Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63

by Taylor Branch

Year by year you became aware of the terrible sin that was taking possession of your life. It may have been slavery to drink, un-truthfulness, the impurity of selfishness or sexual promiscuity. And as the years unfolded the vice grew bolder and bolder. You knew all along that it was an unnatural intrusion. Never could you adjust to the fact. You knew all along that it was wrong and that it had invaded your life as an unnatural intruder. You said to yourself, “One day I’m going to rise up and drive this evil out. I know it is wrong. It is destroying my character and embarrassing my family.” At last the day came and you made a New Year’s resolution that would get rid of the whole base evil. And then the next year came around and you were doing the same old evil thing. Can you remember the surprise and disappointment that gripped you when you discovered that after all of your sincere effort—you discovered that after all that you had done through your resolutions to get rid of it—the old habit was still there? And out of amazement you found yourself asking, “Why could I not cast it out?” And in this moment of despair you decided to take your problem to God…You discovered that the evil was still with you. God would not cast it out.