Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Tim Scott is not a sellout.
Daniel Cameron is not a traitor.
As a saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost-filled child of the true and living God, my grandmother taught me that I should never speak ill of the dead or the living. Because I couldn’t fully grasp this concept, I would sometimes offer hypothetical situations of the most evil people I could think of — from racist murderers to people who brought store-bought pound cakes to funeral repasts. My grandma’s response was always the same; she just cited a Bible verse followed by the phrase: “May the words of the true and living God come to pass.”
“What if someone burned down our house?” I’d ask.
“Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you,” she’d respond. “Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you … Matthew 5:43. May the words of the true and living God come to pass.”
My grandmother was truly a living testimony. But once, when someone brought up the name of Mr. Johnson, a local Black attorney, I witnessed the temporary loss of her Holy Ghost. “Damn him,” she blurted out. When she saw my sisters, cousins and me sitting with our mouths agape, she unapologetically quoted a scripture about being diced into pieces, going to hell and — I’m pretty sure there was something about teeth. Then she folded her arms, sat back and said seethingly: “May the words of the true and living God come to pass.”
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