Let’s Get to the Point
I was sitting with a few friends, and the topic of diversity came up. Not everyone in the conversation had the same skin color, and the conversation turned into everyone talking about the pitfalls of placing diversity as the highest virtue. The white folks expressed their frustration with diversity cutting the legs from under meritocracy, while the non-white folks want to be known for their hard work and not their skin color (and gender, for that matter). The conversation never left my head when we parted company. But it took me to my youth and the messaging I received from the political class and Hollywood. For some time, diversity has been the highest American virtue. Schools and universities create policies to create a diverse student body. Businesses pride themselves on having a diverse employee base. There are metrics that rate the most diverse cities or communities throughout America. Some churches want to ensure a diverse pastoral staff. Of course, there is nothing wrong with diversity, but what happens when diversity becomes the highest virtue? In America, because diversity has become the highest virtue, the very fabric upon which this country was founded has been torn apart.
“When I Was Your Age”
Every dad says to their children, “When I was your age…” and then the dad pontificates on how things were harder for him than his children. I am going to have that moment right now, but it isn’t about walking two miles in the snow uphill to school and then home after school. But it is about the virtue of meritocracy. When I was your age, a person’s reward was based upon the work they put in. A reason why the same kids get picked last at recess to play basketball is because the other kids put more effort into honing their skills. However, the kid who got picked last might become a civil engineer because, in his free time, he was figuring out how to master a Rubix cube. When I was your age, trophies were given to the first, second, and maybe the third-place teams at a baseball tournament. Now, in an effort not to make anyone feel bad, everyone receives a trophy. But any kid with any sense knows the trophy is bogus. His team lost every game in the tournament, so now it’s time to go back home and practice. While sports are still relatively untouched when it comes to meritocracy, diversity is wedging its way in. May I introduce to you the dude who swam against women in college, Leah Thomas.
The Matt Chandler Moment
The church is not unaffected by the diversity virus. Years ago, the famous mega-church pastor Matt Chandler said that he would hire a black guy who rated 7 out of 10 over a white guy who rated 8 out of 10. He wanted to follow Target’s lead. My question to Chandler is, how do you think that makes the black guy feel? Listen, you are not as qualified and skilled as that other white guy, but because of the melanin in your skin, we are going to give you the job.
Many years ago, I caught a sniffle of the diversity virus, and I received tremendous advice. I went to a Big Eva conference that gave out the diversity virus like the flu vaccine. Upon coming home, I asked a black pastor in town, “What would it look like for a white culture to cultivate a diverse church?” He gave sage advice and said, “Your church will take on the makeup of your community.”
As far as the church goes, a local church unites around the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
– Galatians 3:27–29
The church does not unite around an ethic of diversity. If God creates a diverse church, great. The culture that accompanies diversity can be a beautiful thing. However, diversity and culture submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Here is a line you can take to the bank: Heaven is going to be filled with diversity, and no one will notice.
The Age of Intersectionality
Perhaps the greatest threat to meritocracy is intersectionality, which breeds the pagan ethic of diversity. Intersectionality is an outgrowth of Critical Race Theory. Intersectionality introduces a linear scale of oppression. The more of the oppressed boxes you can check, the more authority you have to speak against the oppressors. A white Christian middle-aged straight man is not oppressed but is part of the problem. He is the oppressor. A black transgender woman is down the intersectional scale and is, therefore, more oppressed. Therefore, that person is in a better position to receive that promotion over the straight white guy. In a culture that has made diversity its highest virtue, intersectionality is the tool that is attempting to take the legs from under meritocracy. The big box store down the road is checking off as many intersectional boxes as they can, even though more qualified candidates exist. The dentist’s office will hire the college grad with a diploma in lesbian dance theory – and all the diversity he or she brings while setting aside the resume of a guy with a degree in biology with a focus on oral health care.
How Meritocracy Dies
You can see how meritocracy is going to die unless something radical takes place. I think it is true that eventually CRT, Intersectionality, and all of its Marxist underpinnings will eventually kill itself. The ruse cannot be maintained because CRT and intersectionality are constantly looking for blood, and eventually, it will come for its own. We are already seeing how the L and G in LGBTQ are protesting against the T. At the moment, the T demands that all bow down and accept its feelings and wishes. But the L and G are beginning to rightly see the consequences of their own ideology. So yes, it is possible for intersectionality to die. The question is not, “will it die?” It is, “Will it take meritocracy down with it?” There is a millstone hanging around the neck of intersectionality, but will it grab meritocracy, causing both of them to drown at the same time?
At the moment, America has lost the value of meritocracy on the altar of diversity.
How Meritocracy Can Live
Because the glass is sometimes half full, it is worth asking if meritorcity can survive. The answer is a guarded yes. It is going to take a massive reformation to ensure that women’s sports are protected. It is going to take real and meaningful racial reconciliation from all races. It is going to take current and new institutions to reclaim the virtue of responsibility, which is a foundation block of meritocracy. It is going to take Christians and nonChristians to come together and reject the Woke mind virus. It is going to take earthly fathers to demonstrate to their children the importance of hard work. It is going to take pastors of churches to celebrate diversity when it applies, but do not chase diversity like a rabid dog after a steak. Small business owners do not need to copy large corporations; they can simply hire the best person for the job – white, black, brown, man, or woman.
A Last Word
The worst possible takeaway from this article is that the author must be racist! He does not like black people! Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have friends who are black, white, and brown, and what I want for all of them is to have dignity. Dignity is not found in CRT and intersectionality, which claims diversity as its highest virtue. CRT and intersectionality ignore dignity by feeding a person’s perceived victimhood. If experience has taught me anything, there is no dignity in a perceived victimhood. There is only an activist cause that has built out of a false desire for an equitable utopia of diversity.
The Christian response is to look to Christ as the reason for unity. When someone looks to Christ, another set of virtues is established. Go back to the Epistle to the Galatians. The apostle Paul laid out virtues that are worth pursuing in chapter 5.
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
What is clearly missing in this list is diversity. Once again, I am not suggesting that diversity is not helpful. I am not suggesting that diversity is not good. As it was mentioned, heaven will be diverse (but no one will notice). The argument being made in this article is that diversity is not the virtue on which humanity is centered. Further, when diversity is the highest virtue, the mechanism that creates diversity – intersectionality – ends up creating the opposite problem. There is discord. When diversity is the highest virtue, the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit is manifested. You don’t believe me? Go ahead and test my thesis by looking at some of the most “diverse” movements of the last 100 years. What do you see? You see a “diverse” Black Lives Matter movement burning down buildings in 2020. At present, you have a “diverse” anti-Israel movement chanting, “From the river to the sea.” If keeping diversity as the highest virtue results in the annihilation of an entire race, I’ll pass. Without Christ and the virtues that accompany knowing Christ, you have chaos. With Christ, you see the value of honesty and hard work. You have a form of meritocracy. Here are a few quick hitters from the Word of God.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
– Colossians 3:23
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
– Proverbs 13:4
And here is the apostle Paul reinforcing Proverbs 13:4.
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
– 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
It does not matter if a person is white, black, or brown. All image-bearers of God have the capacity to reject the diversity narrative and realize a self-dignity that is centered on God and the virtues laid down in His Word. If the virtue of diversity is going to get knocked down a few pegs, the Christian narrative needs to be woven back into American society.
– Edmund Burke
