Nat Turner - The Black Sheep of Black History

Nat Turner’s story is a vital part of the Freedom Saga. No, I doubt there will be any holidays, stamps or highways named after him, but his story must be heard. Trust me, if the enemies of freedom could erase any part of the struggle, they would choose this one. In fact, it wasn’t till I was an adult that I heard about Nat, the ‘property’ of Samuel Turner.

He was an intelligent, ultra-religious and driven young man. One of the few slaves who could read, Nat was said to have spent long hours reading the Bible. He would often have visions that he believed were from God. Once, after running away and hiding in the woods for a month, he returned to his master after having such a vision. These visions, coupled with atmospheric phenomenon, during the dark ages of America, birthed the destiny of Nat Turner.

The reason his story is so shaded and controversial is that he fought back. Turner led the greatest or most horrific, (depending on which side of freedom you stand) slave revolt in American History. In August of 1831, for 48 hours in South Hampton Virginia, Nat and a group of about 50 other slaves and freed blacks, methodically and quietly killed 57 white men, women and children.

After a militia of slaveholders ended the rebellion, Nat was tried, convicted, hung and then flayed, quartered and beheaded. 58 men suspected of involvement were also hung. In months to come, an estimated 200 slaves were beaten, hung and mutilated by angry mobs of whites. The abolitionist movement was halted in that area, as whites became polarized concerning slavery.

Nat’s legacy undeniably removes the myth that slaves happily embraced their subservient state.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/black_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=20

Today, Nat’s legacy is on trial. Some hail him hero, others call him lunatic.
Some call him freedom fighter; others call him blood thirsty opportunist. I say that he is the logical result of the cruel, heinous, diabolical, dehumanizing crime of slavery. Hate begets hate. Radical situations produce radicalness.

I call him, inevitable.

Fight the Funk

Inevitably, the day comes when you just don’t feel like doing what you must do. You were called to it, even created for it, but inexplicably and unexpectedly your will dissipates. Most days you can leap over the wall, kill the dragon, save the village in time for a late breakfast. Then other times you can barely get out of bed to use the bathroom.

Fatigue comes in many forms;
Muscular – when you extensively use certain muscles to the point of exhaustion.
Physical – like muscular fatigue but on a body wide scale. Sometimes the results of chemical depletion or sickness.
Mental – when you literally get tired of thinking. (One time after a stressful day with the church, I almost broke down and cried because Cathi asked me if I wanted corn or green beans.)
Emotional – usually following a traumatic or depressing situation. It can cause an implosion of the psyche, manifesting in a shut down of the body and mind.

Worse than all of these is Spiritual Fatigue. This is the exhaustion of the will. The will can manage all other tiredness in general (ie. change diet, get more rest, cry it out), but what happens when your will loses will? How do you overcome not wanting to overcome? Despondence, apathy, and passionlessness are more than moods; they are droughts of the soul.

David said, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD ().”

Here are four keys to manage or defeat spiritual fatigue:
1. Get a better perspective on life through what you “see” out of God’s Word. Encourage yourself. Build yourself up.
2. Expose yourself to encouragers not enablers. Hopefully you would have already surrounded yourself with them before you went into crisis. sometimes a shoulder to cry on is the worst thing in the world.
3. Count the cost of your continued inactivity. Can you really live with the village being burned down? Your work is important.
4. Never ever buy into the notion that things will always be the same. Life rewards action. Forcing yourself to do what you are supposed to do has a way of creating momentum for your entire being. Purpose can awake passion.