ArcaMax

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." -- Jude 24

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used the beginning of this scripture in his "Strength to Love" chapter, "Our God Is Able." This message is undoubtedly needed as encouragement for those who have already grown weary as we approach the end of January. King reassured his readers that even in uncertain times, we must have a "God-centered focus," believing in the One who is "able to beat back gigantic waves of opposition and to bring low prodigious mountains of evil." While writing "Strength to Love," King was preparing for what is known as the Birmingham campaign, in which the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Birmingham's Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights joined together to fight the city's longstanding system of Southern racial segregation. This local movement used the civil rights strategies of lunch-counter sit-ins, a boycott of downtown businesses, and City Hall marches. King had begun working on a collection of his sermons in 1962, and when "Strength to Love" was published the following year, his writings were available to those outside of the African American community. Whites who had only seen King speak on national television were now able to read his profound thoughts on racism, social equality and social responsibility examined from a Christ-like perspective.

There is still much to glean from the chapter "Our God Is Able" in 2025. King reflectively asks what we are placing our faith in and warns of the pitfalls of trusting in a "man-centered religion" that boasts of scientific and technological advancement. King was not against the progression of science and technology, as he acknowledged television, radio and the telephone's significant impact on society during the '60s. He mentions the expansion of travel with cars and airplanes, and even credits "wonder drugs" used to prolong life. Yet he claimed at this time that the faith of many who made "the laboratory 'the new cathedral of men's hopes'" had been shaken. If King were alive today, I believe he would view our new laboratory of generative artificial intelligence technology with serious concern, particularly how it is transforming society; some predict job displacement. I do not think King would be completely against the efficiency that AI brings in specific areas like health care, with it being able to quickly diagnose diseases. However, he would be deeply disturbed about those projected to lose jobs due to AI, such as factory and warehouse workers, and those in well-paying positions, like financial traders. King would urge us to think about the ethics of AI efficiency when it comes to people's livelihoods, as he always valued the dignity of work. In his 1968 speech to sanitation workers at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee, King stated, "(N)o labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages."

One of the final points that King makes in "Our God Is Able" is that the Lord consistently provides us with the ability and resources to withstand life's trials. However, when we face dark hours, our faith is often low, and we struggle to believe. King quotes the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar to elaborate on the suffering many experience:

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,

A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,

A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,

And never a laugh but the moans come double;

And that is life!

We have all seen trouble creeping in to disrupt our joyous moments, but King implores us not to be fearful or anxious. He wrote that no matter what we are going through, whether it be the death of a loved one, "the breaking of a marriage, or the waywardness of a child," God endows us with the vigor to overcome. This God-centered focus should be a great reflection of King's legacy for all of us this year, a legacy that reminds us to depend on a Power greater than ourselves.

========

Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

----

Copyright 2025 Creators Syndicate, Inc.