January 20, 2025 • 14 mins
Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified the intersection of humility, justice, and love throughout his life, showing us how to advocate for change without compromising on compassion. By reflecting on his teachings and actions, we can learn to face adversities with grace while embodying the principles of humility, peace and service.
• Honoring Dr. King’s legacy of humility and nonviolence
• the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its outcomes
• the Selma to Montgomery marches and their impact
• Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
• Emphasizing love and compassion even in the face of hatred
• Pause for The Cause Weekly Challenge MLK Day Special
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have a dream that my four little children will one
day live in a nation where theywill not be judged by the color
of their skin.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Low Life Show, a space where we have
conversations about thestruggles of life, where we
declare war on pride and walkhumbly into renewed living with
a surrendered heart.
Where we take our past failuresand turn them into a roadmap
for you to live in peace andliving the low life.
Whether you're working throughpersonal struggles or simply
(00:36):
seeking a fresh perspective,this podcast will inspire and
equip you to live low and letGod lift you up.
I'm your host, dl the Low Life,a reformed professional dirtbag
who's here to tell you that Inow live a life of peace,
transformed through humility.
Join me, let's get low.
Thank you.
(01:36):
What's good, welcome back to theLow Life Show.
I am DL the Low Life, and todaywe have a very special episode
it's MLK Day, so we are going tohonor the legend himself, the
late Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
We're going to take a look athis life and talk about how even
the late Dr King lived his lifelow, how his mission seeking
justice and mercy for all was areflection of the humble heart
(01:58):
of Jesus and a character modeledafter the Father.
Dr King showed us what it lookslike to stand for justice while
still walking in love and mercy, even in the face of hatred.
Despite being hated, threatened, attacked, arrested and every
other opposing violent act, hemaintained that he would not
repay evil for evil.
Instead, he stayed low andremained patient, peaceful and
(02:20):
moved in love along the narrowroad called civil rights
activism in the midst ofsegregated racial America.
That reflects God's characterhe's perfectly just and also
endlessly merciful.
And the humility of Jesus noretaliation, turning the other
cheek, staying true to the cause.
For those who don't know Dr King, we're going to talk about a
(02:41):
few of his labels.
Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I have a dream my four little children will one
day live in a nation where theywill not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the contentof their character.
I have a dream today.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
In his speech he spoke of nationwide equality and
opportunity and freedom fromoppression.
Where his children wouldn't bejudged for the color of their
skin, where it wouldn't qualifyor disqualify.
There would be equality in allthings and freedom from
oppression in all things.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Let's take a look at a few of the events in Dr King's
life that highlight the heartof Jesus of knowing that we will
be free one day.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Let freedom ring and win this race.
Let's first take a look at hiscommitment to nonviolent action
in the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Montgomery bus boycott wasstarted in response to Rosa
Parks' treatment on the bus inMontgomery, alabama.
For those who don't know, parksrefused to sit in the back of
the bus to give up her seat ofpreference available to people
who didn't look like her.
At this time it was segregatedAmerica, so whites with whites
(04:10):
and colors with colors.
This led to her arrest forviolation of that segregation.
In response, martin Luther King, who was fairly new to the
civil rights movement and fairlyyoung, he was chosen to lead.
He firmly believed in protestsbeing non-violent.
His philosophy was that theinjustice would show itself
(04:31):
without having to try.
The boycott lasted 381 days andled to the desegregation on
buses in Montgomery.
It only happened after theSupreme Court ruled that
segregation is unconstitutional.
Who would have thought thatwhites with whites and colors
with colors was not equalityInteresting?
It's crazy to think that nobodyknew this until the Supreme
(04:52):
Court ruled on it.
The Montgomery bus boycottembodied Jesus' teaching Do unto
others what you would have themdo to you.
Participants demonstrated theirhumility and their love by
taking a stand against theinjustice.
It shows us that humility is agood response.
It's a solid one, as we can see.
As bus lines were segregated,boycotters would walk for miles
(05:14):
or carpool.
They would endure the hardshipwith patience.
It kind of echoes Jesus' wordsin Luke whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselvesand take up their cross daily
and follow me.
Their refusal to retaliate orseek revenge also showed
humility and trusting in God'splan rather than their own human
strength.
It highlights God's love too.
As an answer, the boycott wasrooted in love for justice and
(05:38):
human dignity.
As Jesus said, a new command Igive you love one another as I
have loved you, so you must loveone another.
They persevered not out ofhatred for their oppressors, but
out of love for one another.
The whole event breathed thewords of Jesus in Matthew 5,
verse 38 to 40.
You have heard that it was saideye for eye and tooth for tooth
(06:06):
.
But I your shirt, hand overyour coat as well.
Next we can look at dr king'sservice through humility, his
(06:31):
service to the community andreally his contribution to what
the world looks like today inamerica, beginning with the
peaceful marches from selma toMontgomery.
The peace marches were aresponse again to something else
that happened.
This time it was a response toBloody Sunday.
For those who don't know,bloody Sunday was a peace march
(06:51):
or protest to advocate for equalvoting rights.
The marchers were stopped bylaw enforcement on the Edmund
Pettus Bridge on their way toCity Hall and severely beaten
their attackers State troopersarmed with clubs, tear gas whips
.
And all of this unprovoked.
The response was Dr King'sdirect call for justice and his
(07:16):
way of serving the community.
He marched.
This led to voting rights forall in the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
And the Selma marchers reflectedJesus' teaching Blessed are
those who are persecuted becauseof righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Dr King and the marchers facedbrutality with humility.
They faced injustice with trustin God and they walked in love.
(07:40):
It highlights humility as aresponse in that marchers
endured physical attacks andthreats without retaliation.
It embodied the turn the othercheek.
They stayed humble, but theyweren't fighting for power, they
were just fighting for an equalright.
It's a good reminder also thatlove is the answer.
Love for their enemies wascentral, fulfilling Jesus'
(08:01):
command love your enemies andpray for those who persecute you
.
By choosing nonviolence, themarchers lived out Christ's call
to respond to hatred with loveand forgiveness.
And then we see the heart of DrKing and a reflection of
Matthew 9.
(08:22):
And he said to his disciplesthe harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest,therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.
We ought to be thankful thatthe Lord of the harvest would
send workers like Martin Luther.
(08:50):
King Jr.
Finally, we'd be his love forenemies that truly reflected in
his life that God was there.
We can see this in the letterfrom Birmingham Jail.
This was a letter written by DrKing after he had been arrested
for another peaceful protest.
While he was sitting there, hewas being defamed by eight white
(09:13):
members of the clergy basicallyspitting on his name.
So this was the response.
He wrote a letter.
In his response he called forpeople to take an active stance.
He emphasized nonviolence.
He expressed that enemiesshouldn't be hated but instead
they should be welcomed with thelove of Christ.
(09:34):
His letter echoes Jesus' call tospeak truth in love In John 8,
the truth will set you free.
His humble, yet firm wordsaddress criticism with grace,
reflecting Christ's spirit, andstill maintained he was not
repaying evil for evil.
Instead he was overcoming itwith love.
His humble response was shownin that he wrote with respect
and calmness, despite beingwrongfully imprisoned, which
(09:55):
embodies Jesus' words again inMatthew 11.
Come to me all you who areweary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart.
It would appear that Dr King hadlearned from him and he
remained Love?
The answer, yes, it was.
King's words urged repentanceand unity.
(10:22):
It was grounded in Matthew 22.
You shall love your neighbor asyourself.
And his nonviolence wasreflecting Matthew 26, where
Christ taught put your swordback in its place, for all who
draw the sword will die by thesword.
Every moment in the civilrights movement exemplifies
Jesus' teachings on humility andlove.
(10:43):
In the life of Dr King, theseacts of faith mirrored Christ's
path of nonviolence andsacrifice.
They remind us to stay low inhumility, trust God and love
even our enemies.
We can go further and see inJohn 13 that this is the result
of Dr King's life.
By this, everyone will knowthat you are my disciple if you
(11:04):
love one another.
The other thing these eventsdid was they brought Luke 6, 27
to life, which reads to you whoare listening, I say love your
enemies.
Do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Pray for those who mistreat you when we allow
freedom to ring, when we let itring from every village and
every hamlet, from every stateand every city, we will be able
to speed up that day when all ofGod's children, black men and
white men, jews and Gentiles,protestants and Catholics will
(11:40):
be able to join hands and singin the words of the old Negro
spiritual free at last, free atlast.
Thanks, lord Almighty, we arefree at last.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And then we take a pause for the cause.
Just because it's a bonusdoesn't mean we don't have a
challenge.
This challenge is this week tryserving someone else's cause,
however that looks, whether it'sby donating or signing up for a
community action group orsomething as simple as listening
to someone without your opinionpresent.
Be the reflection of God's loveand the humble heart of Jesus.
(12:15):
We need it.
The world rarely has theprivilege of men like Dr King
Humble, men taking a firm stanceand standing for a world
unburdened by pride andcomparison and judgment and
fairness.
Remember God is just.
Fair is something we made up.
Fair only exists in baseball,weather and skin tone.
Otherwise, it's a fantasy thatpride gives you to let you down
(12:37):
every single time.
If God was about fairness, wewould be way worse off than we
are right now.
Be thankful he's in charge, andI'll leave you with an
instruction from the NewTestament, romans 12 21.
Do not be overcome by evil, butovercome evil with good.
Ponder that as you go aboutyour days, think about it in
reflection on how you'veresponded in the past, then ask
(12:57):
God for his input.
And that's a wrap for today'sbonus episode of the Low Life
Show.
On this MLK Day, let's rememberthat justice, mercy, humility
and love they all go hand inhand with God's heart, and we're
called to live that out.
It all begins with getting lowand it ends with staying low.
Dr King showed us how to fightfor what's right while still
(13:18):
showing love, and that'ssomething we can all learn from
now.
Let's pray, father.
We thank you for the life ofmen like Dr King, that you would
send out workers to yourharvest that would come and
reflect your heart, that wouldembody your words, that would
live out truly gospel-shapedlives.
We thank you that he would takeup the cause, that he would
(13:38):
stand for those who can't standfor themselves, and he would do
it in such a way that he wouldbe remembered and you would be
glorified.
Bless the listener this week.
Help them to grow closer to you.
Again, one more step.
We thank you, we love you andwe praise you In Jesus' name,
amen.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with someone, make
sure you follow so you don'tmiss out the next one.
(13:59):
Thanks for hanging out.
Keep seeking God always and inall ways.
Until next time, stay humble,stay blessed and stay ready for
the next episode of the Low LifeShow.
Peace, outro Music.
I have a dream that my four little children will one
day live in a nation where theywill not be judged by the color
of their skin.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Low Life Show, a space where we have
conversations about thestruggles of life, where we
declare war on pride and walkhumbly into renewed living with
a surrendered heart.
Where we take our past failuresand turn them into a roadmap
for you to live in peace andliving the low life.
Whether you're working throughpersonal struggles or simply
(00:36):
seeking a fresh perspective,this podcast will inspire and
equip you to live low and letGod lift you up.
I'm your host, dl the Low Life,a reformed professional dirtbag
who's here to tell you that Inow live a life of peace,
transformed through humility.
Join me, let's get low.
Thank you.
(01:36):
What's good, welcome back to theLow Life Show.
I am DL the Low Life, and todaywe have a very special episode
it's MLK Day, so we are going tohonor the legend himself, the
late Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
We're going to take a look athis life and talk about how even
the late Dr King lived his lifelow, how his mission seeking
justice and mercy for all was areflection of the humble heart
(01:58):
of Jesus and a character modeledafter the Father.
Dr King showed us what it lookslike to stand for justice while
still walking in love and mercy, even in the face of hatred.
Despite being hated, threatened, attacked, arrested and every
other opposing violent act, hemaintained that he would not
repay evil for evil.
Instead, he stayed low andremained patient, peaceful and
(02:20):
moved in love along the narrowroad called civil rights
activism in the midst ofsegregated racial America.
That reflects God's characterhe's perfectly just and also
endlessly merciful.
And the humility of Jesus noretaliation, turning the other
cheek, staying true to the cause.
For those who don't know Dr King, we're going to talk about a
(02:41):
few of his labels.
Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I have a dream my four little children will one
day live in a nation where theywill not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the contentof their character.
I have a dream today.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
In his speech he spoke of nationwide equality and
opportunity and freedom fromoppression.
Where his children wouldn't bejudged for the color of their
skin, where it wouldn't qualifyor disqualify.
There would be equality in allthings and freedom from
oppression in all things.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Let's take a look at a few of the events in Dr King's
life that highlight the heartof Jesus of knowing that we will
be free one day.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Let freedom ring and win this race.
Let's first take a look at hiscommitment to nonviolent action
in the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Montgomery bus boycott wasstarted in response to Rosa
Parks' treatment on the bus inMontgomery, alabama.
For those who don't know, parksrefused to sit in the back of
the bus to give up her seat ofpreference available to people
who didn't look like her.
At this time it was segregatedAmerica, so whites with whites
(04:10):
and colors with colors.
This led to her arrest forviolation of that segregation.
In response, martin Luther King, who was fairly new to the
civil rights movement and fairlyyoung, he was chosen to lead.
He firmly believed in protestsbeing non-violent.
His philosophy was that theinjustice would show itself
(04:31):
without having to try.
The boycott lasted 381 days andled to the desegregation on
buses in Montgomery.
It only happened after theSupreme Court ruled that
segregation is unconstitutional.
Who would have thought thatwhites with whites and colors
with colors was not equalityInteresting?
It's crazy to think that nobodyknew this until the Supreme
(04:52):
Court ruled on it.
The Montgomery bus boycottembodied Jesus' teaching Do unto
others what you would have themdo to you.
Participants demonstrated theirhumility and their love by
taking a stand against theinjustice.
It shows us that humility is agood response.
It's a solid one, as we can see.
As bus lines were segregated,boycotters would walk for miles
(05:14):
or carpool.
They would endure the hardshipwith patience.
It kind of echoes Jesus' wordsin Luke whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselvesand take up their cross daily
and follow me.
Their refusal to retaliate orseek revenge also showed
humility and trusting in God'splan rather than their own human
strength.
It highlights God's love too.
As an answer, the boycott wasrooted in love for justice and
(05:38):
human dignity.
As Jesus said, a new command Igive you love one another as I
have loved you, so you must loveone another.
They persevered not out ofhatred for their oppressors, but
out of love for one another.
The whole event breathed thewords of Jesus in Matthew 5,
verse 38 to 40.
You have heard that it was saideye for eye and tooth for tooth
(06:06):
.
But I your shirt, hand overyour coat as well.
Next we can look at dr king'sservice through humility, his
(06:31):
service to the community andreally his contribution to what
the world looks like today inamerica, beginning with the
peaceful marches from selma toMontgomery.
The peace marches were aresponse again to something else
that happened.
This time it was a response toBloody Sunday.
For those who don't know,bloody Sunday was a peace march
(06:51):
or protest to advocate for equalvoting rights.
The marchers were stopped bylaw enforcement on the Edmund
Pettus Bridge on their way toCity Hall and severely beaten
their attackers State troopersarmed with clubs, tear gas whips
.
And all of this unprovoked.
The response was Dr King'sdirect call for justice and his
(07:16):
way of serving the community.
He marched.
This led to voting rights forall in the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
And the Selma marchers reflectedJesus' teaching Blessed are
those who are persecuted becauseof righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Dr King and the marchers facedbrutality with humility.
They faced injustice with trustin God and they walked in love.
(07:40):
It highlights humility as aresponse in that marchers
endured physical attacks andthreats without retaliation.
It embodied the turn the othercheek.
They stayed humble, but theyweren't fighting for power, they
were just fighting for an equalright.
It's a good reminder also thatlove is the answer.
Love for their enemies wascentral, fulfilling Jesus'
(08:01):
command love your enemies andpray for those who persecute you
.
By choosing nonviolence, themarchers lived out Christ's call
to respond to hatred with loveand forgiveness.
And then we see the heart of DrKing and a reflection of
Matthew 9.
(08:22):
And he said to his disciplesthe harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest,therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.
We ought to be thankful thatthe Lord of the harvest would
send workers like Martin Luther.
(08:50):
King Jr.
Finally, we'd be his love forenemies that truly reflected in
his life that God was there.
We can see this in the letterfrom Birmingham Jail.
This was a letter written by DrKing after he had been arrested
for another peaceful protest.
While he was sitting there, hewas being defamed by eight white
(09:13):
members of the clergy basicallyspitting on his name.
So this was the response.
He wrote a letter.
In his response he called forpeople to take an active stance.
He emphasized nonviolence.
He expressed that enemiesshouldn't be hated but instead
they should be welcomed with thelove of Christ.
(09:34):
His letter echoes Jesus' call tospeak truth in love In John 8,
the truth will set you free.
His humble, yet firm wordsaddress criticism with grace,
reflecting Christ's spirit, andstill maintained he was not
repaying evil for evil.
Instead he was overcoming itwith love.
His humble response was shownin that he wrote with respect
and calmness, despite beingwrongfully imprisoned, which
(09:55):
embodies Jesus' words again inMatthew 11.
Come to me all you who areweary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart.
It would appear that Dr King hadlearned from him and he
remained Love?
The answer, yes, it was.
King's words urged repentanceand unity.
(10:22):
It was grounded in Matthew 22.
You shall love your neighbor asyourself.
And his nonviolence wasreflecting Matthew 26, where
Christ taught put your swordback in its place, for all who
draw the sword will die by thesword.
Every moment in the civilrights movement exemplifies
Jesus' teachings on humility andlove.
(10:43):
In the life of Dr King, theseacts of faith mirrored Christ's
path of nonviolence andsacrifice.
They remind us to stay low inhumility, trust God and love
even our enemies.
We can go further and see inJohn 13 that this is the result
of Dr King's life.
By this, everyone will knowthat you are my disciple if you
(11:04):
love one another.
The other thing these eventsdid was they brought Luke 6, 27
to life, which reads to you whoare listening, I say love your
enemies.
Do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Pray for those who mistreat you when we allow
freedom to ring, when we let itring from every village and
every hamlet, from every stateand every city, we will be able
to speed up that day when all ofGod's children, black men and
white men, jews and Gentiles,protestants and Catholics will
(11:40):
be able to join hands and singin the words of the old Negro
spiritual free at last, free atlast.
Thanks, lord Almighty, we arefree at last.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And then we take a pause for the cause.
Just because it's a bonusdoesn't mean we don't have a
challenge.
This challenge is this week tryserving someone else's cause,
however that looks, whether it'sby donating or signing up for a
community action group orsomething as simple as listening
to someone without your opinionpresent.
Be the reflection of God's loveand the humble heart of Jesus.
(12:15):
We need it.
The world rarely has theprivilege of men like Dr King
Humble, men taking a firm stanceand standing for a world
unburdened by pride andcomparison and judgment and
fairness.
Remember God is just.
Fair is something we made up.
Fair only exists in baseball,weather and skin tone.
Otherwise, it's a fantasy thatpride gives you to let you down
(12:37):
every single time.
If God was about fairness, wewould be way worse off than we
are right now.
Be thankful he's in charge, andI'll leave you with an
instruction from the NewTestament, romans 12 21.
Do not be overcome by evil, butovercome evil with good.
Ponder that as you go aboutyour days, think about it in
reflection on how you'veresponded in the past, then ask
(12:57):
God for his input.
And that's a wrap for today'sbonus episode of the Low Life
Show.
On this MLK Day, let's rememberthat justice, mercy, humility
and love they all go hand inhand with God's heart, and we're
called to live that out.
It all begins with getting lowand it ends with staying low.
Dr King showed us how to fightfor what's right while still
(13:18):
showing love, and that'ssomething we can all learn from
now.
Let's pray, father.
We thank you for the life ofmen like Dr King, that you would
send out workers to yourharvest that would come and
reflect your heart, that wouldembody your words, that would
live out truly gospel-shapedlives.
We thank you that he would takeup the cause, that he would
(13:38):
stand for those who can't standfor themselves, and he would do
it in such a way that he wouldbe remembered and you would be
glorified.
Bless the listener this week.
Help them to grow closer to you.
Again, one more step.
We thank you, we love you andwe praise you In Jesus' name,
amen.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with someone, make
sure you follow so you don'tmiss out the next one.
(13:59):
Thanks for hanging out.
Keep seeking God always and inall ways.
Until next time, stay humble,stay blessed and stay ready for
the next episode of the Low LifeShow.
Peace, outro Music.
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