Step 3: Smash Stereotypes

I’m a Black man who grew up in the suburbs and attended a majority-white Bible college, which means I’ve been subjected to a few stereotypes in my day. The moments at Bible college may have hurt the most, simply because the church should be the place where all of God’s children are celebrated and welcomed. The church is supposed to be the hope of the world, but the question is, whose world? Unfortunately, many churches don’t work very hard to welcome all kinds of people. And one quick way to alienate people is to let stereotypes take root in your thinking. Even if you think you are hiding your prejudices, they will eventually make themselves known.

We are not born with prejudices; so since they are learned, they can also be unlearned. When you find yourself resorting to stereotypes or essentializing people by putting them into simplified groups, work hard to actively resist that thinking. Stereotyping people usually causes us to think of them as less than us, or at the very least, it causes us to put them in categories that are far from ourselves. In short, stereotypes build walls between God’s family members. As you walk through each day, and especially as you face conversations with people who are different from you, ask God to help you root out the damaging stereotypes that have taken root in your heart. Ask him to remind you that each person is a child of God—a masterpiece of his own making.