Prejudice
I live in the Southeast United States and our part of the country has a past in the area of prejudice to people. The word “prejudice” is “a pre-conceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. It is dislike, hostility or unjust behavior coming from unfounded opinions.” Unfortunately prejudice is often handed down from one generation to another. It is heart breaking to see prejudice, bigotry and hatred from any angle. I believe it is common or normal to not like a certain person based on their personality or behavior. I don’t think it’s normal to dislike a person based on the color of their skin or ethnicity.
The Lord gives more regulations to His people in Leviticus. In fact the chapter I read this morning was titled “various laws”. In this chapter He summarized the 10 Commandments and other laws regarding relationships. I came across this one passage that really spoke to me. Check this out….
33 ‘“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not ill-treat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34 NIV)
When my wife and I adopted our son from Nicaragua almost 5 years ago we obviously did not have issues or prejudice toward Hispanic people. He was welcomed into our home speaking no English except a few words. I remember using my smart phone with a translator app the first few days to communicate. He was welcomed by our family and friends with open arms to this this amazing country called the United States of America. His native language was Spanish, so he automatically gravitated toward people who spoke his language. One thing we weren’t prepared for in our community was prejudice. We were horrified at some of the stories he told early on about how he was treated by some kids at school. Our antennas were up and we reported what we knew of to the school authorities to have the behavior addressed. The school officials were on top of things and things improved right away. I’m sad to say it still shows up in our community every now and then.
I do wish that we could learn to see others as Jesus sees them.
I do wish that we could learn to love as Jesus loved.
I do wish we could eradicate prejudice from our culture.
I think prejudice can cut both ways. I’ve seen white people prejudice, but I’ve also seen Hispanic people and African-American prejudice toward white people. Prejudice in any form is bad news for relationships. There are many false assumptions made with no evidence to support the assumptions. If after I get to know a person, whether black, brown, white or orange – if they are a jerk then I don’t want to be their friend or hang out with them. I believe the Lord sees our heart and that He is most concerned with what is going on there. What goes on in my heart comes out in my actions or behavior. I’m so grateful that the Lord help eradicate prejudice and bigotry from my heart. I want to genuinely love as He loved.
Pressing On!
Dwayne