What can I do about my racist tendencies?
Romans 12:9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
Trying to be politically correct and avoid offense is too low a bar. To overcome our ingrained racial biases, we must intentionally choose to love and appreciate those who are different from us.
Proverbs 12:1To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
Matthew 5:23-24“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
Accepting correction is wise. However, seeking out correction is wiser. Don’t just rely on others to call out your racist tendencies—actively learn how you can do better. Ask questions. Read articles. Watch interviews. Ponder Scripture. Then take what you learn and live it out. This approach is called a “growth mindset,” and it’s a healthy habit for many situations in life.
Romans 12:16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Racial harmony starts with getting to know people. Spend time with people of other races. Listen and learn in humility. Such friendships help our hearts and minds to grow beyond our prejudices.
Acts 20:21I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 9:20-21When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. . . . When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ.
It’s okay to acknowledge racial and cultural differences. In fact, it’s helpful. Paul counted Jew and Gentile as equal brothers and sisters in Christ, yet he also adapted to their different cultural contexts. For instance, he followed Jewish ceremonial laws when he was in a Jewish culture, and he ate meals with Gentiles when he was in a Gentile culture. If we claim to be colorblind and refuse to acknowledge the differences of other cultures, we will never get to know or understand each other at a deeper level.
Esther 3:5-6When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.
Haman’s hatred of Mordecai led him to seek the destruction of all Jewish people. We must be careful never to make assumptions about a group of people based on our feelings about one person in that group. We often form opinions about an entire group of people (a racial group, a nationality, an occupation, members of a church denomination or even a club at school) based on the actions of one individual. Everyone should be approached as an individual, a person loved by God. We need to constantly check ourselves for blind spots and biases.
Colossians 3:11In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Ephesians 2:19-21Now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. . . . We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
While understanding differences is important, understanding what we have in common bonds us together: a shared hobby, a similar sense of humor, a relatable parenting experience—or, most significantly, the same hope in Christ! When we identify these points of connection, we are able to build bonds while still respecting our differences.
Philippians 4:8Now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Galatians 6:7-9You will always harvest what you plant. . . . So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.
Changing our thought patterns and correcting our biases takes conscious and repeated effort.
Acts 11:2-3When Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.
Galatians 2:11-13When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
Often our racist tendencies are ingrained in us through the culture around us and reinforced by peer pressure. Something as small and simple as eating a meal with a Gentile was against common Jewish practice at the time. Like Paul, we should challenge racist peer pressure boldly. That sets a clear standard for us and others, and it helps people who may be targets of that racism.
John 10:16“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
1 Corinthians 12:15If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.
1 Corinthians 12:27All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
The good Shepherd has many different sheep. The body of Christ has many different parts. All believers belong to Christ—and without each other, we represent him to the world in an incomplete way. Overcoming racism helps everyone in the family of God to experience a sense of belonging on this side of eternity.
