I’ve learned over the past years that my lane is Jesus.
What I mean simply is that Jesus of Nazareth is the impetus behind my actions now.
What I work for, live for, create artistic space for, and write and speak for wholly concerns moving the business and discourse of Jesus forward.
If Jesus was a brand, I would be working toward being his brand and product manager.
If he were a TV show, I’d be working toward being his producer.
If Jesus where an academic course, I would take it over and over again and never be tired of it.
You get the idea.
I have tried diligently to stay in Jesus, my lane. I endeavor to refrain from commenting on matters that do not concern Jesus, or at least commenting on those matters through the lens of Christ.
And I suppose this is no different. We have all seen, heard, or read about the spike of gun violence in and around the Madison community.
There have been so many reported shootings with so much frequency in 2016, that many of us are almost afraid to read a local newspaper or open a local news website for fear of seeing yet another shooting that has occurred in our community.
The gun violence that has occurred in Madison is tragic, to be sure. When individuals within our community choose to work out their differences with a gun, it is indicia that we are not in relation with each other or with the Creator. It illustrates we don’t understand or love each other the way we should.
And, most certainly, we have to work collectively for a solution or a set of solutions to the violence.
While I am concerned about the gun violence and safety of our community, I’m also concerned by what I see whenever there are tragedies within communities of color.
It occurs to me, that whenever we have a tragedy in communities of color, there is someone or some group who is willing to help solve or work through the tragedy.
That help usually comes complete with plenty of press conferences, grant applications, and meetings with white stakeholders.
I’m not questioning anyone’s motives, but there has been gun violence and violence in general in our community created by white offenders as well that has largely gone unnoticed.
There have been no work groups regarding how to stop workplace violence, or home violence, or violence even on the highway; places in which, we have seen whites commit gun violence just this year. No press conferences on how to alleviate violence committed by white men, no meeting with stakeholders.
I don’t want to connect any dots here. There are no dots to connect.
But, Jesus calls us to have great care when dealing with each other. In fact much of Jesus’ trouble in this world came from him speaking out against those who take advantage of their own people for any kind of gain at all, financial or otherwise.
As we sort through the gun violence and violence in our community, I have to believe that there are ways to quietly and methodically address the issue without exploiting us in the process.
I have to believe that because Jesus found a way to make it happen. And he’s my lane.
