Do! Talk with your kids.

Don’t! Assume they don’t need to know what’s going on.

Do! Keep it simple!

Don’t! Plot elaborate monologues about the multi-faceted complexities happening in our world right now.

Do! Define terms clearly in age-appropriate ways.

• Race=the groups of people based on physical characteristics or shared ancestry
• Discrimination=treating people differently because their physical characteristics (usually treating them badly); sometimes this how we treat them as individuals and sometimes it’s how one group treats another group as time passes and the systems that are built continue those treatments
• Stereotypes=a generally held idea about a type of person

Don’t! Assume they will “pick up” values from you or their experiences.

Do! Praise God for the differences He created in people. (Our God is so creative He even gave us each a different amount of melanin—wow!)

Don’t! Emphasize being colorblind.

Do! Start with the cross through which all are justified freely by grace through faith in Jesus.

Don’t! Start with yourself. It’s not about YOU.

Do! Talk about people as God’s image-bearers, created in His image, over all created beings.

Don’t! Talk about ethnicity, race or worldly ascriptions as being most important identity markers.

Do! Talk about ethnicity, race and worldly ascriptions as being part of what make each person who we are.  

Don’t! Ignore who people are and where/who they come from (their heritage).

Do! Have grace for people who talk and think differently than you do.

Don’t! Lambaste others who talk and think differently than you do.

Do! Educate the ignorant.

Don’t! Keep silent to sins of hatred or abuse.

Do! Listen and learn. Be humble and teachable. (Sometimes YOU are the ignorant one.)

Don’t! Think you already know all there is to know about race issues in our world.

Do! Love. [Be patient, kind, not envying, not boasting, not proud, not dishonoring others, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs, not delighting in evil but rejoicing with the truth, always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always persevering. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)]

Don’t! Be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal by speaking without love. (1 Corinthians 13:1)

Do! Pray.

Don’t! Think humanity can simply “do better” on our own apart from God.