Overcoming Prejudice

Overcoming Prejudice

I N T RO D U C T I O N

 The previous few days in Miami had been exceptionally

cool. Jan, my traveling com p a n i on, and I did not con s i d e r

it coat weather, but the Floridians shive red, all bundled up in

their winter wear.

The prayer seminar had gone well, and it was now our last

service before leaving for home. The preparation for the Sunday

morning worship service had been difficult, and I found myself at

the mercy of the Holy Spirit. (Not a bad place to be!)

During the pre l i m i n a ries and the praise and worship

serv i c e, I was crying out inw a rdly, just for a starting Scri p t u re

that I could re a d .

The sanctuary was packed as I stood before the

c on g re g a t i on of beautiful skin tones — from almost white to

light chocolate to black ve lvet. Their faces looked back at me. I

smiled and began to read a psalm — making comments as I felt

p rompted by the Holy Spirit.

Where is the flow of the Spirit? I wondered. God, what is it You

want to do in this church today?

The tension within me grew, and I felt helpless.

At last, I knew. (Sometimes it is good that we do not know

what we will say beforehand.We might mess it all up, working to

be politically correct, writing and rewriting to make sure that we

cross every “t” and dot every “i” with the correct flourish.)

The love of God began to rise within me. I spoke from my

heart of hearts:

“You cannot re a lly know me unless I choose to share myself —

my thoughts, my ideas, and my feelings. Obviously, I am a

Southern white woman. I grew up in cotton mill towns in North

Georgia. There I attended the all-white Pentecostal churches

where my dad served as pastor. I attended all-white schools and

lived in all-white neighborhoods. The only black people I knew

were Smut and Clarabell, tenants on my uncle’s farm.

“I don’t know if I have any racial prejudice — it has never

been tested. I know that at one time I was filled with intellectual

p re j u d i c e, because God exposed it in a ve ry dramatic way. If I

have any racial pre j u d i c e, I want the Holy Spirit to uncover it

and deliver me. All I know is that I love yo u , and we are one —

one blood. In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gre e k , male

nor fe m a l e, black nor white. T h e re is that one new man cre a t e d

in Him.”

The barriers came tumbling down. My newly found friends,

brothers and sisters in the Lord, no longer hugged from a

distance. Many smothered me in bear hugs after the benediction.

The unity of the Spirit had prevailed (Eph. 4:3).

Jesus is our peace, and I believe that the Scriptures written by

the Apostle Paul in Galatians and Ephesians apply today.

Ethnic groups are assuming responsibility for the sins of the

forefathers and asking forgiveness for past wrongs done to one

another. We are accountable to God and each other as members

of one household, and by the blood of the Lamb and through

good communication we are overcoming the dividing schemes of

the devil. God is bringing His people together. Red and yellow,

black and white — we are coming together — and we are precious

in His sight.

We are no longer outsiders or aliens, but fellow citizens with

every other Christian — we belong now to the household of God

(Eph. 2:19 PHILLIPS).

P RAY ER

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before You, asking

Your forgiveness for being intolerant of one another because of the

colors of our skin. Forgive us for tolerating prejudice in the

household of faith. Set us free from the influence of public opinion

that we may live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith.

Forgive us for segregating ourselves by color, by a measure of

wealth or intellect. We are all Your children, the sheep of Your

pasture. You made us, and not we ourselves.

We are one blood, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,Who

was slain before the foundation of the world. We are baptized

“into” Christ and have put on the family likeness of Christ.

We call for an end to division and segregation in Christ’s

family — may there be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave

and free, male and female. Among us we are all equal. That is, we

are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Father, for bringing us together in Christ

through His death on the cross. The cross got us to embrace, and

that was the end of the hostility.

Lord, Jesus came and preached peace to us outsiders and

peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals and so made us equals.

Through Him we share the same Spirit and have equal access to

You, Father.

The Kingdom of faith is now our home country, and we are

no longer strangers or outsiders.We belong here.

Lord, You are building a home. You are using us all —

irrespective of how we got here — in what You are building. You

are fitting us in with Christ Jesus as the Cornerstone Who holds

all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day — a

holy temple built by You, Father, all of us built into it, a temple in

which You are quite at home.

Father, You have called us all to travel on the same road and

in the same direction, so we will stay together, both outwardly and

inwardly. We have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God

and Father of all — Who rules over all, works through all, and is

present in all. Everything we are and think and do is permeated

with oneness.

Father, we imitate You. We walk in love, [esteeming and

delighting in one another]. We walk as children of the light

[leading the lives of those native-born to the light]. We look

carefully how we walk! We live purposefully and worthily and

accurately, making the very most of the time [buying up each

opportunity], because the days are evil.

We speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, offering praise with voice [and instruments] and

making melody with all our hearts to You, Lord, at all times and

for everything, giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

to You, Father. By love we serve one another.

Thank You, Father, that prejudice is being rooted out of the

Body of Christ, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture References

James 2:1 MESSAGE Ephesians 2:13-22 MESSAGE

Psalm 100:3 Ephesians 4:3-6 MESSAGE

1 Peter 1:18,19 NIV Ephesians 5:1,2,8 AMP

Galatians 3:27,28 PHILLIPS Ephesians 5:15,16,19,20 AMP

Galatians 3:28 MESSAGE Galatians 5:13 AMP