Those Kind of People

I cringe when there is a news story about a scumbag who falls in my bucket.   A teacher or professed Christ-follower who does something heinous makes my skin crawl. And I know I need to duck from the shrapnel-like judgement on the whole group by the actions of his one.  Thoughtless or attention-seeking news reporting continually calls out groups of people by the actions of a few.  We have all seen judgement passed on groups of people. And this seems to escalate daily.  I believe it is in part caused by lazy, thoughtless thumbs up, share and retweet communication but that is a whole other topic! 

We as a society are constantly classifying people and drawing judgement by those groups.  Even my social media advertisements are filtered by the political affiliation to which they believe I belong.  I often receive advertisements for things which are clearly earmarked for some faction of society that does not apply to me.  Because of my Christian posts, they send me extremely conservative ads. But because I am a teacher I get liberal stuff too.  Of course they are right when they load me up with dog ads, but I love that I can’t be nailed down.  There is no bucket in which I fit!  And this is true for each of us.  None of us belong in a bucket.  Each of us is an individual that may or may not think like those whom we associate.

Here is another related example.  Do you ever quit listening to someone because you know them so well that you are sure you know what they are about to say?  Often I think I know a person’s opinion on a topic so my ears filter out their words. Sometimes if they repeat it three or four more times, it finally sinks in that they are saying something quite different from what I expected. This is just another form of the same issue.  My ears sort information by my preconceived ideas.  If what they say does not fit this mold, I never know about it because I have already shut down.  

As bad as it is today, this is not a new problem.  One of Jesus’ most famous parables addresses this very issue.  See Luke 10:29-37. It is the parable called the Good Samaritan.  It is about a man from one political affiliation reaching out to a man of a very different echelon.  He doesn’t mindlessly walk on by like others.  He sees a need and addresses it generously, disregarding any preconceived ideas. This is what Christ followers are told to do. 

Here is the take-away.  I have to start with me.  Even if this blog went viral, it would change nothing.  It is up to each individual to monitor his own prejudices against certain groups of people.  It is harder than ever to do this in our current political climate but that is no excuse. How many times have I judged people by their life choices, clothing, car they drive, news channel they watch, and on and on?  How many times have I quit listening because I thought I knew what they were going to say?  

Lord, make me sensitive to my own prejudices. Help me remember the author of prejudice is the Enemy. Help me spot it and immediately bring it to you.  Help me listen with an open heart.  Help me see the beauty and struggles in each individual regardless of their affiliations.  Help me stop this madness and empty all my buckets by the power of your Holy Spirit. Please help me love my neighbors as you commanded. Thank you.