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The
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., right, accompanied by the Rev. Ralph D.
Abernathy,
is booked by city police Lt. D.H. Lackey in Montgomery,
Ala.,on
Feb. 23, 1956.
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When
I think of people and causes that I have admired, a central
ingredient is always a good measure of certitude. For those who have
read my blogs mentioning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., you know that I
greatly admire him. In his deportment and speaking style one thing
is abundantly clear—here was a man who had immense certitude about
the rectitude of civil rights, about the wrongness of the Vietnam
War, about the need for economic justice, and (vitally important)
about the spirit in which his certitudes and convictions were to be
expressed (namely, he was to manifest a Christian spirit even when
under withering fire from the opposition). [But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law (Galations 5:22-23 NIV).] While
giving full voice to his convictions, he was never to assume a mantle
of angry self-righteousness; for to do so would render himself more
culpable than even his most rabid opponents.
Thus
certitude (which is undoubtedly warranted and the necessary
psychological base for firm conviction and decisive action) must
always be accompanied by charity, goodwill, and humility bestowed
only by the grace of the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father. The
final test of a Christian is not in harboring convictions but in
pursing them with a Christian spirit.
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