We’ve all felt it.
We see a certain kind of person approaching. Or during a conversation we discover a person holds a certain kind of opinion. What happens? We feel a slight hardening of our heart. We begin blanketing them with presumptions about who they must be. Finally, we feel a lessening of the value we hold for the person.
After all, they are a _____________________. (fill in the blank)
It’s called discrimination. Jesus calls it sin.
In Jesus day, the people of Galilee and Jerusalem discriminated against Samaritans, Romans and Gentiles in general. They discriminated against lepers, beggars, tax collectors and whoever they thought were inferior.
And they felt justified – even righteous – for feeling such things.
Not much has changed.
We feel it when we see a homeless person approaching.
We feel it when we see a person in tight clothes, piercings and dyed hair approaching.
We feel it when we see a fellow church member approaching who disagrees with us about the future of our congregation.
Republicans and Democrats feel it for each other.
Liberals and Conservatives feel it for each other.
Fox News fans and CNN fans feel it for each other.
Biden supporters and Trump supporters feel it for each other.
In Dr. Seuss’ “The Butter Battle Book,” the Yooks (who eat their bread with the butter-side up) and the Zooks (who eat their bread with the butter-side down) feel it for each other and it leads to war.
And what about skin color? It simply gives us a faster way to trigger all our feelings of discrimination. “All I have to do is see a person like that and I know what they’re about.”
There it is – the familiar hardening of the heart, the blanketing of presumptions, the lessening of value we hold for them.
Congregation members even afflict each other with their discrimination and injustice. It reveals itself in the way we treat the parents who don’t control their kids the way we’d like, the way we treat the emotionally “different” person, the people who like a different style of worship than we prefer, those unwilling to conform to our set of rules, the unwed mother, the chronically unemployed, the “broken” family, the unkempt man who has a tattoo and doesn’t tuck in his shirt, the young couple who are of a different ethnicity...
James 2:8-9, “If you really keep the royal law, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as a lawbreaker.”
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, discrimination has been a normal but destructive force in the human heart and human race. Because the human heart is ruined by sin and governed by it, every one of us has discrimination dwelling there. Where does discrimination in our society come from? You and me, and we spread it wherever we go like a coronavirus. And the sad part is, we, like the Galileans and Judeans before us, feel justified and even righteous for doing it.
That’s why when someone (like our millennial or Gen Z children) works up the courage to suggest to us that we ALL have discrimination in our hearts, we do what any sinner caught red-handed would do: we deny, deflect, defend, blame others and minimize our guilt.
But Jesus will have none of it.
Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Wow. Blunt words. Serious words. But we better listen closely. Jesus isn’t messing around. He died on a freaking cross to undo the mess we’ve made. And He didn’t free us from that mess so we could go back and contribute to it again.
We only have one hope of deliverance – Jesus. And Jesus says we only have one choice – confession.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives,” (1 John 1:8-10).
Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven,” Luke 6:37. This is both the gift He gives us and the ongoing work He requires us to engage in.
Discrimination isn’t just skin-deep, it’s sin-deep. So, don’t deny it. Confess it. Recognize its symptoms in your heart and mind so that the love and forgiveness of Jesus can take its place in you and go to work through you. Otherwise, your discrimination will continue to lead you into sin and you will blindly feel justified – and even righteous – for embracing it.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Jesus calls us to intentionally look for ways that we can come alongside our neighbors who are routinely suffering under discriminations and injustices of every kind. That’s what He means by, “I have come to preach good news to the poor… to release the oppressed.” That’s what He means by, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s what He means by, “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.” (For an excellent six-minute video explaining the biblical definitions of “righteousness” and “justice,” watch this.)
By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, what do we do once we confess our discrimination and receive His purification? James 1:19-20 gives us our template, “Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Who were you discriminating against? A fellow church-member? A neighbor? A co-worker? Someone from a different ethnicity? It’s one thing to stop judging them, now it’s time to start gracing them, getting to know them, valuing them and advocating alongside them.
Here’s a simple plan to move in that direction: memorize James 1:19-20, drink often from Jesus’ cup of grace, then ask the person you have subjected to your discrimination if you might have the honor of sitting with them and talking (with proper social distancing, of course). Come to the conversation ready to do the following:
Be Humble – “I don’t know their story and I need to be aware that I have major blind spots in my perception. I refuse to defend, deflect or rationalize my previous perceptions.”
Listen – “I will ask questions because I have a lot to learn and they have stories I need to hear.”
Learn – “I will work to understand rather than work to be understood.”
(FYI: Regarding racism specifically, seek to get better informed by reading books like “White Fragility” or watching movies and documentaries like “Just Mercy,” “13th,” and “I Am Not Your Negro.” Ask friends to recommend books and articles to you that they have found enlightening. Don’t be afraid. You don’t have to agree with everything to learn something.)
Finally, Team Up and Serve - Dr. Tony Evans, a prominent Black pastor from Dallas, gave this suggestion, “Team up with someone different than you and together serve someone worse off than you.”
Simple. Practical. Biblical.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen!” 1 Peter 4:8-11.
What’s your first step?