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Not all mentally ill people are violent.

Not all violent people are mentally ill.

Not all mentally ill people are racist.

Not all racists are mentally ill.

Not all mentally ill people are out of control and unable to be responsible saints and sinners.

The most disorganized thinker can make some choices and choose to follow a path of sin or righteousness. I have known some very spiritually healthy people who cannot figure out how to cross the street.

I have known some emotionally sound souls who cannot seem to make right moral choices and whose hearts are spiritually polluted.

Some of the healthiest spirituality I have seen, I have encountered among patients in mental hospitals.

Is sin a form of insanity?

Yes and no.

It is spiritual insanity and it is not normal.

Is racism a form of insanity? Individually? Corporately?

Yes and no.

Yes because it is not normal; it is irrational; it is ungodly at its core.To hate a soul God made is a form of hatred of God no matter how tightly it is wrapped in religious language and formality. It is deranged and irrational. It leads to an out-of-balance insanity.

But, once named, acknowledged, and dealt with, it is curable by God's grace.

It may take a while. It may involve uncovering layer upon layer that we did not know existed. It may still bite us from time to time, but it involves choice.

If we grow up, we can outgrow it as long as we know it, name it, and reject it.

But we are still responsible for it.

It is in-congruent with the gospel and it is a world-wide phenomenon. In this country, it looks one way. In other places, it takes on different forms.

Everywhere it shows up, it is evil and it is stupid.

Evil – It is sin, individual and corporate.

"All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God."

That is not an excuse; it is a call to repentance.

I say "stupid" because some people who don't mind being evil would cringe to think that they might also be stupid.

Throw in spiritual insanity and they might just take a closer look at their assumptions.

Racism has no place in an intelligent and civilized society. It has even less place among people of faith.

Ultimately, it will not be the politicians, lawyers, psychologists, or any other discipline that defines moral terminology and what they say really matters only for a few hours of press time.

What really matters is truth and truth is obvious.

We are all precious to God and ought to be precious to each other.

When one hurts, we all ought to hurt.

When one falls, we all ought to examine ourselves lest we fall or cause another to fall.