The city of Boston recently elected their first mayor who was not a male. She is a woman of color, an Asian-American. Most minority groups and women’s rights groups rejoiced. However, one popular media outlet, that previously championed inclusion, recoiled at the outcome, implying that it wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Why Boston will need to wait longer for its first elected Black mayor : NPR
The same thing happened with the “Me Too” movement. When former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was accused of sexual harassment, he allied himself with Roberta Kaplan, the leader of Time’s Up, an organization that was birthed from the “Me Too” movement. Kaplan advised Cuomo how to attack the credibility of some of his accusers, protecting him and shattering the credibility and trust of the movement she led.
Time’s Up leader resigns after criticism about Cuomo ties | AP News
Many groups champion inclusion, supporting the demands of disparate groups clamoring for attention and representation. However, when an outcome like the Boston mayoral election occurs, their true intentions are exposed. These groups support inclusion but only if it supports the inclusion of their choosing and their ulterior motives. It is of little consequence if their choices flies in the face of the majority of their supporters.
These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came. And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
2 Kings 17:32-34 (NLT)
When these Bible verses were written, it was describing the forlorn state into which the former northern kingdom of Israel had descended. After being taken captive by the Assyrian empire, the remaining Israelites were influenced by numerous foreigners who were moved into the area. While they worshipped their own gods, the Israelites also accepted them and created a strange hybrid religion, one that paid homage to all of the religions. This was inclusion taken to an extreme!
On the surface, it may appear that this was a clever way for the Israelites to foster peace with their new neighbors, in reality, it drove them deeper into the spiritual abyss that initially led them into captivity. Inclusion is a noble goal. However, one cannot be all-inclusive since there will always be a point when the beliefs of one group will conflict with another.
Inclusion means giving all people equal access to the same resources allowing for representation. Beneath our racial, cultural, and religious differences, we are all created in the image of God. This is our common bond and one that should give us hope. Inclusion will not succeed only through human organizations. Real change can only come from God who gave us equal access to the promise of salvation and eternal life through faith and belief in Jesus Christ. Only in God will inclusion truly be harmonized, free of prejudices and those who seek to advance their own agendas under their definition of inclusion.
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
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