Racism is an ugly thing. It judges people on the basis of their skin color, language, background, family of origin, or custom.
Should people be judged at all? I must say, yes. I know Jesus said "judge not, that you be not judged," (Matthew 7.1) but the surrounding context shows that we cannot eliminate all judgment. His point was that we should stand ready to be judged by the same standard by which we judge others.
We all have to make judgments every day. It is also easy to make ineffective judgment upon individuals.
For example, if you were driving along on the street and saw someone standing in the street waving their hands, you would have to make a judgment very quickly. "Is he O.K?" "Does he need my help?" "Is he dangerous? Will he hurt me, or someone else?" "If I gave him something, would it really help him?" We probably don't know the answer to any of those questions but we will have to make a decision regardless.
Where we run into evil is when we prejudge someone - when we make a judgment based on skin color, language, their people group, clothing style or appearance, we usually misjudge.
Perhaps you were previously mistreated by someone who happened to be of a certain skin color; perhaps more than once. Then, it becomes easy, almost natural, to begin to judge all people of that color on the basis of your experience.
If a person of a certain "race" raped your daughter, then it would be easy to think that all people of that "race" is evil. One might even begin to judge that all males are wicked because it was a male who did this. This would not be fair to all the other boys and men out there.
If someone of a certain background stole from you or lied to you, you might automatically start to think that group was all liars or thieves.
How can we overcome racism?
Should people be judged at all? I must say, yes. I know Jesus said "judge not, that you be not judged," (Matthew 7.1) but the surrounding context shows that we cannot eliminate all judgment. His point was that we should stand ready to be judged by the same standard by which we judge others.
We all have to make judgments every day. It is also easy to make ineffective judgment upon individuals.
For example, if you were driving along on the street and saw someone standing in the street waving their hands, you would have to make a judgment very quickly. "Is he O.K?" "Does he need my help?" "Is he dangerous? Will he hurt me, or someone else?" "If I gave him something, would it really help him?" We probably don't know the answer to any of those questions but we will have to make a decision regardless.
Where we run into evil is when we prejudge someone - when we make a judgment based on skin color, language, their people group, clothing style or appearance, we usually misjudge.
Perhaps you were previously mistreated by someone who happened to be of a certain skin color; perhaps more than once. Then, it becomes easy, almost natural, to begin to judge all people of that color on the basis of your experience.
If a person of a certain "race" raped your daughter, then it would be easy to think that all people of that "race" is evil. One might even begin to judge that all males are wicked because it was a male who did this. This would not be fair to all the other boys and men out there.
If someone of a certain background stole from you or lied to you, you might automatically start to think that group was all liars or thieves.
How can we overcome racism?
- Recognize that racism exists. The solution begins there, and we should all ask at some point, "Am I a racist?" Many are blinded to their own faults.
- But don't give in to the trap that racism is "systemic," which I take to mean that it is innate or built into the fabric of people of a particular color. Not all people of any color are racists, in fact, they are probably a small minority in most groups.
- We need to quit thinking of people on the basis of race. God's word says:
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, (Acts 17.26)
According to this, there is only one race - the human race, even though we have all naturally divided ourselves into our own families and nationalities, which is fine, all of us are the same family.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (Ephesians 3.14-15) - We must stop assuming that all people of any group are all alike. There are bad people and decent people of all backgrounds.
- We need to reach across the barriers.
Invite people of various appearances, languages and customs to come join you in your home, your activities and your church. Welcome them as family when they are married together with your family or adopted. - Don't fall for the race baiters. There are some people who want to keep the racial tensions flowing for selfish reasons or political purposes. They are using people like puppets on a string - like pawns in a chess match. They, especially the leftists and Marxists, have an unspoken agenda to bring our country down in order to remake it in their own image. They do not love our nation, but will make it look like they have noble intentions, using such terms as "racial justice" to accomplish their desired goals. Don't bite the hook. Most of them don't look at downtrodden people of color with a desire to help them. They only want to incite more tension, bitterness, unrest and even violence. Many of these same people use the "N" word when referring to conservative black individuals.
- Pay attention to conduct and character, not color.
- Remember that the Lord does not look upon people on the basis of their color or nationality. He is concerned about the condition of our souls. This includes your soul.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3.26-28)
