In the sixteenth chapter of second Samuel is the story of Shimei of the clan of Saul who cursed King David loudly as he and his men passed by while fleeing from Absalom. The guards with David wanted to strike the man down, but David resisted saying, “It may be that the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today” (verse 12). David voiced understanding of a principle that Jesus stated clearly in the gospel of Luke – God sometimes puts difficult people in our lives to try our patience and mercy.
In today’s scripture reading Jesus is very clear about one thing – we are not to show any hint of prejudice in our Christian charity toward others. Loving those who love us is easy. Loving the unlovable is tremendously difficult. “Give to everyone who asks of you” he says in verse 30. Surely he doesn’t mean everyone?
We may encounter prejudice on several different levels that will keep us from obeying this biblical injunction. There is the materialist level – prejudice against those who threaten our way of life. This kind of prejudice is targeted against certain classes of people we view as different and therefore threatening – foreigners, immigrants, those of different racial makeup from ourselves, people from different socio-economic environments. These are superficial prejudices – ‘Archie Bunker’ style defensive reactions to differences in others. This is commonplace in America where everyone is so concerned about acquiring and maintaining the ‘American Dream’. We have no problem running down those who might get in the way of our achieving ‘success’.
Beyond the first level of prejudice deeper levels can often be found. We may not think that we are prejudice against the poor, but may harbor the thought that they need not be poor if they would apply themselves. This type of prejudice stems from our human need to try to assign a ‘why’ answer to every problem. In reading the gospels it is blaringly obvious that Jesus was not interested in why people were in the circumstances they were in. We serve an ‘equal opportunity’ God who is no respecter of men (Acts 10:34) – meaning he shows no prejudice whatsoever toward anyone, for any reason. If you have been saved, take a moment to consider what that means to you personally in light of all he has forgiven you!
While the first two types of prejudice are common among both the world and the church, there is a third type that is fairly unique to the church because the church encourages philanthropy as did Jesus. This kind favors those in humble circumstances – the poor, the sick, the elderly; anyone perceived as helpless. If we ever say to ourselves, ‘I’m not going to help him, he’s wealthy’, or ‘I won’t lift a finger to help that person who is perfectly able-bodied’, we can be sure we are experiencing this type of prejudice. Again, Jesus said in verse 30, “Give to EVERYONE who asks of you…” – there is no qualification in the statement.
The basic message in both the teachings and the life of our Lord as portrayed in the gospels is this – God is love. All the time, for everyone, regardless of circumstances – he is unbiased in his love for all of mankind. If we are to glorify Him, we must be as He is and share His love with everyone he brings us into contact with.
Heavenly Father – I pray that you would show me any prejudice that I harbor against my fellow man. Drive it far from me Lord that I may be as you are – no respecter of persons great or small, rich or poor, young or old. Help me to see them all as You see them, that I may allow You to love them through me. Amen.
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