If you grew up in Fundamental American Christianity, chances are you sang the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” countless times throughout your childhood in the church. It was written by preacher Clarence Herbert Woolston in the late 1800’s and it gives children a very simple, yet beautiful global message with these lyrics:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world,
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They’re all Precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
As an impressionable child who knows nothing about borders, politics, world religions, nationalism, or racism, the meaning of this song isn’t hard to understand or digest. As children, it is natural that all children, all people, rather, are precious. We learn elitism, it isn’t born in us. This song that we learned as children has become counter-cultural in the current age, especially here in America.
We have been conditioned by society that some children mean more than others. We have been subjected to the rise of consumerism where we want and need to consume more goods, have more things, bigger things and brighter things. We whine if we can only afford a 25′ boat instead of a 32′ boat with a nice sleeper cabin. We complain when we can’t afford a Coach bag.
I am just as guilty of it and trying desperately to find the appropriate balance of possessions and charity. It’s encouraging to see the rise of minimalism that is apparent by the increasingly popular best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, written by Marie Kondo.
We simply do not need so much.
Currently, we have the religious right accepting and supporting building a “Great Wall” at the U.S./Mexico border that will cost taxpayers anywhere from 10 billion USD to 40+ billion USD, depending on which economic estimate you examine. They are willing to spend potentially billions of life-saving dollars to ensure privilege for some of God’s children while ensuring continued poverty and starvation for other children of God. Other little children that Jesus loves.
When we resist this idea of nationalism and elitism, we are insulted and accused of being ignorant libtards. We are accused of being unpatriotic and taunted with uncompassionate ideologies such as “we should take care of Americans first.” Why? Why should we only be concerned about people that were born here?
This is not what Jesus would tell me. Jesus, I’m sure would tell me to use all the innovative, technological, monetary resources we have to reduce suffering for all the children of the world. Jesus would tell me to resist the fear that somehow taking care of others would deplete my resources to take care of myself and my loved ones. Jesus would tell me that another, better world is possible if only we would change our ways.
Not only are wall resistors insulted, but we are also being bullied with fear-based Christian rhetoric. Somehow being a person with a bleeding heart for the globe has been equated with Satan and his “one world agenda.” To complicate things further, the rapture theology is thrown in where any global movement toward world peace and equality is somehow anti-Christ.
This theology is man-made, complicated, and only serves the powerfully rich global aristocrats who have historically thrived on keeping the poor down, divided, at war, and increasing. Somehow they’ve conditioned Christians to be unconcerned with this life and only concerned with the afterlife, even though Jesus continuously seemed unconcerned with the afterlife. He mentioned THIS world and called us to be the light of THIS world and eliminate/reduce suffering for all.
Love is such a simple theological concept, and I struggle to see the love stemming from the religious right. My hope is that they remember the simplicity of the Jesus they learned about as children.
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David Brooks took two books to say what you have said in a few short paragraphs, but both of you are right on what that song I sang in my childhood and remember well today — “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight…” Brooks used the metaphors of two adjacent mountains — SELF, the first one, and OTHERS, the second one, and points out that real JOY is ultimately found in climbing that second mountain. Your writing and perspectives open the mind and heart to life’s choices and true peace of mind with eternal consequences here on earth and in the life hereafter, too.
Reblogged this on Somewhere between the nebulae and commented:
Everything I’ve been trying to say, and then some.
Kimberly this blog has some very interesting point of views on cultures and idealism.
Kimberly, I appreciate the intent and general message of your article. And although I also appreciate the idea from the song that all children are equal I don’t appreciate the race descriptors in the song. We know better today than to call anyone “red” or “yellow” as these terms are both considered racially derogatory. Native Americans are offended by being called “red” and I don’t know anyone else that term is meant to referenced. The same is true for Chinese and Asian people being called “yellow.” Yellow fever and Red Skins have particularly hate filled past. You can google alternate lyrics and mean options come up. The last thing we want to do with a song meant to teach inclusion is unintentionally use racial slurs.
I completely agree with you.
What about WHITE? Should we change that too??
I am 63. I sang that song when I was a child, I taught my children that song, and now my grandchildren I will teach it to. I remember when I sang it in Sunday school. Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world. I knew what it meant. I knew that the children were not actually yellow and red. I think we can get way too picky with things. Nobody has EVER taken offense to that song to my knowledge at all. It’s just A SONG. A simple little song that has GREAT meaning. It was because of that song I developed a great love for people of other ethniceties . My husband said once that a little black boy asked him why God made people with different skin color. My husband told him that God created a bouquet of people! Since you seem to be offended by the description I would like to know then what shall we call WHITE people? I mean it’s a color. White. The song goes, “Red and yellow, black and WHITE”… So, are YOU offended by being called a WHITE person??
I think that sometimes our efforts to eradicate racism are confusing. We are unsure of what’s acceptable, or not acceptable. Perhaps you’re right and we are being too picky, I just think that the sensitivity comes from a good place.
Perhaps we should ask other races what is offensive and not offensive to them, instead of assuming. I personally don’t care about being called white, cracker, heretic etc., but that’s just because life experiences have given me a think skin.
Great to hear a level headed, grace- filled voice in the sea of twisted and unkind “Christian” rhetoric. ( just check the spelling of “boarders” in beginning of article. I wonder if you meant “borders”)
Oh wow, thank you! I completely missed that error!
I agree with you to a point. I have said that it’s a sin to leave your own children sick, hungry and neglected to go down the street to care for someone else’s children. I still feel that way. This country spends millions on programs that don’t care for the least of us. We are not doing it. I do believe in helping everyone you can, if you see need, do it. I can sure understand the feelings of wanting to open our country to the millions of refugees, I’m assuming that’s what you’re talking about, but that’s like slapping the needy we HAVE who we HAVENT helped in their faces and saying YOU don’t MATTER! I believe that organizations like Samaritan’s purse is a very Godly organization and they go all over the globe to help people. I appreciate your heart. You have a servants heart. I just don’t know what we ate to do. It seems horrible to build a wall, but there are really bad people coming over to America and they kill people victimize people, etc. What should we do about that? They are using resources that are taking away from our own children and our vets and our poor. This is a very complex problem that just saying we should do this or that is not going to fix. We all just have to do what Jesus leads us to do. Blessings.
Thank you so much. I was appalled when the preacher of the PCA church we had joined,(under my husband’s insistence), opposed efforts to help vetted Syrian refugees, and supported Trump’s call to build a wall. I left that church behind.
Christ’s love, to me, is made manifest by our love for others, especially those who are different from us. What a privilege to be his hands and feet unfettered by political boundaries. I am sorry this church does not know that love.
Congratulations on sticking with your convictions and walking out. I know that isn’t an easy thing to do.
The greatest heresy … maybe the sin against the Holy Spirit? … is the lie that for one of God’s creatures to gain, another has to lose. It is the Big Lie behind greed, mistrust, fear, aggression, racism and pretty much all the other sins and evils in this world. You hit it right between the eyes:
“Jesus would tell me to resist the fear that somehow taking care of others would deplete my resources to take care of myself and my loved ones. Jesus would tell me that another, better world is possible if only we would change our ways.”
Besides the Resurrection, the only other story told in all four gospels in the feeding of the five thousand. There was enough and more than enough — and the presence of Jesus allowed those 5000 tired hungry people to trust that if they sat down and waited their turn, ALL would be fed. The miracle is a double one: first that there was in fact enough food, second that there was not a stampede, chaos, and violence as the disciples began handing out the bread to the front row.
I love your take on the feeding of the thousands. I too have come up with similar conclusions. Such a beautiful story for humanity when we dig a little deeper!
Thank you so much for sharing this loving and well-written message! As someone who lives in the south, I am constantly surrounded by hate filled rhetoric which many falsely claim is rooted in Christianity.
Christ’s message was one of love, and to see it warped and used in the name of the exact opposite is frustrating, scary, and heartbreaking.
I am a Universalist, so maybe many think my opinion here isn’t valid, but my studies of the Bible and God’s message teaches me the exact same message that you’ve written about. Thank you again, I’m sure that many others are just as appreciative as I am that you’ve shared these beautiful words.
Your opinion is welcome here. Never be afraid to share yours with anyone! After sincere study, prayer, and search, I too am a universalist.
Thank you for your encouraging message. Amidst many critics, messages such as this inspire me to keep forging ahead with sharing my voice.
Your article speaks volumes, I agree with you. Until we think for ourselves and follow GOD and not man we will continue to have these issues. What if the tables are turned and you decided to go to Europe, the Middle East or a place you have dreamed about going. Only to be turned around because you look different or believe differently. We have become our own worst enemy…
Dear Kim, I have taken sometime to read over your post. Admittedly I didn’t have time to read the whole thing but in just a few short paragraphs I gathered what the meaning of the message was. You have written a lot of stuff. A lot of good stuff for that matter. I gather you will get a Pulitzer sometime down the road from the time that we call the present. Good stuff…….
Wow! Thank you, that really means a lot. While a Pulitzer would be a dream come true, my primary desire is to open eyes.
This is the best compliment I’ve ever received. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I will keep forging ahead!
You are most welcome. By the way I took some time to discover who this writer being (you) of course was… You and I are cut from the same cloth. I was raised as a catholic than a baptist, a Greek historian. However I broke away from the mold and instead of being ruled and governed by a priest or rituals I let real love of God govern and rule my life. Love in its simplest form is the easiest thing to do. Even a child can understand it…
Like you, I eat my spaghetti one spoon twirl at a time….
God Bless