Many people were critical of poet Nikki Giovanni yesterday. Count me out of that critical score.

I totally understand that Nikki may not fit your spiritual filter system. Granted, her life's past resume has upset many, worthy of a separate conversation - but not yesterday.

Giovanni is probably best described as a "liberal spiritualist", and that gives "fundamental followers" a heart attack. Her powerful presentation had me clapping, and chanting along with the Hokies yesterday. I'm sorry that many Christians missed the blessing.

When I was a younger man (be nice), my wonderful mother-in-law challenged me to develop a character trait simply entitled, "eat the meat, and leave the bones". Every Christian needs to incorporate this lesson, and apply it to today's culture.

For so many of us, as Christians we have developed a "religious sensor system" that pushes us to a critical mindset as soon as someone says something that we don't entirely agree with. We judge the person, we ignore presentation (write it off) and offer our great form of the "holy stiff arm".

That's what happened to Nikki yesterday, and it's a shame. (Listen to her poem's audio from the Convocation)

Granted, she inserted her perspective of tragedy, which I would better describe as raw 'evil'. It's evil that has resulted from creation's sinful decay, and mankind's hearts (spirit) being a willing conduit for the satanic evil that was carried forth on Monday.

Some criticized her content, stating the what she was offering were 'right words' at the wrong time, wrong place'.

Remember, she was invited to speak at the University's convocation, timing was not her decision. She was also speaking to 30,000-plus students, faculty and staff, that we were 'allowed' to watch due to media...not her decision.

Finally, she was not speaking at a memorial or funeral service. Her poem was for the campus masses, not the immediate families, friends and relatives.

On to her content; Yes, She inserted her 'holistic gospel politics' as she connected the Virginia Tech tragedy to HIV/AIDS orphans, the invisible children in Africa used in sectarian wars, Mexican children who desire water while being brought by adults across a border, and she highlighted the destruction of poverty upon children in the Appalachian region of West Virginia.

To many of the offended, Nikki's most egregious statement was to compare the murder of the thirty-two people at VA Tech, to baby elephants over their ivory tusks. Again, we have to learn to 'eat the meat, and leave the bones'.

In Giovanni's holistic gospel perspective, Jesus came to redeem ALL of fallen creation.

To Nikki, seeing mankind in a violent, greed-filled slaughter of created elephants is a tragedy for creation and righteousness stewardship to oversee such ethically. God's creation not being cared for by God's redeemed image called humans is a tragedy of disrespect.

Now, would I have inserted this comparison, obviously not. If I were her, I would have left it out. It was the one portion of the poem meal, a 'bone', that I decided to pass up. I was more determined to focused on the 'meat' of her art's motivational delight - in the face of the grasp of great evil.

In reality, we must will live on. We are to hate evil, and overcome evil with good. God has enables us to be overcomers in Jesus' love and righteousness, and I believe Christians have a responsibility to embrace those in today's culture who recognize such - even if they don't fully recognize Him.

Remember, they will know us by our love, not our 'religious sensor system'.

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