top of page
Search
Writer's pictureGennie Florence

The problem of being woke

I was watching a preacher on Facebook who said some things out of the bible. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. But at the end of the video, he said “The problem is this woke generation we have”. I couldn’t ignore how much I didn’t like this. First of all, I want to make it clear that I don’t hate the preacher, I hate the idea. This idea says that a group of people is less than others because they think a certain way. It’s the same problem of history wrapped into a nice little bow. We separate each other based on voting habits or church doctrines or if we listen to certain types of music. In the past, it was normal to separate each other because of race. Although many people think we have moved past racism it's still apparent to me that we love to separate each other for something. Now instead of race, it's woke. Now instead of color, it's how you vote. Now instead of money, it's actually still money.


Because I think differently, I’m seen as woke and because I’m woke I’m not worth listening to. The logic is so self-defeating because it speaks to the very problems in history that got us here. It says that someone who doesn't think like me isn't worth my thought. The only problem is this isn't what Jesus taught. So hearing a preacher who is supposed to follow Christ gives me concern.


The language of Christianity should never be the language of politics or the media. The first time i heard this word being used in a negative way was in the media. I understood the context of the word by the horrible way they portrayed people that thought like that. I didn’t even know any woke people perse but already through this news media, I understood that woke people are as close to the devil as we can get. When someone tells you that a group of people are the worst and not worth your time don't listen to them. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. That means your woke neighbor. Your gay neighbor. Your veteran neighbor. Your loud neighbor. The point Jesus made was just because someone was different doesn't mean they are not worthy of love or respect. In fact, Jesus made it clear that the person who is least worthy is just as worthy of heaven as you are.


I need to admit that I knew the word before i heard it in the media. I knew black people used the word first as a way to explain a person who understood the struggle of the African American experience in America. Being woke used to mean you saw past society's blind eye and could understand that some people's experiences were very different from others. So to hear it in a negative way was so confusing to me. It was like the word was stolen and then destroyed. Now up is down and right is left and pigs with pearls in their snout are the new tesla. I was so confused. How could something so positive be turned into something so hateful? It's another reason I don't like how people make words so hateful. In today's Christianity, we stand against the things Jesus fought for.


Jesus sat at a table with sinners and he flipped tables at churches. In today's Christianity, a lot of people tend to judge the sinners and defend the preachers. But Jesus defended the sinner and judged the preachers. He was different. To me, that means we have an obligation to eat with the people we disagree with the most. That's the Jesus i know. He saw the people that didn't fit into religion and he helped them. He welcomed them. He was even honored by them. Jesus wasn't upset by the people who didn't think like the religious elite. He was more upset with the religious elite who made it hard for people to think about God. When we decide only certain people can come to Jesus then we miss the point of Jesus. The reason why the religious elite didn’t like Jesus is that he represented a change.


Jesus was changing us from the inside out. He changed us to show that we should love people more than we love the law. I am convinced now more than ever that spiritual abuse is a lot easier to do when you love your doctrine more than you love people.


I've experienced this and seen it happen repeatedly in different documentaries and books. I have grown to understand that when i judge everyone by my experience i rarely judge fairly. My experience with the law of God and my understanding of the Bible is not the full scope of God's grace or plan for humanity. In fact, I've come to understand that I don't understand God's plan at all. Its plan and scope for this Earth are so far past anything I've been able to comprehend it's almost laughable that I thought I could know how everyone should live their life.


So I just can't let this one word go. How the media is using this word represents everything Jesus told me to stop doing. I have no right to think a person is less worthy because they are woke. I have no place in my heart to judge a person based on their upbringing. I can’t think less of a person because they think differently. We are all different and God loves the world. The different people that think differently in this world are all loved by God. The woke, the shamed, the prostitute, the beggar, the liar called peter, the thief on the cross, the people that i would never want to know are known by name by God. Whether you know it or not Heaven is full of woke people and non-woke people. Because Heaven is for everyone that will believe not just certain types of people that believe.


The problem with being woke is the world problems never sleep. No matter how much society progresses it still somehow destroys its own progress. No matter how far we get from our past it seems like we love repeating it. The moment you think America is great or Russia is normal or Australia is easy or Sweeden is simple; if you go a little deeper you can start to see the cracks in our societies. Not one of them is perfect. I wish I could ignore what the preacher said but how Jesus lived rings louder in my heart. I could ignore someone who is not perfect in living their life. What I can't ignore is people that think they're perfect or better than someone else. Under Jesus, we are all the same. We all need love. Woke or not. We are all not perfect. Woke or not. We are all part of the problem with this world. No one group is the answer to fixing society. Not the woke people and not the non-woke. We need both. The society that thinks it's perfect without certain people is usually a Sodom and Gomorrah waiting to happen.



Stay woke


48 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentarios


bottom of page