Daily Devotion

One of the ways we can respond to learning about racism is to “buy Black,” meaning to intentionally choose Black-owned businesses. If you’re having your house painted or your dryer repaired and you don’t already have a person you trust, why not seek out Black-owned businesses to consider? If you’re looking for handmade gifts, why not look for Black craftspeople online or locally to support? How we spend our money is as much a spiritual activity as prayer. This summer, I actively went out to find game designers of color and absolutely fell in love with two. 

I don’t play many games with regular cards but the set I ordered from The Black Pack is gorgeous. They’re heavy plastic and customized with some of the most beautiful texture and art I’ve ever seen. These cards are rose gold with a subtle pebble texture on one side and a starburst on the other. The face cards are themed around African royalty, 1970s icons, and more. They are an absolute joy to play with and suddenly I found myself playing solitaire every chance I got!

I’d seen Omari Akil’s game “Rap Godz” here and there, but I’m not a huge fan of rap so I hadn’t given it much thought. I finally read some reviews and thought, “Let’s give this a try!” Thank goodness I did because it’s one of my favorite games of the year. You play up-and-coming rappers trying to make it in the music industry by playing cards that give you more talent, more street cred, and more swag. You can also fight with the other players by starting beef which can end up backfiring on you. “Rap Godz” is a reminder to myself that there are all kinds of things in the world that I don’t think I’ll like, that I dismiss out-of-hand, that seem like I wouldn’t be interested in, but that are just delightful. “Try it, you’ll like it,” my parents used to say!

I often wonder how Jesus’ disciples got along, particularly at the beginning. They’d all seen something in Jesus when he called them, something other-worldly and exciting, but how did they feel when they looked around at the others? Tax-collectors, fishermen, women, even—what prejudices did they work on getting over to be part of this Kingdom-thing Jesus was proclaiming? What prejudices are we being called to overcome as people of God now? How have you and we as a community of faith begun opening ourselves up to the stories of our Black siblings? How does the Kingdom of God show up for you in the news and in your thoughts and conversations about racism?

1 comments on article "Daily Devotion"

Heidi Johnson

I had never thought about using games to approach racism. Thanks for the idea!

1/6/2021 9:18 AM

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