can expand and grow. Kudos to the fathers out there who give their little girls this credo to follow. I think that young men need to be taught that all women have value, and all women have a voice and all women have the right to expand their horizons and grow. However, there seems to be a gap between what is taught and what is caught.
If we teach these truths, the hope is that these truths will be applied. Yet, for some reason this does not happen often. There are still those who continue to demand silence. In Proverbs we hear, “Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding…” (Proverbs 2:3). Perhaps all of us need to raise our voices for insight and for understanding. All persons have value and have a voice. Perhaps this could be taught and caught so that the next generation can embrace this type of justice and equity to all.
Something to Consider,
Pastor Mel
