“When asked about racism and the civil unrest that exists in society, President Johnson said, “We can’t fight hate with hate. We must look to love to have peace and harmony, and be willing to make a sacrifice ourselves to make that happen. Racism is a chronic — and for some, a self-inflicted disease — whose symptoms can be mitigated through a variety of remedies and programmes. But it can only be cured with a true understanding of what it means to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbours as ourselves.”
He continued, “We need to be kind to one another and accept each other’s differences. The Lord loves diversity — if he didn’t, he would have created everything exactly the same. The Lord also loves oneness, inclusiveness and belonging. This is our Father in Heaven’s design and that’s why he placed us here on earth with different opportunities, backgrounds, cultures, nationalities and differences — so that we can all come together and, through Christ, lift each other up.”
“This may sound like a dream, but it is possible. It takes humility and faith. It takes wanting to learn and understand one another; knowing that it’s okay to disagree but not be disagreeable. We have to figure out a way. We can do it — we have to.”
