Black Love Lenses
by Chanté Griffin
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
Black Love Lenses
An excerpt from Chapter 1 of Loving Your Black Neighbor as Yourself: A Guide to Closing the Space Between Us (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House).
I ran into walls as a toddler. And into sliding glass doors.
Turns out I needed glasses, like my father, his mother, and her siblings. And not the cute, stylish kind you can buy from a hip brand like Warby Parker. Imagine a two-year-old with a small body, a big head, and lenses so thick her eyes doubled in size!
True to my four-eyed persona, I was kind of a nerd in school. I loved to get good grades on tests, assignments, and pop quizzes — plus, I was doing all the extra credit because the only thing better than an A is an A+. Case in point: When I was around ten or eleven, I was determined to ace the eye exam at the optometrist's office, even though I have astigmatism, and let's not forget — I used to run into walls. When I arrived at the eye doctor's office that afternoon for my annual exam, I started to memorize the eye chart: "D, C, T, P . . ."
"What are you doing?" my mom asked as she caught me reciting.
Hearts have eyes — if not literally, then definitely metaphorically, according to Paul Baloche, who penned the popular worship song "Open the Eyes of My Heart." Our hearts hold our innermost beliefs, and they reveal how we see and resultantly treat our Black Neighbors. If we allow our hearts to be examined, they reveal how much (or little) love we have for those neighbors and the ways our love needs to be purified. Our hearts house our fears, our insecurities, our pride, and the parts of us we don't wanna acknowledge. In fact, we don't always know what's in our hearts until someone shows us the results of our eye exam.
Beloved, love yourself by being honest about any ways you haven't viewed your Black Neighbor properly. Allow yourself to be wrapped in God's forgiveness and love. When you seize the opportunity to confront the sin of racism as an opportunity to love yourself, then despite how horrible getting called out may feel, you will embrace it as a gift from God. A gift that can close the space between you, God, and your Black Neighbor.
Prayer Pause
Confronting any racism in your heart is no easy task. You may think, Chanté, I don't need to do this — I'm fine! Or your physical heart may be racing a little because you're afraid of what you may see. Either way, I encourage you to be open to what the Spirit of Love may show you. Whatever it is, it will be good for you and your Black Neighbor.
Before we move forward, let's pray for guidance and support from the Spirit of Love. First notice the posture of your body: Are you tense? Holding your breath?
Take a deep breath, in and out, allowing any tension to leave your body. Then pray this breath prayer. (Breath prayers promote calm and can help your physical body connect with your spirit. As you inhale and exhale, pray the words silently.)
Breathe in:
Spirit of Love, talking about racism is hard.
Breathe out:
Remove any fear or shame I may have.
Breathe in:
Give me courage for an eye exam.
Breathe out:
Give me grace to love myself anew.
about the Author
Chanté Griffin
Chanté Griffin is a literary artist (journalist + author) and performing artist (actor + TV personality) who uses the arts and media to advocate for equity and wellness for all — particularly Black Americans. Her work centers on the intersection of racial equity and spiritual and communal wellness.
She is the author of Loving Your Black Neighbor as Yourself: A Guide to Closing the Space Between Us (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House). Contributing writer for The Washington Post, Faithfully Magazine, and LA Parent Magazine. Her work has appeared in EBONY, The Huffington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, and more.
Chanté also coaches creatives through Spirit & Scribe, an online workshop at the intersection of writing craft and spiritual formation.
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