July 18
Prejudice
“Don’t put that nickel in your mouth. Some n*gg*r may have touched it.”
Not exactly what you’d expect to hear from a teacher, but it is my earliest remembrance of Sunday School. Throughout the years, I’ve learned that most people struggle with racism—even Christians.
I know I do.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t consider myself a bigot, but there are times I prejudge people too.
Take the time Susan and I drove through Los Angeles after spending four days on a cruise ship. It was right after the Rodney King riots of 1992. The bustling “City of Angels” looked like a ghost town. People locked their doors and stayed at home. No one was on the freeways.
I was very conscious of the color of people’s skin as I drove through town. I couldn’t wait to get home to “my people.”
I was scared.
Even good Christian men and women struggle with prejudice. Simon Peter did. But after God dealt with him, he said: “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality. [35] In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34–35 NLT)
When Peter became aware of his prejudice and applied the gospel to it, he made the necessary adjustments in his thinking. It all began, though, with addressing the hidden prejudices in his heart.
Back to the nickel … the teacher was right, I shouldn’t have put that nickel in my mouth. But she was wrong to let that kind of language come out of hers. Jesus said: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” (Matthew 15:18 KJV)
Pride
What virtue is impossible to have if you know you have it? If you have it, and know it, you don’t have it. If you work towards it, and finally achieve it, you’ll become proud of it and lose it. Give up?
The answer is humility. It is as slippery as black ice, it is as difficult to define as it is to achieve. What is humility?
John never boasts, he doesn’t think much of himself. He is afraid to assert himself, thinking others will discover his lack of worth. John is a “wall flower” at every party and a “doormat” in every relationship.
Mary is as subtle as a neon sign. She walks into a room announcing her presence with her boisterous gate. Her favorite subject … herself.
Who demonstrates more humility, Mary or John? Answer, neither. They both are self consumed. They both view other people as the support cast and themselves the primary actor in life’s drama.
A humble person puts the spotlight on God and sees herself as a support for others. She is a giving, loving, caring person.
Jesus demonstrated a good working definition of humility in Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. Notice that He sees Himself in the role of helper. He helps others find rest. His humility does not turn Him into a “doormat.” He said “learn from Me.” Jesus was confident in what He could do and secure in who He was.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
Prejudice
“Don’t put that nickel in your mouth. Some n*gg*r may have touched it.”
Not exactly what you’d expect to hear from a teacher, but it is my earliest remembrance of Sunday School. Throughout the years, I’ve learned that most people struggle with racism—even Christians.
I know I do.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t consider myself a bigot, but there are times I prejudge people too.
Take the time Susan and I drove through Los Angeles after spending four days on a cruise ship. It was right after the Rodney King riots of 1992. The bustling “City of Angels” looked like a ghost town. People locked their doors and stayed at home. No one was on the freeways.
I was very conscious of the color of people’s skin as I drove through town. I couldn’t wait to get home to “my people.”
I was scared.
Even good Christian men and women struggle with prejudice. Simon Peter did. But after God dealt with him, he said: “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality. [35] In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34–35 NLT)
When Peter became aware of his prejudice and applied the gospel to it, he made the necessary adjustments in his thinking. It all began, though, with addressing the hidden prejudices in his heart.
Back to the nickel … the teacher was right, I shouldn’t have put that nickel in my mouth. But she was wrong to let that kind of language come out of hers. Jesus said: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” (Matthew 15:18 KJV)
Pride
What virtue is impossible to have if you know you have it? If you have it, and know it, you don’t have it. If you work towards it, and finally achieve it, you’ll become proud of it and lose it. Give up?
The answer is humility. It is as slippery as black ice, it is as difficult to define as it is to achieve. What is humility?
John never boasts, he doesn’t think much of himself. He is afraid to assert himself, thinking others will discover his lack of worth. John is a “wall flower” at every party and a “doormat” in every relationship.
Mary is as subtle as a neon sign. She walks into a room announcing her presence with her boisterous gate. Her favorite subject … herself.
Who demonstrates more humility, Mary or John? Answer, neither. They both are self consumed. They both view other people as the support cast and themselves the primary actor in life’s drama.
A humble person puts the spotlight on God and sees herself as a support for others. She is a giving, loving, caring person.
Jesus demonstrated a good working definition of humility in Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. Notice that He sees Himself in the role of helper. He helps others find rest. His humility does not turn Him into a “doormat.” He said “learn from Me.” Jesus was confident in what He could do and secure in who He was.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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