How to Make U-Turns in LifeПримерок

Day 4: U-Turn from Discrimination 

Discrimination separates. It always seeks to cause division. It serves as a tool of Satan to keep a large portion of society downtrodden, depressed, and lacking. God has spoken on this throughout Scripture. It’s not always specifically called “discrimination.” Sometimes it’s called “partiality.” This means showing favoritism or making distinctions based on preference. We also know it as “elitism.”

But whatever term is used, God’s Word is clear that it is wrong. And God’s Word must always trump history, background, culture, race, and gender in telling us how we are to treat each other.

Now, before we go further on this subject, I want to remind you that not all discrimination is wrong. We are told to discriminate between truth and error. We’re told to discriminate between righteousness and unrighteousness. Discrimination between purity and evil based on a divine standard is part of living in obedience to God. But discrimination that judges, uses, manipulates, dismisses, devalues, or abuses another human being made in the image of God is evil.

How you treat people reveals how you view God. Illegitimate discrimination reflects a darkened spirit toward God because humanity is made in the image of God. 

Whether you need to reverse the results of discrimination brought against you or whether you need to repent of your own partiality toward others and treat everyone equally in love, the roadmap to personal equity (given or received) is marked by love. Love is the chief rule that brings together all other rules.   

A lot of us are calling on God to do things for us that He is never going to do because He sees what we do and don’t do to others. He sees our elitism, classism, genderism, racism, or plain discrimination based on preferences or personalities. God has made it clear that He is not a God of partiality; so when we choose to live our lives with favoritism toward certain people and disdain for others, we have chosen to violate His rule of love. Our rebellion can only boomerang the consequences of that rebellion in return.

I understand that you may have faced discrimination in your lifetime and that it hurts. Trust me, I know how discrimination feels. Yet despite the pain you or I felt, we will still be held accountable before God if we ever discriminate against someone else. You can’t point the blame at what has been done to you as an excuse for what you do toward others. The consequences that have shown up in your life because of any preferential or oppressive treatment you’ve shown to others are yours alone to bear. Similarly, the blessing that has shown up in your life due to the love and equity you’ve shown to others is yours to experience and enjoy.

The Bible is clear that we will all be held to account at the judgment seat of Christ. None of us gets to skip it. We will each sit with the Lord and review our lives. According to James 2:13 if you withheld mercy and love from others, you will be judged without mercy. But if you showed love through equity, through non-discriminatory behavior and words, you will receive mercy.

As we read in 1 Peter 4:8, that mercy can even apply to our sins. Talk about a reversal! Talk about how to turn things around and make a U-turn in your life! God gives you the very directions to do just that.