Are You "Woke" if You Celebrate Juneteenth? - The Men's Podcast

The PursueGOD Truth Podcast

Welcome back to the podcast, men. The federal holiday, Juneteenth, is coming up on June 19th. The question I want us to look at today is, “Does celebrating Juneteenth make you woke?” Is it something I as a Christian should celebrate? Is it something I should be suspicious of?

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Background on “woke”

• First defined in print by William Melvin Kelly in a 1962 NY Times article.
• Added to Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2017 - actively attentive to important facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice.
• Woke has morphed into pushing radical ideologies, not only tolerance but acceptance and approval of sinful lifestyles and choices, using affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies over a candidate’s performance or abilities to fill a role in a company, educational institution, or political office. Woke ideologies routinely ignore facts - biological facts - there are two genders, facts about God’s blueprint for marriage,
• The term is divisive, polarizing - even among Christians.

Psalm 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

Please don’t just tie how you think about this into your political affiliation.

We’re going to have a bit of a history lesson today.

What is it?

Although Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in June of 2021, it was celebrated long before that. The holiday commemorates the freeing of slaves in Galveston, TX two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

History of the holiday

• Emancipation Proclamation - Executive Order January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” So it only addressed those who were enslaved in the confederate states. The E.P. freed approximately 500,000 of the estimated 3.9 million slaves in the U.S.
• 13th Amendment
• - Passed by the Senate on 4/8/1864
• Passed by House of Reps. 1/31/1865
• General Gordon Granger
• General Order 3 freeing slaves in Galveston and

Celebrate Freedom

It is the only federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. There is no “Emancipation Proclamation Day”, “13th Amendment Day” or “End of Civil War Day”. Many of Israel’s festivals and celebrations had connections to the Lord freeing them from slavery in Egypt.

Exodus 13:3-7 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) 4 On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] you have been set free. 5 You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.) 6 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord. 7 Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.

• Commanded to celebrate and commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Don’t Make it Political

Celebrating a noble and good thing is appropriate, whether or not the political party you ascribe to is the one to institute it. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.

• Do you automatically disregard something someone says because of which side of the political aisle they’re on? We should evaluate what they’re saying and hold on to what is good. We know what is good by comparing it to God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 7:20-23 "Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world."