Prejudice


5/23/22
I just watched an excellent hour-long teaching about Prejudice by Patricia Bootsma on the Israel Virtual House of Prayer Zoom meeting.

She Addressed prejudices and the resulting discriminations and divisions based on race, ethnicity, ability, and whether a person is born or not yet born.

In this page I just wanted to comment on thoughts which this presentation sparked in me.

First of all, it seems to me that prejudice is an attitude of expectations of another creature or group of creatures based on true or imagined traits.  My impression is that it is a trait of fallen mankind caused by separation from God and the resulting insecurities for which we humans tend to compensate with pride and control and domination.

Second, we know from the Scriptures that
Gal_3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Pro_22:2  The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Mat 23:8  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Mat 23:9  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

But we see in the world and in the body of Christ these divisions.  Why is that??

The apostle Paul says that it is because of 'carnality'.  1Co 3:1-3  And, I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to those who are spiritual, but as to those who are carnal—even as to babes in Christ.   I gave you milk to drink, and not meat; for you were not yet able to receive spiritual meat; and neither are you able now,  for you are still carnal. For since envy and contention and divisions are among you, are you not carnal? And are you not walking according to human ways?

Interestingly Paul does not then give the remedy for 'carnality'!!  Apparently the Holy Spirit  tests us to see whether we will search out the answers to these vital and fundamental questions in the rest of Scriptures and from the Lord Himself Who alone is our Teacher.

For what it's worth, I have come to the conclusion that we are divided because we fail to obey our Lord Jesus, who gave us this choice:
Luke 9:23-24  Then He said to all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross daily, and let him follow Me;   For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it; but whoever will lose his life for My sake shall save it.

This choice is expressed differently in another key passage:  (EMTV)  and He died for all, so that they who live should live no longer for themselves, but for the One who died for them and rose again.

So, how does one make this choice in a practical way??  Paul the apostle gave us his practice as such an example:  Gal_6:14  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Finally, there is a division in the body of Christ which is ripe for destruction.  It is the division between 'clergy' and 'laity'.  The Old Testament was written on tablets of stone because the people of God failed to come up to the mountain top with Moses to get to know God, but they were content to let Moses meet with God and to tell them what He said.  As a result God gave them a split leadership of Moses as leader and Aaron as high priest. God tried to maintain some personal contact with His chosen people by tabernacling among them, but they eventually built an unordained temple to replace the God-ordained Tabernacle of Meeting.

This all became obsolete when Jesus died and rose again, and the Holy Spirit was poured out to dwell in those who believed in Jesus and who chose to receive the Holy Spirit and to crucify the flesh daily.  That was intended to reverse the division between 'leadership' and 'non-leaders' in fulfillment of Jesus offered choice to be His followers, who are 'all brothers'.  But the enemy immediately intervened through the open gate of pride in the original disciples' hearts, and the clergy/laity division was perpetuated.  Paul the apostle, being not only of Jewish background but also a 'Pharisee of Pharisees' inadvertently helped to perpetuate this division in his writings.  Only Jesus was always right!!

I was personally made aware of the fact that God can use anyone as His vessel to deliver His words and works to us.  As a young Christian I was struggling to understand the spiritual effect of water baptism.  One day my four year old son asked me, "Daddy, who is Naaman?"  I looked at him with great surprise and said, "Where is your hear about Naaman?"  "I don't know" was the answer.  So I looked up Naaman in the Bible, and found his story in  2 Kings, chapter 5.  It was a great help in understanding what water baptism accomplishes in a believer's life.  My son was certainly unlearned and untaught, but God chose him to pass on a vital bit of information to me.  And I realized that God can use anyone, including donkeys, to connect with us.  Sometimes He uses handwriting on a wall.....

But now I believe that the time has come for God to sweep away the carnality from our lives so that we can truly become one with Him and our Lord Jesus, resulting in true unity between the members of the Body of Christ!

More later, if the Lord wills.
5/23/22