A MIXED MARRIAGE

And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.....And the anger of the Lord was kindled  against them; and he departed. (Numbers 12:1, 9)

A few nights ago I watched the documentary "THE LOVING STORY."   It was a true love story about the marriage of Richard Loving, a White man, and Mildred Loving, a Black lady, set during the turbulent Civil Rights era.  Because they were of different races, they were barred from marrying and living together in the State of Virginia, their home State.  They were put in jail and convicted of a crime.  Against a backdrop of historic racist opinions, they were able to obtain two zealous lawyers who were driven to pave the way for Civil Rights and social justice through a Supreme Court ruling that changed our Country's story forever.  I found it remarkable that the comments of some individuals used "GOD" to justify prejudice and segregation.  Some people claimed that God would not approve of mixing the races and that their children would be victims.  They believed that God wanted the races to remain pure, and accordingly, interracial marriages would jeopardize that purity.  In the end, the United States Supreme Court voted 9 - 0 to strike down Virginia's law against mixed marriages and overturn the conviction of the Lovings.

In the passage above, Moses marries an Ethiopian woman (a woman of color), and his brother, Aaron, and his sister, Miriam, begin to talk negatively about the marriage.  Cultural racism existed even during that era.  However the Lord becomes very angry with Aaron and Miriam, and even smote Miriam with leprosy.  God's message was clear, He is no respecter of persons.  Racial hatred has no place in God's Kingdom.   

We must refuse to allow our cultures to interfere with God's truth.  God is love, and we are expected to love one another.  Our common denominator is Jesus Christ.  As we celebrate Black History Month, let us be proud of all of our achievements, and let us not hate one another because of our cultural differences!