by Elizabeth K
I cannot believe the prejudice within me sometimes, and it’s like a predator that is good at hiding until it spies an unknowing prey. The interesting fact is that I’m the person who speaks out against racism and segregation, not the one who lives by it.
Charity to me used to be defined as seeking out a foreign family in the neighborhood and dropping off all of my junk at their house, unwanted items that would have normally gone to the local thrift store. These days I understand that isn’t charity at all, but it’s actually hatred, or racism.
I started to realize this when a Mexican family moved in next door. Their extended family moved in with them. I was scared of them at first and I wouldn’t let my kids play with their kids unless it was under strict circumstances. But, being neighbors, we couldn’t help but get to know each other and I realized they are not much different than my American white neighbors. Sometimes I give them stuff, but they give me stuff too, because we’re friends and we like each other. Charity is actually love but that word has taken on a different contextual meaning over the years.
Even after this revelation in my life, I still have lurking prejudices ingrained deep within my thinking, and this affects the way I treat others. Before I get to know people, I pre-judge them according to their appearance, or from something they did or openly said. Still it seems that every time I get past that initial, fearful reaction, I see a depth of a soul and it doesn’t matter who it is or where they’ve been…. Human creatures are all quite interesting and attractive when we stop and think about it. If there was such a thing as a human zoo, I think it would be quite popular to go and watch the humans.
In my many years of church, I learned to pick up another prejudice. This was one against the sinner, or the Non-christian. This segregation even carried over toward certain people at church. Among confidential conversations, the sinful acts of others were revealed in hush tones, so that we could understand how to “pray” for these weak or rebellious ones.
The main problem with preconceived notions is that they are not rational, for they fail to consider all of the facts and details. It’s one thing to hear about someone who is involved in a sin, and it is quite another to actually know or be related to this person. Furthermore, salvation or sanctification from our sins is not based on being sin-free, but having actual issues in our lives. The righteous do not need a savior. And to take that thought even further, what sin is worse than another? Should we treat homosexuals any different than arrogant Christians? Oh, but Christians are notorious for this very thing.
With the weekly bombardment of teachings that tell us the woes and wrongness of sin, we can build ourselves up by thinking that if we know it is wrong, it must not be a problem for ourselves. We are then free to concentrate on the sins of others, as our own flesh deceives us so that we do not have to face our own faults. Or we become a professional at conforming to the Christian role, making sure we are free from all the wrong sins, ie, the open and blatant ones, while speaking all the right words to show our devotion to God.
Us humans are sneaky. Just when I thought I had taken all of my prejudice thoughts captive to God so that His truth could renew my thinking, I find myself discriminating against those who are prejudice toward others. The ones we despise the most are the ones who actually portray our own wrongful desires deep in the flesh. I have to be careful not to pick on these wrong-doers any more than myself. It does not mean we can’t point out and explain wrongs until we are perfect in righteousness. It means that true righteousness comes by faith and love. It means that it is okay to love, and even like, the worst of sinners. I am learning.
The answer to all of this is not to try harder to be less sinful, but to change our thinking patterns. When we truly believe that God loves us personally without conditions, we are then free to love others. Sins do not startle us for they are part of all of us, our every day lives. We do not have to fear sin or sinners, for God’s mercy and grace is greater than all sins. It is by faith in this truth that we are saved, not by works of self-righteousness, and the sooner we believe this not only for ourselves but also for others, the sooner we will naturally abandon our ugly prejudices and other sins too.
