Popular Pastor, Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, has been criticized for remaining silent on the issue of racial riots in Charlottesville, Virginia.
His passive reaction did not resonate well with some of his fans and although he did not mention the issue of race specifically, many of his fans felt he compared racism to simply a difference of opinion or a personality conflict.
The Pastor wrote in a post on Facebook;
“One of the biggest challenges we all face is getting along with people because everyone is different.
We have different personalities, different temperaments. We come from different backgrounds.
When somebody doesn’t agree with us or not doing what we like, it’s easy to get in conflict with them, to argue, to try to straighten them out, to prove our point.
No, you have to be the bigger person. Just because they’re doing wrong doesn’t mean you have to engage.”
Although he did not mention the issue of race specifically, many of his fans felt he compared racism to simply a difference of opinion or a personality conflict.
Ronke Allen replied his post stating;
“How long is someone to remain calm when you are being beaten and murdered just because of the color of your skin?…
You will NEVER understand because you have yet to experience it…please be mindful of what’s going on before you make comment such as this.”
Tracy Jones added stating that;
“If it is an individual I can agree, but when systems disenfranchise entire populations something must be said and something must be done.
You can do and say something however, in Christ, still reflecting His values and His ways. When Jesus saw injustice, He himself acted while espousing His Father’s views of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with His God.”
