Word of Encouragement

Have you ever had an experience where a good friend challenges your thoughts on an issue and compels you to view it through a different lens? If so, then perhaps you will understand why this has been a challenging Word of Encouragement for me to write. I’ve intentionally avoided topics that are contentious and could be seen as divisive, but I had a conversation while attending the CSCMP Annual Conference this week that compelled me to address this subject while still honoring the Words of Encouragement spirit.

The topic of the conversation was racism and privilege.

Have I got your attention?

Recently on LinkedIn, I shared a post from Michelle Malkin, a conservative commentator, who in essence stated that liberals use racism to further their agenda. My friend Jackie responded to the post by encouraging me to broaden my perspective.

She and I had the chance to catch up at CSCMP’s Annual Conference. And in our conversation, Jackie did what good friends do. She didn’t use words like "wrong," "stupid," or "Neanderthal," to describe my post. Instead, she shared a story about a high school football team that engaged in an exercise known as a "Privilege Walk."

For those not familiar, in this exercise, individuals are asked a series of questions drawn from a wide range of issues. If you respond "yes," to the question, you take a step forward. For other responses, you may stay where you are, or even take a step backward. As Jackie described it, the members of this diverse football team were formed into a straight line and blindfolded. They were then asked a series of family and socio-economic questions such as: "Are you being raised in a two-parent home?"

The players stepped forward and backward based on their answers, and when all the questions had been asked and answered, they removed their blindfolds to see their fellow teammates scattered all around the field. As Jackie related to me, it was a way to visualize that with different backgrounds, we are going to be in different places—and see things differently.

Privilege walk types of exercises engender strong feelings from people depending on where they sit politically, economically, educationally…. Some see it as a social justice exercise where people who have less privilege can help people with more privilege understand how this factor has affected all of us. Others see it as a shaming exercise where the "haves" are being asked to apologize to the "have nots" for their good fortune.

But what if it wasn’t narrowed down to our political beliefs? What if it was about expanding our perspective, as Jackie encouraged me to do?

Four years ago I heard a great message about the importance of focusing "on the rest of the story." The speaker laid out an effective challenge. When we meet people with different beliefs, or people who act differently than us, let’s not get angry or criticize. Instead, let’s ask ourselves this question: "If I knew one thing that would completely change my attitude or thoughts towards this person, what would that be?"

She closed by challenging us to focus on finding out that one thing that would, as Paul Harvey said years ago, complete "the rest of the story." She also reminded us that since God knows the rest of the story about all of us, why not work on having an empathetic spirit that seeks to understand rather than be quick to condemn another person before learning about the rest of their story?

Jackie shared her story with me, and I learned that she was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. Contrast that with my story, where I grew up in a family with six kids, and as far as I knew, there were 16 years of school ahead of me—not 12.

My conversation with Jackie helped me understand that I was indeed blessed with a great family and parents.

I want to personally thank Jackie for challenging me to look at some important issues from a different perspective. In that spirit, if there are some people in your life that may not see things quite the way you do, perhaps you can take the time to learn the rest of their story.

As the speaker who delivered that "rest of the story message" reminded us, as we learn we will be able to appreciate the words from the Psalms about each and every one of us being fearfully and wonderfully made.

Have a great weekend,
Mike