Daily Focus - White Dog - Black Dog

Shannon W

It is the devotionals like this one that really bug me.

Perhaps the editors should keep in mind that there are families with very sick, and/or very handicapped children reading these, and they most assuredly DO have reasons to ... "whine like little puppies" and feel as if life is not fair.

Not everyone has had a life fairly free of serious, on-going, no-solutions-available problems, and some people actually find it difficult to find things to be truly thankful for on a daily basis.

I would also like to add that if your biggest problem is taking umbrage with the age-old colour assignments of white=good and black=bad is enough to have your knickers in a wad, you should consider yourself quite fortunate.

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Roshena P

I am inclined to agree with Tameka. As an African-American homeschooling mom, that enjoys these devotions, I must say that I too was offended. God created all colors and it is us his creations that are associating these colors with emotions not Him.

Carl - God is light not white and maybe you should consider using a prism to breakdown a beam of "white" light and there discover the beauty of all the colors of His rainbow.

Brook L

This is a great reminder...my youngest is sick right now and I need to keep her home from church to heal. Don't want to share the coughing yuckies with other children...Even though I've been up with her a lot these past 3 nights I will choose to be thankful....I have to live with myself and I want to like me.

Tameka, That was a good point about the black and white...I guess so many of us are oblivious to the pain that can be caused by using colors (that are also used for people in our world) to compare good and bad. I can see how a child might take that into their world of dealing with people of different colors. God Bless...

Treina R

How come the black dog is bad and the white dog is good? Maybe I'm being sensitive (aren't all minorities :) )but you could have used a better analogy to describe goodness and evil. The point you were trying to make was good, but next be more aware of the way that you present your ideas.

Sheri C

I took the meaning of "white" as spiritual light and "black" as spiritual darkness. Are we feeding (serving) the spirit of Jesus inside us or the the darkness that's always trying to enter us? Perhaps the title could have read "Feeding the Spiritual Light or Darkness", but it may have been too long and less understandable. Anyhow, this was a needed message for me; I appreciated it.

Frances B

The devotional spoke to me directly. I sat in church yesterday crying because my marriage isn't what it should be and I felt sorry for myself. The words of Job touched my heart and I was inspired by his courageous faith in the face of terrible circumstances. Mine pale in comparison.

I knew there would be issue with the choice of words, but the problem is with the WORLD, not the biblical teaching. Satan is at the center of the whole concept of there being multiple races. In fact, It is true that the darkest person on the planet is a very dark shade of BROWN and the very palest person on earth is a very light shade of BROWN. We are all one race, one people, one family. Even genetics trace back to one pair of people.

How about if we simply choose to stop calling each other black and white. I am "toast", perhaps you are "brown rice" maybe you are "sand" or brown mustard, or grand canyon, or chestnut, or mahogony, or there are a million descriptions of brown that we could use. It's up to us to change our small sphere of influence.

Remember our brother and sister hood. We are all one. We are all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and therefore brothers and sisters in God our Father...our creator.

Teresa G

Step back and take a look at what was written. Nothing at all made me think about "race" issues when I read the devotional. It never crossed my mind until I read the first "comment". Take it for what it is and not what is read into it. God is so good! In good times and bad. Sunshine = light. Storm = dark. Smile = light. Frown = dark. Gosh, even when our kids are nice and clean, ready for church we associate that with light. Yet when they get themselves dirty and have to be changed before we leave, we associate that with dark. Clean = light. Dirt = dark. It's just the way this place we call home is created. And who created the earth? How does the song go? "Red or yellow, black or white. We are precious in His sight." Contrast comparisons. That's all it is. Nothing more. CHOOSE to be happy in ALL things! Great message for me also.

Tammy O

That's what I say, you cannot say anything anymore, come on . That is what is wrong with this world today, Christians act like Christians and quit complaining if you are a Christian.

Regina S

France B., I just wanted you to know that I am lifting you up in prayer right now. I agree wth your post. I don't know anyone who is truly "white" or "black" in color. We all came from the same place. We were created by the same God. He is the one who designed us to have different shades of skin color. The Bible uses colors to represent different things quite frequently. If we are Christians it shouldn't offend us when the Bible says things like, "Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalms 51:7
We are the ones who have assigned colors to represent how people look. Could the writer of this article have used different metaphors, other than white or black dogs? Certainly. But, I was not offended when I read this devotion. Instead, I was convicted of all the times that I whine and complain about the trials of life. The point the writer was trying to make is that we can choose to be thankful in the midst of life's storms. Is it easy? No way! But we have to remember, we have a God who loves us, and promises to never leave or forsake us. And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God. He has given us everything we have, and He deserves our gratitude, even when it's not fair. So what if someone uses a color to represent something. Colors do not define who we are. When we get to heaven, we will see how much time we wasted being upset over trivial things. We need to ask ourselves, was this devotion really worth being upset about? God Bless!

Dawn D

Great devotional! I was not offended, and was appreciative for the reminder of being thankful since that is what the message was about! Offense is a choice. How sad and selfish of you who were offended. It had nothing to do with racial differences. My goodness, if you look for the negative in things you WILL surely find it. Look for the good, you might find yourself smiling more.

Frances B

Vickie P,
The really wonderful thing about being a Christian is that we are not expected to be perfect. Our failures are exactly the point. None of us will ever be "good" at following Jesus. We humans are always messing it up. It's keeping your faith even when you mess up that pleases God. So open your heart and forgive us for disheartening you. Know that God is perfect and He has you in the palm of His mighty hand.

Dayna B

In response to Tameka. Quit playing the race card this is getting old. There have always been color associations with mood and symbolism. Blue is a calming color, red an energizing color. White is a symbol of purity and goodness and white contains all the colors of the visible spectrum. Black contains no other colors in the visible spectrum and is therefore associated with a lack of goodness and evil and darkness which also symbolizes Satan or the adversary. People need to quit playing the race card as a way to make up for something they lack in their lives. Maybe it's self-esteem, maybe it is ignorance. Realistically none of us are truly white or black but some shade in between depending on the melanin content in the skin. I think this whole white-black thing is just a way to stir up conflict between people regardless of the color tone of their skin. Some darker skinned people are looked down upon by other dark-skinned people because their shade of brown is too dark. Look at the scientific facts which have been revealed to us by God, rather than using emotionally-charged language to make yourselves feel better.

April R

Good grief! This was a great devotional. Racism won't end until people quit making it an issue. Several people have jumped on this and made it one. This devotion had NOTHING to do with race! IMO the only people being racist are the ones that have made it an issue. As for me, I am going to go feed the "white dog" today. Amen!

Heather F

If we try, even a little, we can find negative in anything! I think the devotional had nothing to do with skin color and more to do with being thankful! Let's not seek to discourage one another.

Tammy T

Good day my sisters and brothers in Christ. I usually am so uplifted by the daily devotionals here. Today I am greatly saddened, and deeply moved to tears. I wept for about half an hour. Just seeing the title of today's devotional, I knew that this had the potential to cause division. I also knew that I would have to table some of my very personal issues with white being synonymous with light and goodness and black and darkness, and evil. I chose to see the devotional for what it is. As I read the devotional, I could, and do agree with EVERYTHING in it.

My sadness came when I read the comments and realized that with all of the "godliness" that we have now a days there is still no compassion or understanding for what others may have gone through and things that are still today a very personal and hurtful thing to deal with.
Arianna J is right. It's not a direct knock against any one of our sisters in Christ, but it is a very personal hurt that you may never understand. That does not mean that you cannot have compassion at least. Just look at the ratings of the comments. No one had a problem with the truth, just the way in which it was presented. However, those who spoke up, have negative ratings. Those who said get a life or get over it, got positive ratings. So basically, we're "Amen-ing" the white is right philosophy without even considering the possibility that a hurt may still exist. When someone does say they are hurt by it, they are met not with compassion but with reprimands.

If you have never had to question why God chose to create some people black (dark, dirty, sinful, selfish) and others white (pure, clean, thankful), you will not and cannot understand the very deep pain (and perhaps misplaced shame) that is associated with it. As I learned about my history, I questioned that if God hated darkness so much why would He create an entire race of people that are so often associated with it? How could He allow such atrocities to happen to this race of people? Did it amuse Him that my grandfather (who was not a slave) had his throat slit and was left for dead by white (good, clean and intelligent) people simply because he was black (ignorant, dirty, bad) and walked on the wrong side of the street? Did God not love us (whom He created) just as much as He loved the white people (whom He created as well)?

We constantly associate black with ignorance and evil, and white with good, clean and holy. There is no need to dig deep for it. It is there. For your race of people to continually be associated with all that is dark and evil and ignorant can be a source of pain and confusion that goes deeper than you can imagine. Just because you may not have personally experienced it does not mean that it is a very real thing that many confront from time to time.

God created us all. No one has a say about the color they are when they are born into the world. How could a good and just (white, light, holy) God find it right to allow white people to trample the bad, dirty, black people that he created? He made us, we did not make ourselves. Yet He saw fit to ALLOW these things to happen not to just a couple of people, but to an entire race of people. What was He trying to prove?

I truly grappled with this as a child, a teen and now an adult and I still do not have an answer for it. I grew to understand that in this life, I will never understand God fully. I just have to trust that He knows what He is doing in His infinite wisdom. All things will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Honestly, it is NOT something that I sit around droning on about on a daily basis. Who has time for that? But when it rears its ugly head (like it did in today's comments) it makes me realize that with all of the wisdom that we have gained about one another, there is still very little compassion for the walk that some of us have gone through. You may never have to confront it for yourself. But when you look in the mirror and realize that in this life things will be different for you just because of the color that God (in His infinite wisdom) chose to create you, and all others can say is, "we're over it, you should be too." It makes me question the possibility of a true brotherhood in Christ.

So yes, it still hurts sometimes. And it is a very real pain. I am not trying to convince you that HOW I feel is right or wrong. I am trying to explain to you WHY I feel that way.

God's word teaches us to speak the truth in love. And while I do feel that the truth was presented, love is NOT in many of the responses. He also teaches us to have compassion for one another. Perhaps it is true that I should not be so "easily" offended. The offense is not taken by today's lesson but by the responses which so grossly lack compassion. How false of you to call yourself my brother or sister when you are not moved by the things that HURT me, your sister. If you are truly my brothers and sisters in Christ, then perhaps compassion is a lesson that can best be taught by our Father.

Olivia C

As a minority home schooling family, I agree that I am so very, very tired of everything "black" being negative and "white" being good and holy. My 7-year old son who has dark brown skin the other day said "Why did God make me dirty?" When I asked him why he thought he was dirty, he said "because other people always call dark, black things dirty and I am dark and black, so I must be dirty." Those who do not understand how this devotional could be considered offensive will probably never "get it". In spite of the fact that some people will never get it, I still think that those of us who are offended by such analogies should and need to continue to speak up. Speaking up about how such comparisons can hurt others is not about attacking anyone. It is about the speaking the honest truth that is involved in the words we use to communicate with each other and the meanings of those words. Take from it what you will.

Elizabeth C

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am deeply saddened that this devotional caused my sisters in Christ to feel hurt, to feel the sting of unacceptance. Although I get the devotional for its scriptural significance, I don't think that anywhere in the Bible God ever tells us that the color of our SKIN makes us dark/bad or light/good. He counsels us on the color of our heart. And frankly, making stabs at someone's pain, no matter how it makes us feel to hear them voice it, makes you the one with the DARK HEART, my friends. Skin color does not make a person close to God. But by golly, HEART color sure does tell the whole story. Love to each of you, and take a moment to lift eachother up in prayer. After all, aren't we all here trying to do the same thing? Get our daily uplift, fill that cup up with understanding and holiness of God's word, and to be in fellowship with other like-minded people of faith who homeschool (or are involved in homeschooling in some fashion). Treat others as you would like to be treated. And watch those words. Love. Love. Love. To each of you!!!