July 2, 2010
A Time for Prejudice
Twenty minutes in, with all of the academic questions about ability, personality, and career aspirations out of the way, the interview was off to a swimmingly good start. The room was relaxed and the aspects of the position sounded ideal. Then everything went south.
My husband had been kind enough to drive me to the building the night before to make sure I knew where it was so I wouldn’t be late for the interview. That’s always a good practice. First impressions and all. Upon entering the neighborhood we noticed the interested stares into our vehicle, but it didn’t really faze us. At the stop lights, we noticed the cars around us bouncing up and down in rhythm to drum beats that were so loud they ate away at the brain and threatened to pull our hearts from our chests.
I was not deterred. God had set this interview up and even foretold it to me. I had to show up and I had to be completely willing to do whatever He asked of me afterwards. My heart was a complete peace.
When the moment came, it was comical to watch the two interviewers squirm in their chairs.
"I see you've done a great deal of research on this church and its mission, so I assume you realize that about 99% of the congregation, not to mention the neighborhood is African-American and you are Caucasian. Do you have any concerns about that?"
I replied, "Should I? I don't see why that should be an issue. Is there anything I SHOULD be concerned about?"
They looked at each other. "It's just that we have gangs in the area. It's not a nice neighborhood and we want to know if that would bother you."
I told them that I never equated the color of a person's skin with danger. But gangs in the area? Should I be concerned? My best defense was to analyze.
"How long has this church been up and running?"
"Ten years."
"And in that ten years how many incidents have you had?"
"Three."
The interviewers explained that the incidents were never service-related and not personal. However, they felt they needed to fully disclose the neighborhood atmosphere. I told them to look at me and tell me if a person looking the way I do should have concerns.
"Would I be walking around with a big bullseye on me just because of my color?"
"No,” they shared another look, “but again, full-disclosure.”
With what happened next you might have picked me up off the floor. It was too good a moment for them to pass up, I guess, because, “Lord knows we've been in that position many times, in reverse,” and then they actually high-fived each other across the table as their laughter spilled out into the empty sanctuary.
It was a fascinating feeling, to say the least. If I had walked into their office with my credentials and a much different origin, I have every reason to believe that I would have been offered the position.
My Father knows my comings and goings. He looked down through time and considered that particular moment and provided for it. I had told the Lord that I would go wherever He sent me and that if He was not in it, don’t send me.
Tests of loyalty happen every day in small and big ways. It was right to take God’s interview, but if I took it, I needed to trust Him through it because it might lead me further into the unknown and possibly down the road to my hurt.
I don’t think the two precious people across the table from me will forget me in a very long time. I hope they don’t. They certainly made a lasting impression on me. There is a time for prejudice for the sake of the Kingdom or for the sake of a mission or for the sake of life. When choosing a spouse or a dog or our next meal, we show prejudice. If I never have the privilege of seeing them on earth again, I will look for these two in the sky one day and thank them for that one moment and for their willingness to do what was right to do.
