Prejudice And Peace (4)
Thursday June 11, 2015
This week we’ve been looking at prejudice and how it expresses itself in our daily lives. We have also looked at the reasons people carry prejudice against another person or people group. One more source of prejudice is fear that gets expressed in the false assumption that others can give or take away our quality of life.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT)
Much of our anger and hatred is directed at people who seem to threaten our way of life. We believe they have the power over our standard of living, to give it or take it away. The problem is not theirs but ours. Our problem is seeing ourselves or others as the source of our existence rather than God. Our life comes from God. God is the supreme source of all we are and the quality of life we enjoy. It is God who offers us life and who sustains our lives. The Bible talks about idols and they are not simply images of stone that we worship. Idols are anything in which we place our hope and trust. When we place our hope and trust in God as the source of our existence, then we can live securely in God’s promised care for us.
Job said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21 NLT)
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT)
Every person is created by God, and God said that everything He made was good. We must remember that other people are not our enemy. The enemy we face is the evil that causes hatred and prejudice. We need to walk in love and proclaim war against hatred. We need to put our trust in God’s faithfulness and love others as He has loved us. We do not have to wait for others to change their behaviour before we can live in peace. God has said He will generously provide for all our needs. As we walk in love and acceptance towards others, we can truly be people who bless others with love and acceptance. We will then be a channel of God’s peace rather than a vessel that contributes to the cycle of anger, hatred and violence in our world today. ©2015 Partners in Hope
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