February 22, 2024 READ! READ! READ!
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, READ! READ! READ!” That was Professor Winnie T. Robinson’s (one of my professors at North Carolina Central University) mantra! Reading is essential! Reading is fundamental! And—reading is too often NEGLECTED! So why is reading so often neglected?
Co-Pastor Susie Owens wrote in her foreword to one of Bishop Owen’s books: “That is the amazing thing about the Word of God—It’s free and it’s readily available” (Owens, A. Help Thou My Unbelief, 2003, p. v.)
White privilege, the reality of which is still largely denied by many of those who enjoy it, once included (as you well know) the privilege of reading, to the exclusion of Blacks, who were mostly slaves in America. The state law below from my home state was typical of laws in much of the country during the antebellum (pre-civil war) era, forbidding anyone from teaching slaves like my great, great grandfather, Philo, to read or write:
Whereas the teaching of slaves to read and write tends to excite dissatisfaction in their minds and to produce insurrection and rebellion… Therefore, be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina…that any free person, who shall hereafter teach, or attempt to teach any slave within the state to read or write… or shall give or sell to…slaves any books or pamphlets, shall be liable to indictment in any court of record in this state…and upon conviction, shall, at the discretion of the court, if a white man or woman, be fined not less than one hundred dollars…or imprisoned; and if a free person of color, shall be fined, imprisoned, or whipped, at the discretion of the court. (www.historyisaweapon.
Implicit in that law and the others like it, was that reading/learning stirs, empowers, and liberates the mind while the lack of reading/learning facilitates the enslaving and incarceration of the mind and body.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8, NKJV).
The S.M.O. Principle!
Thank God reading is no longer an exclusive white privilege. Philo Sumner’s great-grandson, Jesse Sumner, Sr. set an example and taught his children the value of reading. And the most important book, as he taught us, is still the Holy Bible. My wife, Betty, and I walk through several rooms in our home reading aloud the four or five chapters that are in our Scriptural reading plan each morning. We also listen to hear what God is saying to us through His word.
Joshua (1:8) declared that the path to a prosperous and successful life is in how we respond to God’s word. He outlined three responses that I will call the S.M.O. Principle that lead to success: Speak! Meditate! Obey!
Speak the word! “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.”
Meditate on the word! Ponder, study, and seek godly understanding of the word. “You shall meditate in it day and night.”
Obey the word! Follow God’s instructions contained in His word. “Observe to do according to all that is written in it.”
When you apply the S.M.O. Principle to God’s word, your mind is stirred, empowered, and liberated with fresh God-inspired ideas that will help you prosper and have good success! Oh, and remember, the Word of God is “free and readily available!” So, come on, this Black History Month, and continuously, let’s stir, empower, and liberate our minds! It’s no longer just a White privilege! Let’s READ! READ! READ!