And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings… (Acts 17:26, N.K.J.V.)

In game 3 of the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a home run off Yu Darvish, the Dodgers starting pitcher. As Gurriel touched home plate and made his way back to Houston’s dugout, the cameras stayed on him. Following the jubilant celebration that ensued as his teammates congratulated him, Gurriel took his seat on the bench. He didn’t know the cameras were still on him, and that’s when he made a gesture and linked it up with a comment.

For the gesture, he placed his hands on the corner of his eyes and slanted both eyes upward. For the comment, he mouthed a single word. The world found out later that the slanted eyes were meant to mimic Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, who is Japanese, and the mouthed word was “chinito,” which is Spanish for someone of Asian descent. Gurriel speaks Spanish because he is Cuban.

Following the game, Gurriel was swamped by reporters asking him to explain his actions. In an effort to downplay the whole affair, he said that he was just joking with his teammates about the fact that maybe Darvish had mistaken him as a fellow Japanese player and had consequently thrown him a good pitch to hit. Unfortunately for Gurriel, that explanation didn’t make much sense because he doesn’t look Japanese in any way. Furthermore, Yu Darvish wasn’t known for taking it easy on his fellow Japanese players.

So, the following day he clarified himself by saying: “Yesterday I was commenting that I’d never had any success against Darvish, and the gesture was saying that I wish that he would look at me like one of them (referring to Japanese players) and maybe he’d throw me an easy pitch so I can do something. At no point did I mean that in an offensive way. On the contrary, I’ve always had a lot of respect for them (Japanese players).”

What Gurriel didn’t explain was his use of the term “chinito.” While that word can be used in a way that isn’t derogatory, it can also be used in a way that is highly derogatory. It is, after all, very similar to the word “chink,” which is definitely offensive in regards to Asian people. What makes the difference is the context in which “chinito” is used. As for how Yuli Gurriel meant it that night of the 2017 Word Series, only he and God know for sure.

For Darvish’s part, he couldn’t have handled the incident with any more class following the game. While acknowledging that Gurriel’s actions were wrong, he accepted the apology and used all the attention to encourage everyone to learn from Gurriel’s mistake, show more love, and take a positive step forward in race relations rather than focusing on anger. As he put it, “No one is perfect. That includes both you and I.”

Rob Manfred, on the other hand, wasn’t so quick to forgive. As Commissioner of Major League Baseball, he demanded a meeting with Gurriel the following day. During that meeting Gurriel expressed his remorse, promised to offer a private apology to Darvish, and agreed to undergo sensitivity training. Manfred appreciated Gurriel’s remorse but suspended him for the first five games of the next season. In announcing the suspension, Manfred said, “…there is no place in our game for the behavior or any behavior like the behavior we witnessed last night. There is no excuse or explanation that makes that type of behavior acceptable.”

Many fans were initially upset that Gurriel wasn’t suspended for any games of that World Series, and Dodgers’ fans grew increasingly upset when Gurriel helped the Astros win game 5 of the Series, and ultimately the entire Series itself, by hitting an important home run in that 5th game. But other fans pointed out that a five-game suspension without pay at the start of the following season would hit Gurriel more in the bank account. While Major League players don’t get paid for postseason games such as the World Series, they do get paid handsomely for regular season games. Gurriel was under contract to make $12 million in 2018, which meant that his suspension cost him approximately $320,000.

Now, it is not my intention to get into the right or wrong of Rob Manfred’s decision to allow Gurriel to continue playing in that World Series. I’m not even prepared to state unreservedly that Yuli Gurriel’s explanation was nothing more than a lie he concocted to cover his rear. Again, only he and God know the truth about that. All I want to do here is make the point that racism exists in almost every corner of our globe. Whites can be racist against blacks. Blacks can be racist against whites. Hispanics/Latinos can be racist against the Japanese. The Japanese can be racist against the Koreans. The English can be racist against the Irish. The Germans can be racist against the Jews. The Jews can be racist against the Palestinians. The Australians can be racist against the Aboriginals. The Saudi Arabians can be racist against members of poorer Arab countries.

Yes, racism is a complex issue, but what’s for certain about it is that it is never of God. The Bible teaches that the same blood courses through the veins of all races (Acts 17:26) and that Jesus Christ died on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all races (John 3:16). It also teaches that heaven will be inhabited by the saved from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues (Revelation 7:9). This is God’s eternal take on the subject, and it’s one that we should work hard to keep front and center in our minds.

To do that, we should start by admitting that most of us have some racist tendencies, regardless of whether or not we ever get caught acting on them. That admittance is step one. To take step two, we must ask God to help us overcome our racism and learn to see all people as He sees them, as people for whom Jesus died that they might believe in Him as Savior and thereby be forgiven of all sin and granted eternal life.

Even by taking these two steps, we won’t completely eliminate racism in our world. To believe otherwise is to believe in fairy tales. Racism is simply too ingrained in the fabric of Adam’s fallen race, of which we are all members. What these steps will do, though, is allow us to start cleaning up our own thoughts, comments, attitudes, perspectives, opinions, gestures, and actions in this realm. And if each of us can at least do that, we’ll have accomplished a lot.