I remember experiencing prejudice on a recent trip. Someone didn’t like the colour of my skin and wouldn’t let me into a venue, despite my having a ticket! It wasn’t nice. Sadly, this doesn’t just happen in society at large but has often been found in the church. I remember a story of a coloured man in the Southern states of the US during the days of strong racial prejudice towards African Americans. He tried to enter a white church but was thrown out. He went to God and prayed, “Lord, they won’t let me in to the church!” To which Jesus replied, “Don’t worry son, they won’t let Me in either!” Prejudice, discrimination and bias are antithetical to authentic Christianity and were
actively and vigorously rejected in the first church. James, first overseeing shepherd of the Jerusalem church knew the dangers of partiality and addressed it in his teaching to the church, saying: “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favour some people over others?” (James 2:1). Let us be those who shun prejudice of every kind!