As a Black man, I need to set the record straight once and for all. First of all, the images on television is not who we are. From club scenes that depict women as willing tools for sex, to silly comic shows that operate as a vehicle to demonstrate stereotypes, the examples that are given today do not give a great representation of what is going on. Add to that a growing void towards any intellectual concept, deepening divide of good values, and a total disregard of the youth, how do we solve the sins within our community to become better representatives? This is designed to give an idea for many people to get a re-do in this year of discovery.
I. Negativity the greatest evil in the Black community
[Men’s minds tend to fear more keenly those things that are absent]
Why is it that Blacks have something negative to say about someone that works to improve? What happened to lifting a person to succeed? Has the multitude of success stories like Jay-z, Oprah Winfrey, multiple sports stars, and music icons defused the joy of success? We have become a people that enjoys put down each other. The critical eye has been a washed within our community. It states in the Book of Proverbs in the 20th Chapter in verse 3 that, “It is a honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling,” In Proverbs 12:15, it states, “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkened unto counsel is wise,” and in Proverbs 30: 11-14 that says the following:
11 there is a generation that carseth their father, and doth not blesh their mother
12 there is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed
13 from their filthiness, there is a generation, o how loffy are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up
14 there is a generation, whose teeth are as sowards and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from amoung men.
It is truly amazing to me that we find so much joy in others tragedy. Take the word nigger, niggard, Negro, neg-gro, or niggers. Why are we so upset when others attack us with those words. Blacks have been using these words like a beautiful hymn in church. The power is in the tongue; God started creation with a word; whatever you speak will manifest, so why is it we are so surprised when our culture acts like what we spoke into existence? If a fool can only do right in his eyes, then being wrong is a choice that is brought on by a person choosing to be a fool. With this in mind, allow me to define a fool:
Success definition of a fool a person that makes a choice to do any action that is not morally good. The only reason they make that choice is due to agreeing with some type of sin that they know about and worship about.
Hanging on to a negative thought is the true cancer within society. It is not ok to want others to treat you a certain way, and then treat everyone else with a sense of rudeness. No one should get a pass to act like a fool, and then get upset at anyone holding you accountable for doing it. If God does not like it, then why make God angry every day you choose to do it? This is the only virus that we should be devoting major resources to defeating. AIDS is a disease that is destroying a large number of Blacks in America, and Africans worldwide. If you ever speak to anyone that has AIDS, the one thing that person loses is hope. Faith is the true driving force for anything that needs to be successful. No one has that permission to take away another person’s hope. Remember, many killers, thieves, rapist, child abusers, and other bad members of society, had the possibility of changing if not for the encounter with a person who helped them change their mindset to see sin as ok. What could Nikki Barnes, Frank Lucas, Bumby Johnson, or Kenneth McGriff if they were products of environment that gave them a chance to be ethical entrepreneurs? Regardless of the criminal background, these men were intellectually great in what they did. The only reason they are not in the history books with Martin Luther King or Malcolm X is due to the fact that their training produced criminal empire, not a business entity like apple.
As of right now, we in the Black community have been giving a group of speeches that are designed to motivate, but has done the opposite. The mental, spiritual, and emotional letdown has manifested into a vacuum of withdrawal infighting and a total disregard of others with the emphasis on self. With that in mind, here is a new way of total re-do within this system. Niccola Machiavelli, another of “The Prince” a book on philosophy and considered one of the best books on business, states a famous quote that applies here:
“I’m not interested in preserving the status quo, I want to overthrow it.”
To change means, sacrifice. They go hand in hand. Here are a list of changes that must happen within the Black Community to get rid of the status quo that has stopped growth:
1) Get over yourself allow me to be very direct, YOU ARE NOT ALL THAT. Whatever issue, complaint, drama in your life, people talking about you, bickering, acting silly at all times, is not how a person becomes successful. Being organized, confronting issues head-on, not trying to solve everyone’s problems, acting with a sense of responsibility, and hold yourself accountable for your actions is how you become successful.
2) White people are not the problem anymore I know that this is a hard pill to swallow, but if there are problems in your life, it is because YOU have allowed them to manifest in your life. Remember, life is a choice. YOU can choose to change to get better, or you can choose to allow it to get worse. No one placed this issue on you; the only one that can make the decision to use your free will to take on an issue with or without God is you. Please note the key word in this section: YOU.
3) Pay your bills on time Ok, this is a subject that needs to go beyond comedic jokes. It needs to go beyond “that what we do” statements. It must go to the head of the class. I fell into this type of decision making. Can I delay it? How long can I drive on illegal license plate tags and get away with it? Can I borrow enough money to go on the cruise with Tom Joyner? Can I buy the new shoes and paying bills next week? Do I need to go to that new club or pay the electric bill? Can I still get a new weave? Look, if it is a necessity for survival (i.e.: food, water, basic clothing, electricity, and gas, and anything that could have you go to jail), then place your money on those items first. I will add that to paying 10% back to the church that you attend is a legal issue with God. He mandated it, so you need to do it. Stop thinking that your own fun is more important than your word. Remember Proverbs 21:17. [“He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”] The question for you is this: is your wishes making your drama manifest?
4) Stop getting an attitude about things, people, and situations that you cannot control allow me to say that getting an attitude, twisting your neck around to show disapproval, talking louder to try to out-talk someone, or physical and verbal control techniques are all signs of lack of maturity. These types of mechanisms are used to control someone else. If they have worked for you in the past, it is due to the fact of 3 things: God told the person to be silent, they gave the illusion that you won to go away from them, or they are very cowardly. Either way, you lost the battle and the war because they are in control of you. If you want to be a great person, learn to speak softly. When you yell and act like a fool, you are in a wrongful mindset. Proverb 24:9 states that, “The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.” How much of a fool have you endorsed in yourself?
5) If you ask for someone’s help, why criticize them? Be a person of gratitude what gives anyone the right to question another person when either ask a question for help, or simply ask for some type of assistance? Great rule of the day; do not ask for something if you are not ready for the response.
6) Be the trend setter, not the trend follower what happened to imagination and originality? Everyone is trying to shard to be the same that if it is killing the ability to get ahead. Is training to be unique a sin? Is it ok to not be a thug? Is the nice guy or nice woman not cool because they are boring, or is it because they will not be the normal mindset? If you truly want to be a rebel, live a life of morality. Remember, according to society, Jesus was the biggest rebel of all time. In that case, allow me to give you the permission to be anti-social.
