"A Heart Has No Color"

This is my Sunday blog post but I was too tired (and a little stressed) to get it out on time. Besides, I wouldn't be "me" if I did... 

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 KJV)

The other day when I was listening to the various press conferences over the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case I heard a gem of a comment from Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton. She said, "A heart has no color."

Rather than go into a diatribe about how I feel about this case I will just say that I do not think this case is, or should be, about race. The slurs that Zimmerman supposedly said were reported falsely. It was a fake-up news report by a network in need of tabloid marketing. That was a horrible thing to do and has divided the lines and blurred the truth of this case. Not that it matters too much what the court of public opinion thinks, at least it shouldn’t.

I loved the thought that the heart has no color. It’s true, right? Our insides look alike. Red, bloody, tissue masses with no regard for the exterior colorings, size or sexual preference. 

I am not a fan of any kind of intolerance. However, in a recent class I discovered that we do all have certain prejudices. We have some preferences that reflect our culture (both societal and personal). Those preferences could be interpreted as a type of prejudice. Does that make us all racists or bigots? Not in my opinion.

As always, it is our actions that determine the level of prejudice, racism or bigotry we hold. Usually I do not even notice color of skin. I might notice bad grammar before I notice skin color. I will probably notice your shoes before I make a decision about your sexual preference (as if it’s my business, even!) and I am more likely to judge you by your shoes than your skin. That’s just me though. More often than not I will feel envy. But that’s a different post (pride!).

One of my nephews made a Facebook status comment about the need or lack thereof for the study of History. I was surprised and disappointed that he did not understand the significance of studying the past. Isn’t it considered insanity to keep repeating past mistakes? By studying The Holocaust and the Civil Rights era we discover why intolerance and racism is such an awful thing. What if our communal society thinks it is okay to “eliminate” an entire group of people based on their “outsides.” That makes it okay? Never!

God judges us by our hearts. That is why we can never judge another because we do not know their hearts. Judging and punishing someone based on what you do not know is wrong. Plain and simply Wrong! It is one thing to try to avoid danger in a cautionary way and quite another to want to see those people or areas targeted for violence or extermination.

Our hearts are all the same. They are all red and fleshy, blood pumping muscles. That is all we really know.