Skip to main content

Lent 5: Fast from Prejudice

There is neither
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free,
male nor female for
all are one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28.

I was raised to believe that all people who had tattoos were a lower class of people who had bad behaviors.

Just look at some to the tattoos!

That may have been true in the 40's and 50's, but I was only a kid and assumed my parent's prejudice was acceptable.

Times have changed and I have come to recognize my parent's prejudices may have been appropriate for them, but no longer for me.

I have come to see tattoos as an art form worn skin deep. 

Everyone has prejudices and recognition is the first step to overcoming them.

Fasting from prejudice may begin with prayer based on a psalm such as Psalm 139: search me O God, and know my heart: see if there is any offensive way in me. 

Dr. Steven C. Hayes Suggests the following:
  • Listen to and learn from people who hold different views, and be open to changing your own perspectives. 
  • Focus on understanding the experiences and perspectives of others, and try to see the world from their point of view. 
  • Get to know people who belong to groups that your mind judges because personal connections can help build understanding.
Finally, focus on Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" and "Love your neighbor as yourself".

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more