'For those redeemed by Christ, there will be a grand family reunion and celebration in heaven'
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a 1986 comedy film that tells the story of a mischievous high school senior, Ferris, who concocts and puts into action with various ruses a plan to skip school with his girlfriend, Sloane, and best friend, Cameron, for a beautiful day on the town in Chicago.
As Ferris and his friends explore the city, they visit the Art Institute of Chicago, bluff their way into an elegant restaurant for lunch, attend a Chicago Cubs baseball game, go to the top of the Sears Tower and see the Von Steuben Day Parade, celebrating the Prussian-born Baron Friedrich von Steuben, whose training of American troops during the Revolutionary War helped Gen. George Washington win American independence.
One of the most memorable parts of the film occurred when, during the parade, Ferris jumped on one of the floats and lip-synced The Beatles’ version of the 1961 Top Notes song, “Twist and Shout.” Part of the scene included a split-second focus on individuals in the crowd: a baby girl in a carriage, a middle-aged woman, a mother holding her small daughter, a middle-aged man next to an elderly woman, the mayor and others. They were all sharing this carefree happy moment, cheering and joyously dancing to the song, along with a marching band and the rest of the crowd.
Perhaps intended by the filmmaker, regardless of the skin color and ethnicity of the people in this scene, their facial features bore an interesting resemblance to each other, almost as though they could have been related to each other. In that moment, skin color, gender, age, economic status and social standing did not matter – just their common humanity and love of enjoying great music together.
Unfortunately, there are powerful agents in society that work to destroy the unity of Americans and the strength that would come with it by promoting ideologies that cause division and strife between peoples.
One such ideology is critical race theory (CRT), which traces its origins in part to Marxism. This theory divides people into two primary groups: oppressors and the oppressed, based on skin color. Its promoters claim that systematic racism instituted by white people has been designed to suppress people of color throughout many significant areas of society. Asserting the near ubiquity of racism, CRT becomes the lens through which virtually everything is perceived and judged. This theory has been taught to students in many government primary and secondary schools and universities for a number of years.
The poison fruit of CRT includes viewing people as groups rather than individuals and fostering the attitude that all white people are guilty of racism merely for being white. It does nothing to move society toward judging people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin, but merely changes the target of racial bias from one group to another. It perpetuates resentment and animosity between people instead of ending it.
Building on CRT are Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs (DEI) that can be found in many government and private organizations. DEI purports to advocate for the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, particularly people who have been historically underrepresented or have experienced discrimination because of their background, disability, or identity.
In practice, DEI emphasizes selecting people for positions who check certain diversity boxes over merit and competency. A more appropriate acronym would be DIE, since it Discriminates against, is Intolerant of, and Excludes people who do not fall into certain diversity categories. Those with a preferred skin color, religion, or sexual lifestyle are elevated at the expense of others who are not within favored categories. This engenders envy, distrust, and disunity among people, causing a nation so divided to eventually die.
This has led to some cases where the least-qualified people are put in critical positions, leading to tragic results. One such example is the Titan, a submersible of OceanGate Inc. that imploded in a deep ocean dive on June 18, 2023, killing all five people aboard, including CEO Stockton Rush. Rush prioritized DEI over experience and competency when putting crews together, and so he passed over older and more experienced submarine professionals in favor of younger, more diverse and less experienced ones.
One of the seven things God hates and considers an abomination is one who spreads strife among brothers (Proverbs 6:19). Marxist ideas and programs like CRT and DEI run counter to promoting unity and instead foster an ever-changing caste system that spreads strife among people, and no nation can stand in liberty if its people allow themselves to be weakened into squabbling fragments, making them prey to efforts to conquer and enslave them.
We are all descended from the first man and woman God created, Adam and Eve, and therefore there is only one race, the human race (Genesis 1:27, 3:20; Acts 17:26). The race that ultimately matters for each individual is whether he or she is racing from God or toward Him. Due to the sin nature we all inherited through Adam’s sin, our natural course is to race away from God toward eternal destruction (Romans 3:10-12, 5:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10), but through taking hold of the law of liberty (James 1:25, 2:12), the gospel of forgiveness, peace and salvation through the merits of Jesus Christ alone, we receive the free gift of eternal life and race toward God.
This gospel message destroys systems of partiality and division and brings unity under God to all who embrace it (Galatians 3:26-28). In the end, for those redeemed by Christ, there will be a grand family reunion and celebration in heaven. They will not likely be singing “Twist and Shout” as in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but there will be twisting, shouts of joy, singing and dancing around the throne of God “from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Revelation 5:11-14, 7:9-12).
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