Prejudice begins at home.
A young mind witnesses what its role-model is willing to embrace, and
imperceptibly opens to the same ideas, both for good, and for evil. And the influence of the home, is not
engrained only in a moment, but over long periods of time, where infectious
ideas work there way deeper and deeper into the psyche of developing minds
until the acorn and the tree are hard to tell apart. While this may be the main way it happens; it
is not the only way. What happens “to”
us; can also have profound impacts “on” us, in terms of our prejudices. We “pre-judge” the motives of others, and
predict their actions based on our assumed judgment of their motives; perhaps
in part, because we have seen these scenarios before. This is not just a white / black thing; this
is a rich / poor thing, a cop / criminal thing, even a doctor / patient
thing. Anywhere there are relationships
between people, it is possible for us to pre-judge and predict outcomes based
on the accumulated experiences of our past (or the short word for it,
baggage). We carry our emotional or
mental baggage with us into new relationships, and sometimes poison them with
things that never belonged there in the first place. But hurt a person a few times in the same
way, by the same type of experience, and baggage is nearly certain to develop
out of fear if nothing else.
The problem with our prejudices, and even our baggage, is
that if left unchecked, it becomes a hatred in us against things or people we
believe will in some way cause damage to us.
We begin to categorize individuals into groups of like characteristics,
no longer seeing the person, only seeing the “type” of personage they belong to. Our judgments begin to extend not just to
those we have great knowledge of personally, but to those we hardly know, then
finally to those we do not know at all.
All of this because they belong to a group with a characteristic, we
know to have hurt us in the past, and now we fear will hurt us in the
future. Over time, individuals lumped in
to the groups we define as threats, can rarely if ever “work” their way out of
these mental classifications, into a “normal” relationship with us. They start at the deficit of their group, and
must exert proof positive to exit it. Keep
in mind these negative connotations to groups can happen based merely on their
occupations, or religions, having nothing to do with race.
Take a look at your feelings about bankers for a moment; it
is no longer just their cushy jobs of 9 to 5 that click in your mind. After the big collapse, where many Americans
lost everything they had, can you still “trust” these people with your
money. You may keep your money in a bank
(because the mattress theory is nearly a certainty of greater loss), but do you
feel good about it, or not. Examine how
you feel about Catholics for a moment.
The people now are great folks, but the church persecuted those who felt
differently for nearly 1200 years. For a
long time in this country there was bigotry against Catholics or having
Catholics ever sit in any governmental seats of power, because of what their
church did, without apology, for centuries when they had influence in the past.
Take a look at cops. Are they your public defenders or does that
word conjure up fear of over-reaction where you might wind up dead in some
mistaken exchange gone awry?
Lastly, take a look at the “undocumented” in our
country. How they came here was a crime,
no two ways about it. That makes them
criminals, at least originally. But not
all criminals are created equally. Those
who hid Jews in German controlled territories were once guilty of a “capital”
offense, not just a passport infraction.
Today we would call those “criminals” of WW2 heroes for what they
did. Seeking hope, pursuing a dream, and
doing something illegal to get it, either for you, or for your kids, hardly
seems like the worst criminal activity one could embrace. And does only that singular crime, truly
label you a criminal forever? But the
fear does not end because the border was porous. Now the fear extends to those who may lose
jobs to those who will work for less (many abused in the process). And the fear continues that “legal” tax
payers will be paying for public services for those here illegally, in terms of
education, medical help, and drivers licenses.
If your mind conjures up many negative things associated with the “undocumented”,
ask yourself how deep your fear runs, or how dispassionate you truly are.
At the end of these things, the common denominator of our
prejudice, our racism, even our baggage is fear of what damage may come to
us. That fear then drives us to hate. And in that hatred, forgiveness is nearly
completely lost sight of. This is the
polar opposite of how heaven works. Take
a case in point found in the gospel of Matthew to the Hebrews chapter
eighteen. Matthew records the words of
Jesus as Jesus begins to address these topics from the view of heaven
itself. It picks up in verse 12 saying …
“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray,
doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and
seeketh that which is gone astray?” To
begin, nearly every Christian who reads this passage, in the back of their
minds, believes “they” would have been part of the ninety-nine. Oh sure at one point we were the lost sheep,
but now … not us. Though a closer
examination of any one of our lives, might reveal we have still found a way to
get outside the sheep fold, and right back into the danger we were saved from
yesterday.
But a second look at that same story’s beginning, might
offer a different point of view. Looking
at this story through the lens of heaven, earth itself may have been the “one”
sheep who “went astray” while all the other created worlds and beings in the
kingdom of God’s universe did not. Satan
tempted all of them, tried to get all of them to fall, but none did. All chose to keep trust with God. All that is, except our world. From this point of view, each and every one
of us is the sheep who “went astray”.
And while our current condition is lost.
We did not get there by accident.
There was some “going” involved in why we are now where we are. We are, to be exact, “gone astray”. It was our choice to go. It was our feet that carried us away. And as a result, we are now lost, with no
idea how to get home.
Jesus continues in verse 13 saying … “And if so be that he
find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the
ninety and nine which went not astray.”
Pay close attention to the wording at the start of this verse. Jesus begins with “and if so be that he find
it”. This represents risk. There is a risk that the shepherd may not
find the sheep. After all, there are
wolves in the world. Wolves that consume
a sheep before he even knows he has been hunted and eaten. There is a risk that the sheep does not want
to be found. Our heavenly Shepherd
recognizes the risk involved with the pursuit of the lost. It is perhaps the overcoming of this risk,
that is the reason why there is so much joy.
For the sheep must lose his fear of the Shepherd for this to work. The sheep, namely us, must allow the Shepherd
to do with us what He wills. We may
think we want nice long wool, a coat of wool we have spent what seems like a
lifetime growing and nurturing. Then
along comes our Shepherd with a set of shears and trims us down to nearly naked. That looks daunting at first, but feels
absolutely liberating once we let Him do it to us. And it is much better than allowing our
fears, to become the wolves, that consume us, and keep us long, woolly, and
lost.
Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “Even so it is not the
will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should
perish.” Jesus reminds us of many things
in this story. Even though it is we who
have chosen to go astray, it is our Shepherd (Him), who chases after us to find
us. And this is not just the “Jesus Act”,
this is the will of the Father who is in heaven. We were created with freedom of choice, in
order that we might love freely, and choose to love freely. We chose badly, but were created even with
God knowing we would make an initial bad choice. That choice need not label us criminals
forever, as our Shepherd would do what it takes to bring us home. We could simply not accomplish that, sheep
are great at getting lost, or going astray, worthless at finding home. Jesus refers back to the 2-year-old He has
put in front of Him to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness,
and heaven. And He reminds them, that
the Father is not willing to lose even one of these little ones.
We are that little one.
Our heavenly Father, and in His home, is no embrace of fear, or hatred –
but instead a fervent embrace of forgiveness that will forget what we did to
Him, and allow Him to love us in spite of what we did to Him. We ask, He forgives. No more holding it against us. No more putting it in our faces. Jesus continues this theme in verse 15 saying
… “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his
fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother.” Jesus here provides a way for
us to address the injustices that happen in our world. He begins with calling our attention to the
fact that one who has done us harm, is no stranger in the Kingdom of
heaven. He is our brother. He is family.
Before you pursue enumerating the long list of slights you believe have
been done to you, consider “who” you are talking to, is family, your
family. You should be loving them that
way, like Jesus loves you. Once you love
that way, then perhaps you will be ready to speak to your brother. And your goal, is not the destruction of your
brother, but the reclamation of your brother.
All you are looking for here, is for your brother to hear you. The Holy Spirit will do whatever conviction
of wrongdoing is needed, both on the side of your brother, or on yours.
If you are not there to reclaim your brother, don’t go. If your words of confrontation will not have
the effect of reclaiming your brother, don’t say them. You will ultimately hold yourself more
accountable in this interchange than will the brother who may have offended
you. Jesus continues in verse 16 saying
… “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in
the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” The goal remains to have your brother “hear”
you, nothing more. The witnesses you
bring, are only there to “establish” what is said – that is, they listen to
you, and record what it is you said, and how you said it. The goal remains to have your brother hear
you. If you are there to teach your
brother a lesson, don’t go, don’t bring anybody. Lessons in pain, are very rarely the lessons
you or anyone else will learn from. The
idea that you still care about your brother, to try to reach him, and now you
are bringing help to do so, is supposed to be the motive behind why you bring
others to his doorstep once again. You
are doing the pursuing in this scenario, not like the wolf, but like the
Shepherd. To destroy the sheep and make
him your prey, is clearly not the goal.
Jesus continues in verse 17 saying … “And if he shall
neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the
church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. [verse 18] Verily
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Here is where an even closer second look is
warranted. The next step in trying to
reach a family member (your brother) who may have wronged you, is to take the
matter to the church. Why? So you can light up torches, gather
pitchforks, and go burn down his house?
No!! So that as a matter of
prayer, and awareness, the entire church can attempt to bring your brother
before the Lord, to have the Lord find a way to reclaim him. Keep in mind the earlier text right above us,
it is the Father’s will that not one of these little ones should be lost. Jesus came here to save that which was
lost. Those texts did not go away in
this context. They are amplified
here. What you bind or loose on earth or
have it echoed in heaven, is not the giving up on your brother, it is the
continuation of working for your brother.
What your brother may have done to wrong you, may give you
the occasion to talk to him. But the
reclamation of him continually remains your goal. Jesus says if he refuses to hear even the
entire church, then to treat him like a heathen or a publican. HOW DID JESUS TREAT THEM? He dined in the home of publicans and sinners
and drove church leadership crazy over it.
He turned none of them away. Cast
none of them out based on any kind of judgment, for while the second coming has
not yet happened, there is still time enough for reclamation, and even more
time to love. For the need of our love
is greatest now, while so much pain exists.
We are not to fear our brother, even if he has slid all the way down to
equality with heathens and publicans. We
are to love our brother still. That is
not a statement about our brother, it is a definition of how we love, and a
witness to why we love. Then comes the
home run.
Jesus continues in verse 19 saying … “Again I say unto you,
That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. [verse 20] For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.” Church is now something totally
different than it has been up to now.
Church happens when two of us agree on earth as touching any thing – say
perhaps the reclamation of our stubborn brother who refuses to hear us on a matter
we hoped would reclaim him. There need
not be a formal building we enter, even on the special day He set aside to hang
out with us on. We need not call ONLY
that church. Church is made up of us
coming together, even in small flocks, flocks as small as two, to unite in the
reclamation of our brother who we sincerely love. We love our brother like Jesus does, and
because Jesus does. And while our
efforts are far from what is needed, our Father God will do what we have asked
of Him, for the salvation of another.
That my friends is a powerful prayer.
It superseded prayers for wealth, or power, or even health, or spiritual
understanding. Prayers for the salvation
of another are the greatest of all prayers.
They are stronger still when asked not in isolation, but asked as the
flock of Jesus, where at least a few sheep are present.
But the lesson was not over yet, there was still the pesky
matter of what to do with wolves …
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