White people should really feel guilty. sarcasm No. Really. White people should feel guilty because in many ways that’s the prerequisite for mainstream “feel good” Christianity. Christianity is about feeling good, right?
Think about it. We have churches that provide feel good experiences called “worship services”. Feel good coffee, feel good high-fives and, oh yeah, feel good music. Let’s not forget the feel good message. You know, the type that goes like: “Jesus loves you”, “Jesus has the best for you”, “Don’t give up”. The 3 ingredients towards a feel good conclusion to the weekend and to resist the dread beginning of yet another workweek. It’s true, but not the whole truth.
With so much “feel good” all-around of course white people should feel guilty. Feel bad before you can feel good, or better yet, feel bad before you can do good. We seem to do church that way, but isn’t that how we also approach missions?
As a pastor, missionary and theologian, I’m always concerned about “issues”. What “issues” are we facing today? What are the hottest trending “issues” in the twittersphere? What’s my issue with those “issues” and how can I issue my protest?
I have an issue with white guilt. You know, the type of guilt born out of a superiority complex because you don’t have what I have therefore I must get you to have what I have so I no longer feel guilty about it. By the way, that “no longer feeling guilty” bit is the “feel good” that comes after guilt.
My issue with white guilt is that it is only cathartic. It is ultimately about feeling good about oneself and it has nothing to do with creating change and transforming one’s reality. Any activism is therefore intended to purge me of guilt. You know what it is. That one time you volunteered in that super cool project. Or when you donated “the price of a cup of coffee” to that other trending charity. Or when you went on that short-term missions trip to Mexico, or Africa, or God knows where, and built a wall, took pictures with children and felt really good about it.
I take issue with those issues. I take issue with the guilt that inspires a “white man’s burden” for the world. I take issue with the self-indulgent, self-congratulatory actions that happen for the sake of catharsis. I take issue with churches that promote short-term missions trips in order to “teach social responsibility” to their high schoolers. I take issue with Christian non-profits and mission organizations who drift from their vision and mission for the sake of funding and relevance. I take issue with talks on social justice that come down to “how to minimize our W.A.S.P.ness”. I take issue with the white man’s burden and our capitalist-democracy as the ideal for the world.
I take issue with those things and I believe God does too.
