Get the appDoes God Care About DiscriminationНамуна
DOES GOD DISCRIMINATE?
It is easy to be misled and assume that the Old Testament God was different from the New Testament Christ. Did God condone acts of discrimination and abuse in the Old Testament? Never.
The book of Leviticus laid out for the Jews their rules for Holy Living. At a glance it may seem like God was being discriminatory Himself in stating His preference for everything male, everything clean and everything without blemish. What we need to understand here is that God was trying to establish an understanding of who He is in the hearts and minds of these people. Their sacrifices had to be ’perfect’ and without blemish because God is Holy and He is perfect. Their sacrifices had to cost them something that they attached the highest value to.
But God’s heart for the lowly, the imperfect, the weak, the insignificant is showcased throughout the Old Testament as well. We see God honoring men and women who were defective and unholy. Moses was probably bullied for his stuttering. God told Samuel concerning Eliab to not look at His physical perfection and assume that God had chosen him to be king. What God is after at all times are hearts that are fully committed to Him. He remembered young David who was not in the limelight but was tending sheep where no one saw him.
In other words, this Holy God expected His people to be holy but not without recognizing their inability to be holy on their own. The Old Testament law was but a shadow of what is to come. The only discrimination that is allowed biblically is between that which is holy and that which is not. What we need to remember also is that God hates sin but loves the sinner. He hates wrongdoing but loves people. To Him we all matter because we are all made in His image – rich or poor, man or woman, Jew or Greek, slave or free. No matter what our life experiences have been or what our social status is, God sees us as His children.
Today we see a lot of discrimination and preferential treatment even within the body of Christ. Caste-ism, racism, skin color discrimination and preferential treatment of the rich are surely an abomination to the Lord. There is no doubt that the Lord expects His church to be holy just as He is Holy. But the holiness He expects is more than ceremonial and ritualistic holiness which are merely outward acts. Our righteousness should exceed that of the teachers of the law. We should learn to look at people the way God looks at them. We should learn to treat people the way God would want us to treat them.
Jesus touched the person with leprosy. He identified with the poor. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He allowed a sinful woman to anoint His feet with her hair. Jesus healed more than just physical ailments. He healed broken hearts - hearts that were traumatized because of hurtful words, physical abuse and social prejudice.
It is easy to be misled and assume that the Old Testament God was different from the New Testament Christ. Did God condone acts of discrimination and abuse in the Old Testament? Never.
The book of Leviticus laid out for the Jews their rules for Holy Living. At a glance it may seem like God was being discriminatory Himself in stating His preference for everything male, everything clean and everything without blemish. What we need to understand here is that God was trying to establish an understanding of who He is in the hearts and minds of these people. Their sacrifices had to be ’perfect’ and without blemish because God is Holy and He is perfect. Their sacrifices had to cost them something that they attached the highest value to.
But God’s heart for the lowly, the imperfect, the weak, the insignificant is showcased throughout the Old Testament as well. We see God honoring men and women who were defective and unholy. Moses was probably bullied for his stuttering. God told Samuel concerning Eliab to not look at His physical perfection and assume that God had chosen him to be king. What God is after at all times are hearts that are fully committed to Him. He remembered young David who was not in the limelight but was tending sheep where no one saw him.
In other words, this Holy God expected His people to be holy but not without recognizing their inability to be holy on their own. The Old Testament law was but a shadow of what is to come. The only discrimination that is allowed biblically is between that which is holy and that which is not. What we need to remember also is that God hates sin but loves the sinner. He hates wrongdoing but loves people. To Him we all matter because we are all made in His image – rich or poor, man or woman, Jew or Greek, slave or free. No matter what our life experiences have been or what our social status is, God sees us as His children.
Today we see a lot of discrimination and preferential treatment even within the body of Christ. Caste-ism, racism, skin color discrimination and preferential treatment of the rich are surely an abomination to the Lord. There is no doubt that the Lord expects His church to be holy just as He is Holy. But the holiness He expects is more than ceremonial and ritualistic holiness which are merely outward acts. Our righteousness should exceed that of the teachers of the law. We should learn to look at people the way God looks at them. We should learn to treat people the way God would want us to treat them.
Jesus touched the person with leprosy. He identified with the poor. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He allowed a sinful woman to anoint His feet with her hair. Jesus healed more than just physical ailments. He healed broken hearts - hearts that were traumatized because of hurtful words, physical abuse and social prejudice.
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About this Plan
The plan hopes to highlight God’s heart for the down-trodden, underprivileged, victims of abuse and discrimination. The study hopes to challenge people to stop dignifying discrimination and to recognize attitudes and practices that are oppressive and contribute towards restoring people’s God-given dignity.
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