Loving your enemies even when they’re racists

Brent Campbell is an African American student at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and the captain of the university’s track team. In a recent incident on campus, Campbell was working out on the intramural fields, and five white men in a pick-up truck drove past and screamed racist threats at Campbell, saying “If we see you here again we’ll beat your f****** n***** a**!”

I can hardly fathom a more hateful thing to say to a person. And I can barely imagine what it must have been like to be the target of such poisonous threats. I suppose that I might have gotten angry or lashed-out in response. But Campbell did neither of those things. Rather, his response was one of reconciliation and love.

CNN reported on the incident in the video above but did not accent the fact that Campbell attributes his response to his Christian faith. The local news coverage did bring this part out in its reporting, and you can see it in the video below.

I don’t know Brent Campbell, but I sure like what I see here. Being faithful to Christ in the face of this kind of hatred is the kind of example that we need to highlight and to honor. It’s what we should aspire for in all of our sons. Here’s a man willing to love his enemies—even racist ones—and he does it in the name of Christ. If there were a better way than this one to adorn the doctrine of our God and Savior, I don’t know what it is (Titus 2:10).

God bless you, brother Brent.

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