Devotion - Monday, January 18

Rather than write a devotion this morning, I would share with you a few thoughts about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The ML King Holiday should cause each of us to reflect on this man’s legacy; it should invite us to look again into the mirror in order to see how we are treating every member of our society.

King’s legacy is most often described with regard to racial equality. Here, the civil rights movement of the 1960’s made great strides. The laws which prevented Black Americans from voting or sharing water fountains were overturned. Where King didn’t see his dream realized was in looking not merely at race but also at poverty.

When King began to speak of changing policies and practices which affected our pocket books, openness to his words ended.

Race and poverty should not be equated – it not one’s race which determines one’s economic status. However, race and poverty are quite commonly hand-in-hand. If you look at a map of poverty in Clemson, you will see that that map also defines racial lines.

This is a day to honor Dr. King, it is also a day to reflect on what his message and life mean for us. Part of that ought to be a honest look at poverty and asking ourselves whether we are treating the least among us as Christ would have us treat them.