Adhere to advice of Martin Luther King Jr.
Maybe our presidential candidates should re-examine the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. He created a national movement based on nonviolent behavior and powerful civil debate that challenged us to focus on racial reconciliation and reconciliation as a lifestyle.
Reconciliation from a biblical perspective is built on three major qualities: truth, love, justice. You never want one of them without the other. Truth without love is brutal, truth without justice is chaos. Love without truth is deception, love without justice is sentimentalism. Justice without love is legalism, justice without truth is discrimination.
Martin Luther King Jr. framed it in a little different way: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
Maybe those politicians who are claiming to be Christian conservatives should re-examine the words of Jesus – “love your neighbor as yourself” and “love your enemies” – before they brag about telling the truth or telling it like it is. Maybe this would bring about constructive civil debate.
James Westgate, Fresno
This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 6:11 AM with the headline "Adhere to advice of Martin Luther King Jr.."