The Words Of Martin Luther King

This book is a small collection of empowering words of Dr. Martin Luther King, edited by his wife Coretta Scott King.

Words armor our spirituality when they are lived with total sincerity and a passionate heart with the vision of life seen beyond the horizon.

To me personally, the words of Martin Luther King embody in themselves the Word of God, the life of Christ, our Lord, which truly have not been followed by many. Yet in the life of this brave man, the world sees all the necessary ingredients which change our life into a blessing.

In the introduction, Coretta Scott King recalls the words of her husband in his acceptance speech in Oslo, in 1964, when he had been awarded the Nobel Prize: “I feel as though this prize has been given to me for something that really has not been achieved. It is a commission to go out and work even harder for the things in which we believe.”

As I read this statement, I feel the immensity of humility in his being. Dr. King was an empowered preacher, whose sense of responsibility was beyond human comprehension. He was a man whose heart was strong enough to move mountains due to his vision that true reward comes from God.

Here I will share with the reader a few of his words, messages, which I see and perceive as prayers, which can transform our spirituality.

Service

The notion of service is infused in his spiritual being. And reading his words, one certainly grasps the ultimate beauty of service in our lives.

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?”  (page 17).

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” (page 17).

Participation

I have often spoken about the role of the human being in the life of the community through active participation. For in distancing ourselves from the universe and mankind, we then are in isolation and are no longer able to share with the people of God the gifts with which we were born.

Here I would like to quote the words of Martin Luther King, which have healing power for humankind: “When an individual is no longer a true participant, when he no longer feels a sense of responsibility to his society, the content of democracy is emptied. When culture is degraded and vulgarity enthroned, when the social system does not build security but induces peril, inexorably the individual is impelled to pull away from a soulless society. The process produces alienation – perhaps the most pervasive and insidious development in contemporary society.” (page 19).

Morality

Today’s society ought to enlighten the mind and soul with the visionary principles of this giant. Humanity has lost the track of journey which leads us to God and embraces joy risen from materialistic values: “We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity.” (page 21).

The intent of the preacher who wishes to bring humanity closer to God and the truth of life is as clear as crystal. “Moral principles have lost their distinctiveness. For modern man, absolute right and absolute wrong are a matter of what the majority is doing.” (page 21).

Certainly, it would be disastrous when moral principles are understood in the count of the crowds. I would say that moral principles should lead the crowds.

Forgiveness

The world community and more so, the leaders of today’s world are suffering due to the absence of forgiving hearts for one another. Forgiveness is the basis of Christianity. Even for the Church leaders, it must be a message relived. There cannot be a community where the spirit of forgiveness is trodden. Thus, the words of Dr. King are the spiritual vitamins for our faith life. A heart emptied of the spirit of forgiveness must read his words till we get the true and powerful meaning of the message.

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” (page 23).

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” (page 23).

Racism, Civil Rights, Justice, and Freedom

Racism, civil rights, justice, and freedom have been the road maps of his life’s journey. He almost singlehandedly led the movement of life, the dawn of new life of humanity. Humanity cannot and should not live life in isolation. We are created for one another and the beauty of life is seen only in the living message of love and respect for human life, which ultimately requires sacrifice.

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. Without persistent effort, time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of irrational emotionalism and social destruction. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” (page 59).

Faith and Religion

The words of Dr. Martin Luther King dedicated to faith and religion educate us about God’s centrality in our life. Here he speaks about the co-relationship between science and religion:

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of absolute materialism and moral nihilism.” (page 63).

His words dedicated to the search for God need no explanation. The more one reads them, the richer we are, for we then see and feel the presence of God:

“So I say to you, seek God and discover Him and make Him a power in your life. Without Him, all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights. Without Him, life is meaningless drama with the decisive scenes missing. But in Him, we are able to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope. With Him we are able to rise from midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy. St. Augustine was right – we were made for God and we will be restless until we find rest in Him.

Love yourself, if that means rational, healthy, and moral self-interest. You are commanded to do that. That is the length of life. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. You are commanded to do that. That is the breadth of life. But never forget that there is a first and even greater commandment, ‘Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind.’ This is the height of life. And when you do this you live the complete life.” (page 64).

I would say that this particular passage is the jewel of his thoughts. People who have deviated their journey of life and are trapped into the abyss of darkness should read the luminous words of Dr. Martin Luther King to quickly return to the truth of life as did the Prodigal Son. He then concludes his thought in the following reflection:

“Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force, so beautifully exemplified in the life of our Christ, is the most potent instrument available in mankind’s quest for peace and security.” (page 65).

There are several other passages that are worth reading and applying them in our personal as well as community lives.

Peace

In one of the chapters of the book entitled “peace,” he shares with us his vision and commitment to the world community.

“Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.” (page 90).

The last chapter of the book introduces the reader to his “creed” of life, where excerpts from his speech delivered in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, is presented. Any attempt for interpretation of the actual passage will make no justice to his faith life and philosophy.

“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountain top. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight, I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” (page 94).

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian

Primate

January 23, 2021