I listened to a movie about prejudice today. It had a good message that also could be applied to faith. Essentially, it isn’t enough to be disturbed by prejudice. If I heard someone telling an awful story full of racial slurs and I just sat and did nothing, then I am condoning it, even if I totally disapprove of the racial slurs.
I remember when I was in my twenties. There was this guy who wanted me to date him. He was my first boyfriend. He was African-American. I liked him, but I wasn’t sure about him. I ended up dating him for a while because the only reason I could think of to not date him was his race. My parents didn’t want me to date outside my race. My community was going to give me a difficult time if I dated outside my race. I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t going to base my decision to have a relationship with someone based solely on the color of his skin. So, I dated the guy and after a while, I found out that we didn’t have much in common and I stopped the relationship.
I don’t go out and seek circumstances to deal with prejudice, but if I encounter it, I do stand up to it if I can. Faith works the same way. I haven’t spent my life going out and seeking encounters to test my faith. Yet when I have encounters that put my faith to the test, I try my best to stand up and be a faithful and loving Christian. It isn’t easy. I’m not perfect, but I try my best. I hope that’s all that God could ask of me.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
