[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ admin_toggled=”no” type=”legacy”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” hover_type=”none” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_sizes_top=”0″ border_sizes_bottom=”0″ border_sizes_left=”0″ border_sizes_right=”0″ first=”true” type=”1_1″][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

Allyship and advocacy are very different things. Do you know the difference between them? Do you know how to be an ally vs an advocate? Read on to learn more!

[/fusion_text][fusion_title title_type=”text” rotation_effect=”bounceIn” display_time=”1200″ highlight_effect=”circle” loop_animation=”off” highlight_width=”9″ highlight_top_margin=”0″ before_text=”” rotation_text=”” highlight_text=”” after_text=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” content_align_medium=”” content_align_small=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ font_size=”” animated_font_size=”” fusion_font_family_title_font=”” fusion_font_variant_title_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”5″ margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” text_color=”#234049″ animated_text_color=”” highlight_color=”” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

Advocacy v. Allyship

[/fusion_title][fusion_title title_type=”text” rotation_effect=”bounceIn” display_time=”1200″ highlight_effect=”circle” loop_animation=”off” highlight_width=”9″ highlight_top_margin=”0″ before_text=”” rotation_text=”” highlight_text=”” after_text=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” content_align_medium=”” content_align_small=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ font_size=”” animated_font_size=”” fusion_font_family_title_font=”” fusion_font_variant_title_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” text_color=”” animated_text_color=”” highlight_color=”” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

written by AJ Freibott + Ife Oladoja | July 19, 2020

[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

Defining Allyship Through Faith

As Ife and I (AJ) have prayerfully considered what we would like to share with you throughout this series, we continued to come back to the idea of what it means to be an advocate versus an ally. We are convicted that these two things are distinctly different from one another and that understanding them will provide better context for us to engage in hard conversations and continue to become better learners.

I find that I am most often drawn to the story of Esther. In the book, we follow the journey of Esther and Mordecai, her uncle. They were Jews living in the Persian empire during the diaspora of the Jews. King Xerxes was a suppressive ruler who had his wife, Vashti, exiled in the first chapter– which then incites a search for his new queen. Esther is selected to be the new queen from hundreds of young women. While in the palace, she hears about the King’s plan, advised by his right-hand man, Haman, to kill the Jews in the Persian empire.

Mordecai, a man of God, pleads with Esther to use her position within the royal court and her favor with the king to plead on behalf of the Jews. And while he is speaking with her, he reminds her:

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.70″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:14

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

Esther then goes on to leverage her privilege to advocate for her people — those marginalized within the Persian Empire. She is a perfect example of advocacy and allyship. She understands the injustice that is being carried out against the Jews and advocates for their lives. And she continues her work as an ally by advocating on behalf of the Jews to King Xerxes until justice is achieved. She puts her life on the line by going before the King in pursuit of justice. Allyship is the practice of laying yourself aside to leverage your privilege for the sake of righteousness. In speaking to Mordecai, Esther says, with conviction:

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.70″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” – Esther 4:16

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

She is holding herself to the Lord’s standard of justice. She is leveraging her privilege for the sake of others.

The caveat to what we’re speaking about today is this: Esther was part of the marginalized group who had to fight for the survival of her people.

Today, I am charging you, my white brothers and sisters to advocate for the people who do not look like you, live like you, or talk like you.

While the majority of us probably aren’t royals, we all carry inherent privilege, and who knows if the Lord has placed us in our respective positions — our jobs, our social circles, our areas of impact — to be an ally and an advocate for those who are disadvantaged?

One of the most beautiful things about the story of Esther is her action.

We know, as women of the Lord, that our faith is a faith rooted in action.

James 2:26 says our “faith without works is dead.” So, what are “works?”

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.70″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly.” – Proverbs 31:8-9

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

With that as our backbone, let’s begin to discuss the differences between advocate and ally and their tie to our work within the context of the Gospel.

[/fusion_text][fusion_imageframe image_id=”9024|full” max_width=”” sticky_max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://livesalted.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AdvocacyAllyshipJames2.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

My white experience of Advocacy versus Allyship

I work as an admissions counselor for a large university. That means that it’s my full-time job to be my students’ best friend as they navigate the college application process. I, a white woman, was placed within the context of having an opportunity to work with families from all different phases of life, but the majority of my students come from migrant families, first-generation families, foster homes, native reservations, and many more different walks of life.

When I first took on my role I had a lot of conflicting thoughts about it. My heart was to serve, but I was nervous that in serving I would be seen as trying to achieve “white saviorism.”

White saviorism: This phrase refers to a person who seeks out people to help, in hopes of being seen as righteous or charitable. This can be shown in white people working in spaces that are inhabited or owned by people of color in which the outcome is beneficial to themselves. Instagram posts of short term mission trips are not the goal. The hope is to see long-term investment in communities of color.

I resolved to show up as authentically as I could, and listen well before I ever opened my mouth. I understood that my experience as a white woman in America was vastly different than the lived experiences of most of my students, but I would never pretend that I understood what it felt like to feel “othered” based on the color of my skin.

Othered: View or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself.

And then one day, I was confronted with the difference between being an advocate and an ally.

ADVOCATE (n) ad·​vo·​cate: one who pleads the cause of another; one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal; one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group.

ALLY (V) al·​ly: to unite or form a connection or relation between; to form or enter into an alliance.

I was in western Montana with my colleague, who worked in the Native American Programs department, as we set out to recruit the new generation of our students. On this particular day we were a part of a college fair at one of the high schools on the Flathead Reservation. In a lull between waves of students, I turned to my colleague and asked: “how can I be a better ally to my students when I have no idea where they’re coming from?”

At which point he looked at me, and both sternly and softly began to explain to me that allyship is a privilege pending an invitation. My job, as a white woman, was not to be their ally right off the bat by forcing myself into their circles, but my job was to be an advocate. To do the work. To get my hands dirty. To show up.

An advocate, he explained, is someone who proves over time that they are committed to laying their privilege aside to learn how to partner with a marginalized group. An advocate is what we all should be naturally.

An ally, however, is someone who is not a part of a marginalized group who has demonstrated their commitment to doing the work and is then invited by the people they are walking alongside into relationships and alliances.

In essence, being an advocate is a starting point — it is the initial awareness and rebuttal of systems that oppress others. Allyship is the continuation of the work.

In the days of social media, everyone can be an advocate, but not all are allies. Advocates raise their voices, stand alongside and strive to learn more. Allies do all the same things, but they never let up when their feeds go back to normal. Allies are those who have made a continuous commitment to show up better and love better in spaces where they are not the majority.

And isn’t it beautiful that ally is a verb? It is a continuous practice. It is the art of doing. It is being people of action.

So in my job and in my life, I was convicted with the idea that it is not my role to define myself as an ally. Instead, it is my job to be an advocate and fight for justice, and if I have become a safe space and a safe person, ultimately, it is the decision of the group I am fighting for to decide if I am actually an ally or not.

Are they able to believe that I will continue to make myself uncomfortable for the sake of an equitable society? Can they see my hands building a table as a means of connecting? Are they confident that I am not erasing their stories, but instead elevating them? Ultimately, can the people I fight for look at me and trust that I will continue to leverage my own privilege in order to offer them a seat at the table my skin earned me a spot at? Can I guarantee that how I operate in the world reminds them that they are a member of the table too?

The Holy Spirit has spoken to me over and over, you cannot accept apathy to be the “norm” as a person of faith. We are called to act.

You do not have to be a person of faith to care about racial injustice, but you do have to care about racial injustice as a person of faith.

[/fusion_text][fusion_imageframe image_id=”9027|full” max_width=”” sticky_max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://livesalted.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AdvocacyAllyshipRacialInjustice.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

__________________________________________________________________________

As AJ shared, there is so much more work to be done and unlearning to acknowledge when it comes to our patterns of comfort and naive assumptions for what is “normal” as believers.

My Experience

I (Ife), as a black woman, have known, for longer than I care to admit, that I cannot take on a majority of the hills I have had to face alone. In more cases than not, my skin and the prejudices about my character have left me in battles I’m outnumbered to fight, especially when it’s just you against, what feels like, the entire town.

I can think of nights in the shower where I was crying out to the Lord in tears to help me. Help me against what? Help me against ignorance. Help me against the microaggressions made towards me.

MICROAGGRESSION (n) mi·cro·ag·gres·sion: a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.

Microaggressions are more than just insults, insensitive comments, or generalized jerky behavior. They are the kinds of remarks, questions, or actions that are painful because they have to do with a person’s membership in a group that’s discriminated against or subject to stereotypes. While it is indirect, subtle, or unintentional it is still discrimination.

I always wanted to speak up but was too afraid of losing the small pocket of favor I did have by making people, including the leaders around me, feel “uncomfortable.” Leaders, who shrugged at my comments or bulldozed through anything I had to say, came back at me with “guidance” or “advice” to not be so “opinionated.” There was even a meeting I had with some leaders where one of them had said I “needed to be tamed.” All because I simply chose to speak up.

I have experienced more of these instances than I care to count. The number of prejudices that have influenced my life and wellbeing, especially in the westernized church, are too exhaustive to recount.

So when we talk about reform, we are talking about me. We are talking about my family. We are talking about my black brothers and sisters who have been silenced. The movement happening globally right now is not about hating or calling out. It is about calling up. It is about calling forth the justice in us all to become people of continuous action. It is a movement for justice.

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.70″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed…” – Jeremiah 22:3

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

My Black brothers and sisters have been robbed. The selfishness of privileged individuals to believe that their lives carry more value than ours, has robbed us of our dignity, livelihood, and so much more. The difference in the current movement, compared to so many others before, is that today’s fight for justice is so much more invitational. There is a greater camaraderie between the Black and white communities throughout the world. We are inviting our white brothers and sisters to stand alongside us as we fight back against oppression.

We are pleading with the westernized world to recognize where the drug of selfishness has distorted justice.

[/fusion_text][fusion_imageframe image_id=”9028|full” max_width=”” sticky_max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://livesalted.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AdvocacyAllyshipAlly.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

We are extending the invitation of allyship to those who are willing to show up and put in the work.

I’ve recently been reading through James, and I encourage you to read James 2 during your devotional time. This chapter outlines the lies that selfishness in our culture tries to persuade us of. The drug of selfishness has destroyed relationships, families, nations and kingdoms. Selfishness blocks the pathway for everyone besides itself and once it gets to the other side, it cuts the rope so no one else can cross.

In regard to my friends who are aware of their privilege, I challenge you to seek humility. The practice of humility is so much more than admitting your privilege. Humility is the continuous and intentional act of laying your privilege aside for the sake of what is right. You have to put in the work to identify where you have chosen yourself over the lives of others and get to the root of your addiction to selfishness. Selfishness always puts “me” first and it has stemmed from the same branches of privilege, entitlement and hate.

Racism is selfishness in disguise.

So in relation to what we have said about allyship being a continuous action, I ask you this: where in your life are you acting out of selfishness? James 2 gives us some practical guidelines for rejecting selfishness in favor of allyship.

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.7″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:14-17

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

There is hope. His name is Jesus and while the world looks to the left and the right, we have a third way of looking. We have a man that is True in every way and He sent us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help and direct us in the same battles that He faced, and won.

I find the most peace when I remember how this all ends. But until that time, we must not be ignorant to the realities our brothers and sisters face within the fight for racial justice. We must decide where we stand and allow the gifts of conviction and repentance to help us look more like Jesus, instead of ignoring them and looking like the world.

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.7″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

And from this same hope, being an ally for people of color is synonymous with being an ally of Christ.

[/fusion_text][fusion_imageframe image_id=”9029|full” max_width=”” sticky_max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://livesalted.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AdvocacyAllyshipAdvocate.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

It’s formed by relationship and is more than just a descriptive word, but one of action with results of connection and unity. 

I say this all in love because I see who we can become, as a nation, society and body of believers. And I will be a friend who cares more about your character than your feelings, and call you up, not just out. 

[/fusion_text][fusion_tagline_box content_alignment=”left” link=”” button=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_type=”” button_border_radius=”” buttoncolor=”default” title=”” description=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.7″ border=”1″ bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”left” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” – James 5:19-20

[/fusion_tagline_box][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

As you continue to read this series, remain open to new perspectives and ideas. Unlearn your normal. Become comfortable with correction. Change your responses from simply “being wrong” to “now seeing” or “learning.” And begin to ask yourself, where or how you can help in restoring the bridges that have been cut down for others. That’s why these articles exist, to help and encourage you to see where and how things have been so that we may change for a better tomorrow.

It is our prayer that we all become women whose character is rooted in empathy and Christ-likeness. Right now, we are all being invited into allyship. May we heed the call to be women who show up, listen well, and lay aside selfishness in favor of righteousness.

Let us all become women like Esther, who advocate for what is just, no matter the cost.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]