Working Twice As Hard: The Minority Perspective

“Work twice as hard to receive half of what they have”

“You have to be twice as good to get half of what they have”

In case you are unfamiliar with these phrases, they are typically used within African-American culture. The idea here is that people of color will have to work twice as hard as people of privilege because of the social-economical system that is in place throughout America today. The implication is that the scales are skewed towards whites.

This phrase has the potential to be troublesome because it has can promote an us vs. them mentality. However, this is a phrase that has always resonated with me because it empowers the individual to take ownership of their circumstances rather than blame someone else. I recognize that this may walk too close to the “blaming the victim” sentiment. However, at the core of this statement, it is encouraging us to be doers—to be the change we want. It encourages us not to wait for someone of a different race, gender, or social-economical background to change things for us.

Consider this with me: I am visually impaired. Because of my visual impairment, there are certain normal activities that I cannot do. Before last month, I was not able to drive. Does this mean that I should have blamed “drivers” (#roads) if I was walking down a street that did not have sidewalks? Should I have called out drivers on social media because the public transportation system was (and still is) poor and broken which caused me to be inconvenienced every time I wanted to travel somewhere? Of course not. So why do we use this resolve when dealing with people who are marginalized? The truth of the matter was, I needed to work twice as hard so that I could have had half of the benefits that drivers did. This idea is not necessarily bad. But, why?

At the core, being visually impaired does not define me as a person. It is not who I am.

This is the reason, among many, why being a follower of Christ is so important. At the end of the day, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. At the end of the day, privilege (or lack thereof) does not matter. At the end of the day, whether we are marginalized or privileged does not matter. Because we all fall short. None of us are good enough. We are all the same. Gay, straight, black, white, male, female, rich, and poor. We are the same. We need Christ, regardless. (Romans 3:23, Galatians 3:28)

But there is hope.

When we choose salvation—when we choose to accept Christ and repent—our Identify is no longer in our sins. Our identity is no longer in our race, gender, or sexual orientation. Our identity is in Christ. And who else is better to model than the one who was the ultimate embodiment of marginalization.

I suppose I should define what I mean by identity in Christ (#roads). I realize that this phrase is thrown around frequently in Christian circles, and often it can mean different things depending on the user. Simply, our identify in Christ is the willingness to follow Christ no matter the earthly costs. Following Christ is more important than identifying as a person of color. Following Christ is more important than identifying as LGBTQ. Following Christ is more important than identifying as a woman. This does not mean that identifying as a person of color, identifying as LGBTQ, or identifying as a woman is not important (because it is definitely relevant in American culture today), it simply means that when it comes to choosing Christ or anything else, Christ should come first. (Matthew 6:33) It is quintessential to have this understanding of having an identity in Christ when dealing with marginalization. Here is why.

Jesus faced the most injustice in all of history. He did nothing wrong. He was perfect. He made the world a better place by the miracles he performed. Yet, he suffered the ultimate price of sin.

Death.

Through Him (and only through Him), we now have a chance at eternal life.

Jesus is the perfect model for the marginalized. He is the perfect example to follow when one is born into a society that is scaled against a person based on their color, sexual orientation, or gender. He is the way we should follow. Therefore, our identity should be in Him rather than a characteristic that Humankind decided to distinguish so that God’s people could be separated. Of course, if you are black (for example), your “blackness” does not automatically go away when you accept Christ into your heart. But now it is seen as a characteristic, not the defining characteristic.

It is okay to call out injustice. It is okay to encourage people to do better. After all, this is what Jesus did. He called out the sins of people throughout scripture. But there are two things that we should consider: 1), Jesus always provided a choice for those who were in sin. He offered them a way forward. He did not just simply say, “This thing is wrong” or “this thing exists” to educate people. He gave them the opportunity to repent, and he gave them the opportunity to direct themselves back to God. 2), It was not what or how he called out sin, but why he called out the sin in other’s lives. He did not do this to make the world better for himself. He did this to bring people closer to God and further the Kingdom.

This is where the beginning quote becomes relevant. Jesus worked more than twice as hard, yet he suffered the ultimate penalty which was death and separation from God. However, Jesus understood that he would play a significant role in furthering the Kingdom.

We should not be concerned with calling out injustice in order to make the world more convenient for ourselves. We should call out injustice so that souls can be saved, and the Kingdom is expanded. Therefore, we should not put our energy and hope on the “other side” to make life easier for us but, rather, put our energy in Christ to work through us in order to win souls to Christ and to further the Kingdom. Furthermore, we should understand that we might need to work twice as hard as others—not so that we can finally prove something to the other side, but to further the Kingdom of God. Let us shift our focus from blaming the other side to setting our minds, souls, and hearts on Jesus. By doing this, we might find that we agree more—not because of anything that we did, but because of what Christ did for us. We may not have the power to change others, but if we allow Christ to shine through us and our actions, the chances of reaching others increases. We can take ownership of our own actions so that we can make the world a better place—again not for our convenience, but to further the Kingdom!

Of course, fight for injustice. Fight for those who are marginalized. Call out the sinful actions. Just know, we might need to work twice as hard. We will need to pour out more energy. Therefore, it is important to draw this energy from Christ and not ourselves because at some point, we will run out of gas.

Be willing to work twice as hard and understand that this may not even put different groups on even playing fields. However, when we do this for the purpose of bringing those closer to God, we begin to set our minds on His Kingdom. Thus, we have the opportunity to truly make the world a better place.

As with all my blogs, this is solely my opinion. I do not want to pretend to have the absolute “right answer.” I am speaking to myself as much as I am speaking to others. It is okay to disagree with me, and I welcome discourse. My only request is that every word of each blog is weighed heavily and considered before agreeing or disagreeing with the points presented in each entry. Please keep in mind that I am a Christian, so my beliefs and opinions will be influenced by my faith. I will upload blogs every Friday. If you would like to suggest a topic for me to cover, you can do so via Facebook or twitter. You can follow me on twitter @mjeromebell #themiddlegroundblog

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