LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear editor,

Re: Raynard Churchwell’s June 11 Reporter column.

Yes, a lot of it is very true. There are some who hate others for the color of their skin. I am a 79-year-old white man and I grew up around older white men who carried their dislike for others because of the color of their skin.

I suppose in a way I must admit I carried those for some of my life.

But then something happened to me. I got saved, born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

What happened? My Lord taught me to look at the person, not the color of their skin. Then I was called to preach the gospel.

I worked at Alcoa for 33 years. I kept working there while preaching.

On the night shift at Alcoa, I would have men come to me who wanted to talk about their problems. Yes, I had quite a few black men come to me and pour their hearts out about things going on in their lives.

I listened and we prayed together. We became friends.

There were two men, both black, both supervisors. I was just a working man. We became so close I know either one of them would have laid down their lives for me and I would have laid down my life for either one of them.

It wasn’t white and black. It was a bond between brothers in the Lord and respect for one another.

What am I trying to say?

To change minds we must change hearts. To change hearts we need a change.

What change? The Lord Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross. We need to be born again and let His love control our hearts, souls, spirits and minds.

Then the hate, the different colors, the different races do not mean anything.

We are brothers and sisters in the Lord and we can love one another. Amen!

Billy E. Strelsky

890 County Road 309

Rockdale

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