A large part of prejudice is a real dislike for someone or something, even a hostility. With that in mind I’m NOT prejudiced against blacks, muslims, or women. I’m not prejudiced against Mexicans, church leadership, or even the government.
I thought I was prejudiced against certain people (no matter their ethnicity, gender, occupation, or position of power) who choose to live their lives in an uninformed, unwise, unkind, or unthoughtful way.
But when I looked up the word prejudice, the dictionary said that prejudice was, “a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.” It went on to say it was a, “dislike, hostility, or unjust behavior deriving from unfounded opinions.”
That’s when I learned that my strong feelings against certain people was not prejudice. Oh, it is a dislike, and sometimes even a hostility. But these strong feelings aren’t coming from a “preconceived opinion,” or an “unfounded opinion.” They are coming from an informed judgment handed down to us by the God of creation.
God hates it when we choose to worship other, so called, “God’s” (Jer 44:3,4). God hates it when we say things that aren’t true, and we plot evil against others (Zec 8:17). God hates divorce, and He hates it when people cover themselves with violence, and He hates it when men break faith (Mal 2:16). In fact, there are whole lists of things that God hates. He hates pridefulness, lying, murder, those who devise wicked imaginations (TV?), as well as those who run to mischief, and even those who sow discord or dissension (Pro 6:16-19).
There are some people who are willingly ignorant (2 Pet 3:5) that God is our creator. They are willingly ignorant that He knows what’s best and has laid out a plan for their lives that will make them safer, healthier, and happier. Jesus told us how to deal with those kind of people. “Let them alone” Jesus tells us. Just leave them, ignore them, don’t focus on their equivocations. In the words of the comedian, “You can’t fix stupid.”
So NO, I’m not prejudice! I am against willful stupidity. If you’re a foreigner, a person of color, a government official, a church leader, and you choose to ignore God’s good counsel, common sense, or thoughtful reasonableness, I may feel some hate just like God does (but that’s NOT prejudice).
So how do I choose to deal with others who are living their lives outside of God’s will? With God’s help, and by His grace, I am choosing to let Christ live out His life in me (Luk 6:27) no matter what others do. Because in the end, I choose to live like Christ, and finally with Christ in a place (Joh 14:2; Rev 21:3) where everyone deliberately chooses His love, His laws, and His culture.