So, tonight was my last Beth Moore study until summer. We had a great dinner together in a gorgeous house in our suburban, comfortable neck of the woods. Yes, we are all white, to make matters worse. The topic of Beth's video: the generational stronghold of prejudice. I think this topic might have been more comfortable had women of other races and religions been present!! It really amazes me how blinded we are about our lack of willingness to admit that we are prejudiced, even after listening to an hour of how obvious it is and how sinful it is. I don't think I have to spell this out for anyone - you know what I'm talking about!!
I could go on for hours about this topic, how I was influenced by prejudice as a child, how it has affected me as the white wife of an Asian man, how I feel as a Christian in a very liberal left area of the country... I would propose that isn't a single American who hasn't formed some prejudice in their life against some group of persons, yet is unwilling to call it what it is: sin, and unacceptable to God.
My good friend and co-leader of this study is a Messianic Jewish woman who happens to also be my neighbor. She really hit a nerve tonight - and it was felt by all of us, me included, although I think I might have been the only one who was convicted by her words. A couple women shirked at her mere mention of how offensive Christians are by imposing their religion/holidays on non-believing, non-religious, non-Christian people. They were quick to point out 1) our country was built on the Christian faith, our founding fathers meant for our country to be "christian" and 2) we need to stand up more to this leftist "minority" that is trying to suck God out of everything. They were slow, if they were at all, to admit that we do not take any amount of time to consider how we look to this "minority" that actually may not be a minority at all!
I felt really convicted by her words tonight. I am offended by the ignorance that I see at my daughter's school about what is "religious" and what is clearly not. In my uppity Christian way, I refuse often to see the offensive side of Christianity. I'm not lobbying to include Jesus in schools - He is there in the hearts of the many Christian children who attend. But my very argument about why a menorrah can hang openly and not be called religious, while a Christmas tree or Santa are not welcome is sounding like I'm pushing my religion in this public school. I'm being misunderstood while I'm misunderstanding.
Beth Moore made some very wonderful points on this topic, ones that I hope to implement in my family. It is our choice to recognize strongholds in our lives as just that and change them for our children. We need to stop making excuses for things like prejudice and start recognizing them for what they are. If we want the future for our children to look less like our past, it is our job to make that happen. Stop being "that way you are" or "the way you were raised" or trying to say "it's not my fault" or "I didn't do that." This sin still exists and the people who did start it aren't here to make it right, but we are.
It was a great discussion cut off by uncomfortable suburban women who decided it was getting late and they needed to go home. I was the lucky one because I got to ride home with this friend and I made sure we finished that conversation! And we barely scratched the surface...
I could go on for hours about this topic, how I was influenced by prejudice as a child, how it has affected me as the white wife of an Asian man, how I feel as a Christian in a very liberal left area of the country... I would propose that isn't a single American who hasn't formed some prejudice in their life against some group of persons, yet is unwilling to call it what it is: sin, and unacceptable to God.
My good friend and co-leader of this study is a Messianic Jewish woman who happens to also be my neighbor. She really hit a nerve tonight - and it was felt by all of us, me included, although I think I might have been the only one who was convicted by her words. A couple women shirked at her mere mention of how offensive Christians are by imposing their religion/holidays on non-believing, non-religious, non-Christian people. They were quick to point out 1) our country was built on the Christian faith, our founding fathers meant for our country to be "christian" and 2) we need to stand up more to this leftist "minority" that is trying to suck God out of everything. They were slow, if they were at all, to admit that we do not take any amount of time to consider how we look to this "minority" that actually may not be a minority at all!
I felt really convicted by her words tonight. I am offended by the ignorance that I see at my daughter's school about what is "religious" and what is clearly not. In my uppity Christian way, I refuse often to see the offensive side of Christianity. I'm not lobbying to include Jesus in schools - He is there in the hearts of the many Christian children who attend. But my very argument about why a menorrah can hang openly and not be called religious, while a Christmas tree or Santa are not welcome is sounding like I'm pushing my religion in this public school. I'm being misunderstood while I'm misunderstanding.
Beth Moore made some very wonderful points on this topic, ones that I hope to implement in my family. It is our choice to recognize strongholds in our lives as just that and change them for our children. We need to stop making excuses for things like prejudice and start recognizing them for what they are. If we want the future for our children to look less like our past, it is our job to make that happen. Stop being "that way you are" or "the way you were raised" or trying to say "it's not my fault" or "I didn't do that." This sin still exists and the people who did start it aren't here to make it right, but we are.
It was a great discussion cut off by uncomfortable suburban women who decided it was getting late and they needed to go home. I was the lucky one because I got to ride home with this friend and I made sure we finished that conversation! And we barely scratched the surface...
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