As a black man growing up in the largely white city of Shelbyville, Tennessee, Pastor Jason Scales has experienced racism firsthand. Everywhere he goes, he’s a minority. But he doesn’t see himself as a victim, and he has an answer for believers who may be struggling to deal with the current racial unrest.
He tells fellow pastor Caleb McCall on a recent episode of the Recovery to Recovered podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network about a recent conversation he had with a Caucasian pastor. Scales says the pastor tole him, “‘I’m going to tell you the problem with African Americans. It’s probably going to offend you.’
“I said, ‘But look. Tell me. Tell me,'” Scales says.
“And he said, ‘You guys have bought into the lie that we don’t want you here, but you’ll take everything we give you.’
“And in that moment, I had a chance to be offended,” Scales says. “I wanted to flex my muscle. I have two degrees. I’ve made a decent living for myself. I’m a full-time minister now; I took a pay cut to be in full-time ministry. I’ve never been on any social welfare program, anything like that … So I’ve never asked for a handout for anything.”
Scales says he could have defended himself using those same words, but “In that moment, the Lord said, ‘Don’t you take that route. You’ve got to choose kingdom over culture’.
“My citizenship is in heaven. Yes, my flesh was offended. .. In this time, in order for the kingdom of God to be manifest, it’s not going to be manifest in our flesh. There’s no power in my skin, me being black, you being white,” he tells McCall. “Power is in the kingdom of God. And that’s what unites us as brothers in the Lord. And that’s why you choose kingdom over culture.”
To hear more of Scales’ thoughts on choosing kingdom over culture and learn about his new book, Socialish, listen to the entire podcast here. {eoa}
