(Written June, 2020)

Today I filled out a form online. It was a request for consideration of a discount and financial relief for certain services. The questions that were asked were quite expected, my name, address, phone number, income. The form was quite simple to complete. But when I scrolled down to submit the form, the very last question asked, “Are you a person of color?” I sat and I stared at that question pondering, “Am I a person of color.”

My immediate reaction was, “Yes, my color is white.” Or is white now a “non-color”? If we are all to be equal, a culture without exclusions, then why ask that question at all? Why would the color of my skin bear importance to determine if I am eligible for anything?

Yet as I write this, I am quite sure there are people that would call me racist. I challenge that if we feel it necessary to delineate and give any different treatment to any persons based on color or non-color, then who is truly the racist? Do I get less of a discount because I am a person of “non-color” and not “of-color”? What color should I be?

I was not angered by that question, but I must admit I sat and stared at that question for several minutes considering how I should answer. It hurt that I am not “of color.” Being of “non-color” makes me a “nothing,” without color. Like I have no color at all. I feel insignificant. There was no text box for me to enter any comments. Am I penalized because I am a “non-color”? A “non-being”? Is this the lesson I am to learn?

I know that we were all created by God and in His image. We are each His children, but there are many persons of “non-color” right now feeling deeply guilty because of the color of their skin. I do not believe that God intends to drive more wedges where they do not belong. But sometimes it does not feel okay to be me anymore. Others would never view me as a victim within the American culture, yet I was shaped by the world around me, same as everyone else, throughout our lifetimes.

So now that I was asked, “Are you a person of color” and the only option I had to answer was. “No”, then “I am a person of non-color.” If I proclaim my skin color is white, I am now told there must be a problem with me. White is a color. That does not make me a racist. Black is a color. That does not make others a victim. If we abolish our individualism, we can never change the community. We are branches to the Holy Vine, and each of us has a part in God’s Kingdom, in the here and now and the yet to come.

We should not brag or boast about our skin color, nor should we be ashamed of it. If ever we obey the ways of God and genuinely love one another, even better than we love ourselves, then color becomes a non-issue because all colors join in unison to love each other as God commands, regardless of any color. The only color that will ultimately matter is the color of God.

2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 (NLT)

New Bodies

¹“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” ² “We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.” ³“For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.” ⁴“While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” ⁵“God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.”

¹²“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” ¹³“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

 —1 Corinthians 13: 12-13 (NLT)

B. Zickgraf, co-author

June 29, 2020

Now here is the best part…

As a Christian, I seek answers to life’s quandaries and concerns through prayer and reading the Bible. As a supplemental measure of comfort, I also take pleasure in reading Sarah Young’s, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. It is a daily devotional written as if Jesus is speaking directly to the reader.

After I wrote The Color of God, which was influenced by another book I am currently reading called, White Fragility; Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo, I retired for the evening and opened Jesus Calling at random as I often do, to page 254, which reads,

“Grow strong in your weakness. Some of My children I’ve gifted with abundant strength and stamina. Others, like you, have received the humble gift of frailty. Your fragility is not a punishment, nor does it indicate lack of faith. On the contrary, weak ones like you must live by faith, depending on Me to get you through the day. I am developing your ability to trust me, to lean on me, rather than on your understanding. Your natural preference is to plan out your day, knowing what will happen when. My preference is for you to depend on Me continually, trusting Me to guide you and strengthen you as needed. This is how you grow strong in your weakness.”

James 4:13-15; Proverbs 3:5 (AMP); Isaiah 40:28-31

Once again, God speaks and pulls me (us) closer to Him! Thank you, Jesus!

B. Zickgraf, co-author, written June, 2020

Bonnie Zickgraf is a retired pastor, author, columnist for The Times and an RN in mental health nursing and health plan accreditations. Send comments and prayer requests to [email protected].