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Key Bible Verse: He chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying … fleeting pleasures (Hebrews 11:25). Bonus Reading:Galatians 2:11-13

At the U.S. Naval Academy, Wesley Brown, became the first African-American to join the brigade. A few members of my class attempted to find ways to give Midshipman Brown demerits so that he'd be discharged, but the senior officers at Annapolis investigated every allegation, and Brown's good performance prevailed.

On submarines, where officers and crew live more closely together than on surface ships, we related easily without racial incidents. Once, during the 1950s, our ship, the USS K-1, went into Nassau in the Bahamas for a few days of rest between long periods of undersea training. The governor-general sent a message inviting us to attend a ball the next evening. Our crew was excited when his aide reported that young ladies would also be invited.

I was on duty the next afternoon, when the aide returned to tell us that, of course, the invitation applied only to the white crewmen. When I delivered this message to the captain, he assembled the crew in the mess hall. We voted unanimously to reject the terms of the invitation and compose a reply to the Bahamian officials. After deleting the expletives, the captain had it delivered.

—Jimmy Carter in Living Faith

My Response: When have I ever stood up for someone treated unfairly?

Thought to Apply: The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

—John F. Kennedy (35th U.S. President)

Adapted from Living Faith (Random, 1996) by permission.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Dear God, since You love us all, help us to assure dignity for each person You have created.

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