Tell Our Story

While researching a topic in the Bible, I came across the name Balaam. It was unfamiliar, so I took note of it to research later. When I began my study of Balaam, I realized that I heard of the story of Balaam’s talking donkey. But why I was drawn to the story of Balaam? What lesson did God have for me?

Balaam was a world renown pagan diviner and prophet. As the Israelites were preparing to move into the Promised Land, the country of Moab became afraid. The Moabite king sent for Balaam to curse the Israelites. Instead, God caused Balaam to bless the Israelites and curse their enemies seven times. Read Numbers 22-24 for the full story.

As time passed, the Israelites lapsed into forgetfulness. Seemingly, this story was lost or forgotten by the multitude. Several times through the ages, the Israelites had to be reminded of how God had used evil intent to bless them. As the generations became further removed from the blessing, maybe they began abbreviating or even omitting the story. Maybe the people became so complacent with the status quo that they no longer felt a need to tell this important story to the next generation. But because they stopped sharing the story, they reverted to making the same mistakes, such as indulging in the pagan practices of Balaam. Deuteronomy 23:4-5, Joshua 24:9-10, Nehemiah 13:1-2, and Micah 6:5 are all instances of the Israelite leaders and prophets reminding the Israelites of how God spoke blessings upon them through the mouth of a pagan prophet. The leaders admonished the people to follow God, not pagans.

Has that happened to us? Have we as African Americans become so complacent with the status quo that we felt no need to tell our story? Have we forgotten the struggles and pain endured just so we could exercise the right to vote without harassment? Is that why so many of us do not vote? Have we forgotten our story?

We have a rich story of sacrificing, of overcoming, of winning to ensure our basic civil liberties-“one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”-are upheld. But as we moved two or three generations from those who fought the fight on the frontlines, have we abbreviated or omitted our story? Have we become too far removed from that fight to be affected? Have we stopped sharing those struggles and victories with the current generation? Have we become like the Israelites of old and slipped into complacency? Are the political climate and social injustices of today God’s way of reminding us of our story and how He has helped us to overcome in the past?

Let us tell our story. We need to tell our story to honor those who sacrificed life, liberty, freedom, health so that generations after would enjoy these liberties. We need to tell our story to remind ourselves what we have won and still need to win. We need to tell not only the infamous and news-making stories, but the personal stories in our families. We need to tell our story to our youth so that they understand, and then, they too will tell the story. We need to tell our story to remember how God has seen us through. We need to tell our story as a call to action. We do not want our story lost.

Reflect: What are you doing to combat the complacency of today? Are you sharing our story? Are you registered to vote? As a registered voter, utilize your right! Does your state offer mail-in/absentee voting or early voting? Find out what how your state is handling voting during the pandemic by clicking here.

See how one person is making a difference by telling our story. My cousin Lisa Y. Henderson has several blogs devoted to elements of our story. Scuffalong is focused on her maternal and paternal genealogy. It goes beyond who begat whom and brings to light significant incidents in these families. Black Wide Awake is focused on bringing to light the documented history of African Americans in the city of her hometown of Wilson, NC.