They're ALL Precious in His Sight

Growing up in the Evangelical Covenant Church, I've always heard church songs like "He's Got the Whole World" and "This Little Light of Mine".  As we discussed race in class, I noted that the main races observed today include Hispanic, European, Asian, Native-American, African, and aboriginal.  Mr. Bolos pointed out that when he was growing up he was taught that the races were black, white, yellow, red, and brown.


This led me to think about the song "Jesus Loves the Little Children", which was written in the 19th century.  The song and lyrics can be found here.  The chorus is:

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in his sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

It occurred to me that the second line only refers to red, yellow, black, and white, completely leaving out the color brown.  The meaning, of course, is that everyone is included in Jesus' love, but the fact remains that Hispanics are left out of the song.  How would it feel to be a child from Mexico, learning the song and hearing that it speaks of everyone but you and your culture?

Interestingly, the song was later changed to:

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.

Red, brown, yellow, black and white,

They are precious in his sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

This includes "brown" people as well, but still limits shades and types of colors.  The most updated version, from 1991, is:

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.

Every color, every race,

All are covered by his grace.

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Each variation is all-inclusive, but the third most accurately states that.  Is it important that a song that dates back over one hundred years be changed to be less stereotypical, and more universal?