A Legend Living Low: MLK Day Special

Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified the intersection of humility, justice, and love throughout his life, showing us how to advocate for change without compromising on compassion. By reflecting on his teachings and actions, we can learn to face adversities with grace while embodying the principles of humility, peace and service. 

• Honoring Dr. King’s legacy of humility and nonviolence 
• the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its outcomes 
• the Selma to Montgomery marches and their impact 
• Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” 
• Emphasizing love and compassion even in the face of hatred 
• Pause for The Cause Weekly Challenge MLK Day Special

Chapters

• 0:00 Living a Low Life With MLK
• 1:34 Episode Intro
• 3:47 Montgomery Bus Boycott
• 4:54 The Humility and Love of MLK
• 6:28 Selma Marches
• 9:00 Letter from Birmingham Jail
• 12:00 Pause for The Cause: Weekly Challenge
• 13:00 Outro and Prayer
• 13:45 Seeking God in Everyday Life

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin.

Speaker 2: 0:13

Welcome to the Low Life Show, a space where we have conversations about the struggles of life, where we declare war on pride and walk humbly into renewed living with a surrendered heart. Where we take our past failures and turn them into a roadmap for you to live in peace and living the low life. Whether you're working through personal struggles or simply seeking a fresh perspective, this podcast will inspire and equip you to live low and let God lift you up. I'm your host, dl the Low Life, a reformed professional dirtbag who's here to tell you that I now live a life of peace, transformed through humility. Join me, let's get low. Thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:36

What's good, welcome back to the Low Life Show. I am DL the Low Life, and today we have a very special episode it's MLK Day, so we are going to honor the legend himself, the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr. We're going to take a look at his life and talk about how even the late Dr King lived his life low, how his mission seeking justice and mercy for all was a reflection of the humble heart of Jesus and a character modeled after the Father. Dr King showed us what it looks like to stand for justice while still walking in love and mercy, even in the face of hatred. Despite being hated, threatened, attacked, arrested and every other opposing violent act, he maintained that he would not repay evil for evil. Instead, he stayed low and remained patient, peaceful and moved in love along the narrow road called civil rights activism in the midst of segregated racial America. That reflects God's character he's perfectly just and also endlessly merciful. And the humility of Jesus no retaliation, turning the other cheek, staying true to the cause.

Speaker 2: 2:38

For those who don't know Dr King, we're going to talk about a few of his labels. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 2:45

I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

Speaker 2: 3:11

In his speech he spoke of nationwide equality and opportunity and freedom from oppression. Where his children wouldn't be judged for the color of their skin, where it wouldn't qualify or disqualify. There would be equality in all things and freedom from oppression in all things.

Speaker 1: 3:30

Let's take a look at a few of the events in Dr King's life that highlight the heart of Jesus of knowing that we will be free one day.

Speaker 2: 3:47

Let freedom ring and win this race. Let's first take a look at his commitment to nonviolent action in the Montgomery bus boycott. The Montgomery bus boycott was started in response to Rosa Parks' treatment on the bus in Montgomery, alabama. For those who don't know, parks refused to sit in the back of the bus to give up her seat of preference available to people who didn't look like her. At this time it was segregated America, so whites with whites and colors with colors. This led to her arrest for violation of that segregation. In response, martin Luther King, who was fairly new to the civil rights movement and fairly young, he was chosen to lead. He firmly believed in protests being non-violent. His philosophy was that the injustice would show itself without having to try. The boycott lasted 381 days and led to the desegregation on buses in Montgomery. It only happened after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation is unconstitutional. Who would have thought that whites with whites and colors with colors was not equality Interesting? It's crazy to think that nobody knew this until the Supreme Court ruled on it.

Speaker 2: 4:54

The Montgomery bus boycott embodied Jesus' teaching Do unto others what you would have them do to you. Participants demonstrated their humility and their love by taking a stand against the injustice. It shows us that humility is a good response. It's a solid one, as we can see. As bus lines were segregated, boycotters would walk for miles or carpool. They would endure the hardship with patience. It kind of echoes Jesus' words in Luke whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Their refusal to retaliate or seek revenge also showed humility and trusting in God's plan rather than their own human strength. It highlights God's love too. As an answer, the boycott was rooted in love for justice and human dignity. As Jesus said, a new command I give you love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. They persevered not out of hatred for their oppressors, but out of love for one another. The whole event breathed the words of Jesus in Matthew 5, verse 38 to 40. You have heard that it was said eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I your shirt, hand over your coat as well. Next we can look at dr king's service through humility, his service to the community and really his contribution to what the world looks like today in america, beginning with the peaceful marches from selma to Montgomery.

Speaker 2: 6:41

The peace marches were a response again to something else that happened. This time it was a response to Bloody Sunday. For those who don't know, bloody Sunday was a peace march or protest to advocate for equal voting rights. The marchers were stopped by law enforcement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to City Hall and severely beaten their attackers State troopers armed with clubs, tear gas whips. And all of this unprovoked. The response was Dr King's direct call for justice and his way of serving the community. He marched. This led to voting rights for all in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Speaker 2: 7:26

And the Selma marchers reflected Jesus' teaching Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Dr King and the marchers faced brutality with humility. They faced injustice with trust in God and they walked in love. It highlights humility as a response in that marchers endured physical attacks and threats without retaliation. It embodied the turn the other cheek. They stayed humble, but they weren't fighting for power, they were just fighting for an equal right. It's a good reminder also that love is the answer. Love for their enemies was central, fulfilling Jesus' command love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. By choosing nonviolence, the marchers lived out Christ's call to respond to hatred with love and forgiveness. And then we see the heart of Dr King and a reflection of Matthew 9. And he said to his disciples the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. We ought to be thankful that the Lord of the harvest would send workers like Martin Luther.

Speaker 2: 8:50

King Jr. Finally, we'd be his love for enemies that truly reflected in his life that God was there. We can see this in the letter from Birmingham Jail. This was a letter written by Dr King after he had been arrested for another peaceful protest. While he was sitting there, he was being defamed by eight white members of the clergy basically spitting on his name. So this was the response. He wrote a letter. In his response he called for people to take an active stance. He emphasized nonviolence. He expressed that enemies shouldn't be hated but instead they should be welcomed with the love of Christ.

Speaker 2: 9:34

His letter echoes Jesus' call to speak truth in love In John 8, the truth will set you free. His humble, yet firm words address criticism with grace, reflecting Christ's spirit, and still maintained he was not repaying evil for evil. Instead he was overcoming it with love. His humble response was shown in that he wrote with respect and calmness, despite being wrongfully imprisoned, which embodies Jesus' words again in Matthew 11. Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.

Speaker 2: 10:05

It would appear that Dr King had learned from him and he remained Love? The answer, yes, it was. King's words urged repentance and unity. It was grounded in Matthew 22. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And his nonviolence was reflecting Matthew 26, where Christ taught put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Every moment in the civil rights movement exemplifies Jesus' teachings on humility and love. In the life of Dr King, these acts of faith mirrored Christ's path of nonviolence and sacrifice. They remind us to stay low in humility, trust God and love even our enemies. We can go further and see in John 13 that this is the result of Dr King's life. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciple if you love one another. The other thing these events did was they brought Luke 6, 27 to life, which reads to you who are listening, I say love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you.

Speaker 1: 11:16

Pray for those who mistreat you when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, jews and Gentiles, protestants and Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual free at last, free at last. Thanks, lord Almighty, we are free at last.

Speaker 2: 11:54

And then we take a pause for the cause. Just because it's a bonus doesn't mean we don't have a challenge. This challenge is this week try serving someone else's cause, however that looks, whether it's by donating or signing up for a community action group or something as simple as listening to someone without your opinion present. Be the reflection of God's love and the humble heart of Jesus. We need it. The world rarely has the privilege of men like Dr King Humble, men taking a firm stance and standing for a world unburdened by pride and comparison and judgment and fairness. Remember God is just. Fair is something we made up. Fair only exists in baseball, weather and skin tone. Otherwise, it's a fantasy that pride gives you to let you down every single time. If God was about fairness, we would be way worse off than we are right now. Be thankful he's in charge, and I'll leave you with an instruction from the New Testament, romans 12 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Ponder that as you go about your days, think about it in reflection on how you've responded in the past, then ask God for his input. And that's a wrap for today's bonus episode of the Low Life Show.

Speaker 2: 13:03

On this MLK Day, let's remember that justice, mercy, humility and love they all go hand in hand with God's heart, and we're called to live that out. It all begins with getting low and it ends with staying low. Dr King showed us how to fight for what's right while still showing love, and that's something we can all learn from now. Let's pray, father. We thank you for the life of men like Dr King, that you would send out workers to your harvest that would come and reflect your heart, that would embody your words, that would live out truly gospel-shaped lives. We thank you that he would take up the cause, that he would stand for those who can't stand for themselves, and he would do it in such a way that he would be remembered and you would be glorified.

Speaker 2: 13:45

Bless the listener this week. Help them to grow closer to you. Again, one more step. We thank you, we love you and we praise you In Jesus' name, amen. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone, make sure you follow so you don't miss out the next one. Thanks for hanging out. Keep seeking God always and in all ways. Until next time, stay humble, stay blessed and stay ready for the next episode of the Low Life Show. Peace, outro Music.