As I watched the movie Selma, I reflected on myself. Can I fight that kind of fight? Can I hold back as I see my wife getting punched and kicked in her face? Can I hold back as I see somebody assaulting my mother, father, daughters, sons or any perfect stranger? Have we stopped to consider how much faith in God, how much trust, and how much love is needed to be willing to endure such a barbaric thing? I am not sure that I have that much love within me, but Martin Luther King demonstrated exactly the kind of love I am describing.

Martin Luther King gave us a lesson on how to effectively fight. In the midst of his humanity he fought a fight of love. Indeed in the eyes of many, love looks weak. Malcolm X became the force that articulated the misunderstanding of what true love is. See, First Corinthians 13:8 tells us that “Love never fails…” (NKJV) Love is not weak, but indeed a powerful force. Malcolm X advocated for self-defense while calling Martin Luther King a fool, but it was Dr. King who was actually fighting effectively.

Is it that the fight of love that David used to come against King Saul? Did it prove to be effective? It is that same fight of love Joseph used as a slave, in prison, and later, towards his own brothers who betrayed him? He had the power to kill them all, but he loved them. Did it prove to be effective for Joseph? His love brought 400 hundred years of peace to Israel. Should I say more? Are there other examples? Yes there are; history reveals this to us.

Martin Luther King did not only help our people to be able to advance. What America must understand, is that no other man in the history of the United States has done more for the advancement of ALL HUMANITY, not only the black community.

Martin Luther King is not just an African American hero. He is an American hero. He was a vessel used by God to transform the conscience of America regarding race.

On March 7, 1965 in Selma Alabama the dirty laundry of America was exposed to the world. Our illness could be seen as blacks were treated like wild animals in what is known as Bloody Sunday. That was, without a doubt, the turning point. What came out of Bloody Sunday? Freedom! Freedom for blacks and minorities to vote and have the opportunity to be involved in political processes that could give them the ability to change laws and have access to power.

But how are we fighting today? Kids embracing a ghetto culture manifested through music that promotes and celebrates us killing each other. How are we fighting today? With bitterness, still blaming the white man for all of our troubles. How are we fighting today? We no longer take responsibility for our actions; because we suffered, we feel that now we have a free ticket to say and do whatever we want, that is including, becoming racist ourselves. How are we fighting today? Truth is no longer important, acting right is acting white, and we blame everything under the umbrella of racism. Every time we are confronted with our ignorance we start singing the same song of slavery, racism and bitterness. How are we fighting today? We place in front of the struggle for equality, leaders with demonic agendas of self-promotion and financial gain.

Our fight is no longer a fight of love, but a fight of entitlement programs of the give me some of this, give me some of that and when your all done give me some more. Don’t get me wrong, the same forces that wanted to destroy us before as a people, are still out there today. It is just that they fight in a different way. We are allowing the god of this world to destroy us from within.

After the movie was over I was left with a couple of questions. Where did we go wrong and how did we get here? In 1967, Dr. King wrote a book where he asked another question, “Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community”. Almost fifty years later, after the writing of that book, I think that we can come up with our own conclusion. Is America finally a community or, are we a society in chaos?