Throughout my life, I have often discovered profound wisdom in the most unexpected places. For example, the morning comics in the newspaper have served as a source of not just laughter but also reflection. Depending on my mood, I might skip the headlines and delve into the colorful pages filled with moments of delight and insight. When a strip from Garfield tickles my funny bone, I’m quick to share it with my friends, many of whom don’t subscribe to publications with comic pages.
Some people dismiss a newspaper as too liberal or too conservative, ignoring information that doesn’t align with their preferred informational source on television. Unfortunately, their favorite channel doesn’t air reports from Garfield, Peanuts, Zits, Mutts, or Curtis. These inspirational characters, each with unique perspectives, lift our day or sometimes challenge us to think outside our comfort box.
Curtis is the story of an 11-year-old African American boy living in an inner city. Written and drawn by Ray Billingsly, Curtis is a comic tale of sibling rivalry, family ties, joys and turbulence, school and church, and the people in his neighborhood. Most of the time, Curtis causes chuckles, but today, he is as wise as Solomon.
A notification pings Curtis’s phone while he is in the kitchen with his mother. “Wow, check out this dude, Mom!” He shows his mom the picture, and after seeing the burly man, she replies, “A lot of tattoos… hmm… probably a gang member.” Curtis studies his mother and remarks, “A tattoo doesn’t make a person a gang member, no more than wearing a cross makes a person “Christian.” His mother’s eyes widened as she realized she might not be the smartest in the room.
It is a fact that some gang members have an identifying tattoo, and it is also true that some Christians promote acts of violence in the name of God.
My question is this: What if the muscular man had a gang tattoo on one arm and a large cross tattooed on the other? Was the man once a gang member who became a born-again Christian, or was he a Christian who later joined the gang?
Our wide-eyed, biased, and critical perspectives can often lead to problems. How harmful is it to continue judging those who are different from us or whom we do not fully understand? When someone deviates from our ideal image, we often label them as inappropriate or unsuitable. As a result, we tend to group these individuals into categories without taking the time to learn about each one personally.
I met with a respected minister a while back. In tears, I shared, “I feel as if I am always defending God. Constantly fighting with pen in hand for fairness, compassion, kindness, and civility to rise above hatred.” ‘Defeated’ is the word I would use most to describe my soul that day. However, finding a kindred spirit who understood energized me to keep trying.
Our world is full of hatred, revenge, turmoil, and greed. No tank or missile can defeat such evil. Intolerance and our “holier-than-thou” behavior fuel the flames of discord and hypocrisy. Neither a shiny cross nor tattoos tells the story of our hearts or our history.
My grandmother, born in the late 1800s, had little formal education. Most of what she learned about life came from the Bible. I never heard her demean, belittle, or disrespect anyone. She had a remarkable ability to find something redeeming in everyone, and, like my mother, she despised prejudice.
They taught that while people are born differently, we are all God’s children. We must never judge others because they have no control over how they were created. But our behavior toward them can doom us.
People are often focused on the state of our nation, forgetting that the country is made up of individuals who make daily decisions. It’s up to us whether to spread hatred or love. Our actions, more than anything else, can shape our nation, world, and relationship with God. We won’t improve our lives through finger-pointing, name-calling, or bitter partisan politics.
It is not money that will enrich us, nor is it success, but instead, it is by serving a God that taught us all that the only way our crosses will shine is by caring for one another.
Who are we to judge anyone? Have our attitudes of divisiveness, prejudice, and violence helped the child born yesterday to have a joyful tomorrow?
We all know that wearing a cross around our neck brings us no closer to God than another person’s tattoo on their arm. What makes us better humans is fearing God enough to behave like His children.
Curtis didn’t espouse fake or biased news; he just told the plain truth in less than 33 words.
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Lynn Walker Gendusa is a Tennessee-raised, Georgia-residing author and columnist. Her latest book is “Southern Comfort: Stories of Family, Friendship, Fiery Trials, and Faith.” She can be reached at www.lynngendusa.com. For more of her inspirational stories, click here.
