I don’t like to march into controversy.
Yet today I need to ask a question.
It’s honest and raw–believer to believer.
Is it possible to be follower of Christ and prejudiced at the same time?
I’m going to make some people angry with my answer, but I don’t think we can.
In the past three years I’ve settled into the book of Luke. I’ve watched Jesus and listened to His words.
Jesus unsettled traditional thinking as He showed compassion toward those who were considered unclean, unworthy, or who were ostracized because of their background or heritage.
If you follow Jesus, it doesn’t take long to see that prejudice is the opposite of what He lived.
So if I follow Jesus and I practice prejudice, I walk in the opposite direction. I practice sin. I protect it. I nurture it. I hurt people created in His image.
Some say that prejudice is hard to define, that there are different levels.
Can we just be honest? It’s wrong on any level.
Prejudice says that one person has more value than another because of the color of their skin, their race or culture, or their socio economic status.
Prejudice separates and divides.
Prejudice puts labels on human beings.
Prejudice says that because of where you landed at birth — in your family, in your race, in the economic standing which you have no control over — that you are superior to another.
Prejudice drives people to say and do things that should never be done — ever. History is filled with terrible acts, some done in the name of Christianity, and I can’t image how that grieves the heart of God.
As a nation, we are still marked by prejudice and too often it flourishes in the heart of those who have the power to change the world in His name.
And if we are one of those who says that prejudice is a thing of the past, then we just need to step into the footsteps of those for which it is their present-day reality.
There has been progress and thank God for that, but there’s a lot of work yet to do.
I believe we can be prejudiced and simply not be aware. Sometimes we have deeply-rooted belief systems that come from family, our past, our culture, or what has been hammered into our heads and heart.
There’s a beautiful system in place for us when we find ourselves going the opposite direction of Jesus.
We can repent.
We can turn in a new direction.
We can ask God to change our hearts.
We can put a face on prejudice.
A little girl in India is named “garbage” because she’s born into a class that says she’s untouchable.
Jesus says she’s of worth. She’s tiny as a sparrow, and not overlooked by Him.
A potential grandma tells her daughter-in-law, who has tried to have a child for several years, that the multi-racial child she is excited to adopt is the wrong choice because, “the baby needs to be with his own kind.”
That daughter-in-law’s deepest desire for a child matters to God, and that beautiful little guy or girl is created by God with precision and joy.
A joke is told and you laugh. After all, it’s just a joke. You ignore the fact that these words damage and scar the heart of a child, woman, or man who is the brunt of that joke.
We are asked to love people just as we are loved, and we can do better than this.
We could list a thousand different ways that prejudice shows up, from subtle to overt. It’s not limited to any one race, any one socio-economic group, but it has no place in the heart of those who desire to follow Jesus, wherever He leads, whatever He asks, whatever miracle He desires to do in or through us.
There’s good news.
We are not stuck.
Start where you are, but don’t stay where you are.
It’s pretty simple, really.
If we admit that prejudice has some root in us, we have someplace to go. He’ll heal a prejudiced heart as you whisper yes to His invitation to change.
Transformation in our communities and our families might seem an impossible task, but it begins with one person and then another refusing to allow prejudice to define their home or heart.
We open our lives to people who don’t look like us, speak like us, eat the same foods, or love the same music.
We stop calling our culture “normal” and theirs’ abnormal, simply because it’s all we know.
We talk. We get to know each other. We sit around the kitchen table.
And when we hear someone labeling people, we speak up. We don’t have to be in-your-face, because that’s not loving people either.
But we don’t remain silent.
I’m so glad that we can talk about this together today, even if it’s uncomfortable.
We’re Jesus followers, and if there’s prejudice in the church or in our own hearts, let’s deal with that and allow God to put our feet on a path to change the world instead.
Suzie
Suzie, this is so true. It’s not just about our skin color or religion or those less fortunate. I have always accepted everyone. Until one day I did realize – no I don’t- I fell into the trap and name called someone who dressed differently- I was one that was picked on because of my different habits or because of Someone I hung out with!.
I remember a song growing up. Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world red & yellow black and white they are precious in his sight Jesus loves the little children.
He loves them as adults too. I wish our world was so much better than they are.
This is not an easy subject thank you for touching on it. We are all human and no matter what we all have feelings.
Very well said indeed
Oh my gosh! Truer words have never been spoken. This world is so full of racism and as you said it’s not just a “color” thing. I live in a part of the United States where plantation owners had slaves and then later on the civil rights movement was very controversial. My parents followed the “rules” of the times and I was taught not to associate with “those” people because they were either the wrong color or the wrong social class or they lived “on the wrong side of the tracks”. But God does work in mysterious ways. I saw my father who would have NEVER condoned a mixed marriage fall in love with this beautiful little mixed curly headed girl that my daughter and her husband adopted. Everyone in the family was so worried how he was going react and if he would ever accept the baby as his great granddaughter. He not only accepted her, he loved her from first sight just like we all did. If God could soften this 90 year old man’s heart He can truly work miracles. Daddy still has his days but he’s more aware of his feelings and tries very hard to not be prejudice and judgmental. Thank you Suzanne for such an honest post. I agree with you 100%.
It’s because that beautiful little girl became a face, rather than a joke or a generalization. I love that, and it’s key. Prejudice is faceless, nameless, and when that person or culture is an individual and gains humanity, we have to face our own feelings of prejudice and the wrongs behind it.
Well said! I enjoyed reading of your missionary trip and of all the blessings you all had. What an experience to have had. I can’t wait to read your new book. I learn so much from you and enjoy all I read. Thank you
Amen, Suzie! I grew up in a home where prejudice prevailed. Not only did it hurt me to grow up listening to that – but also it was a struggle to overcome those words that had been imprinted in my mind. Thankfully, God works in the heart AND mind – and I knew very early-on that prejudice was ungodly and sinful. My husband and I do not allow it, and we teach our children that it’s wrong. It is a struggle sometimes – because we sometimes equate evil to being attributable to entire classes of people. But that’s exactly what the enemy wants. Satan wants to divide us and make us focus on outward appearances. God challenges us to focus instead on the inward – the state of our hearts. Afterall, that is what God judges – not the color of our skin or our social or economic status. And most of the “higher classes” in Jesus’ day were also the ones with the wicked and immoral hearts. Because they were completely focused on appearances — their own, and others “beneath” or different from them. Jesus cut to the chase – and to the heart of the matter!
I wonder if we walked in the shoes of any one person for which we have prejudice, what would we learn? How would that change the way we treat people?
Volunteering in high school to help with the learning disabled kids taught me two things: people can be unbelievably cruel; and those we consider “least” are some of the most beautiful people on earth. Working with them, getting to know them, and also seeing the prejudices they faced first-hand, gave me such an appreciation for what loving and strong people they are. And I realized that the real disability was in the hearts of people who couldn’t see beyond the physical.
A perfect read!!!!
Thanks for sharing such a “delicate” topic. It’s also not always about the color; sometimes it happens even within the same race and work colleagues. Reading this has made me think. We have prejudice within us and act it because we are proud. There is this feeling of self- worth that robs us of the gift/ virtue of appreciation of others.
Once again, thank you Suzie.
Amen and amen!
Just bought your new book! Loving it!
Thank you, Toni!
Oh my goodness, YES. Thank you for being bold enough to step into the taboo with such powerful truth.
Amen, Suzie. Love your thoughts and words.