MLK Rediscovering Lost Values

Today, many people remember the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Mostly, these observances focus on the transformational, but well-known, words of “I Have a Dream” or “I Have Been to the Mountain Top”.

Now that I have the world’s library on my fingertips, through my kindle, I decided to read the sermons of Dr King.

I am humbled all over again.

The first sermon I read is the oldest known recorded sermon of Dr. King’s, “Rediscovering Lost Values”. This sermon was delivered to Second Baptist Church in Detroit when King was 25 years old and a graduate student at Boston University. While commentators note that this was one of King’s early sermons before he fully developed his prophetic voice and oratory style, this is a sermon of great substance.

The subject of this sermon is strikingly modern. In this sermon, King notes the incredible advances of modern sciences, technology, and communications that took place from the industrial revolution to the middle of the 20th century. However, King calls people to not put their faith in modern technology, but to return to living by a moral ethic. King notes that despite incredible advances, moral truths remain constant:

But I’m here to say to you this morning that some things are right and some things are wrong. Eternally so, absolutely so. It’s wrong to hate. It always has been wrong and it always will be wrong. It’s wrong in America, it’s wrong in Germany, it’s wrong in Russia, it’s wrong in China. It was wrong in 2000 B.C., and it’s wrong in 1954 A.D.

Not only does King advocate for a moral ethic, but he warns that the inherent danger in placing our trust in new technologies is that in doing so God is left behind. King unequivocally lays out his conviction that his life will be grounded upon absolute moral truths over the accumulation of possessions.

And I say to you this morning in conclusion that I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in things. I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in gadgets and contrivances. As a young man with most of my life ahead of me, I decided early to give my life to something eternal and absolute. Not to these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow, but to God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

King’s words echo boldly today. Our dependence on technology has grown exponentially, our faith in things is beyond what he imagined, and our capacity to hate remains unchecked. On this day, may we hear King's words anew and dedicate ourselves to God’s work of justice, mercy, and compassion.