Prejudice Against Other Cultures?

(Jonah 4:1-2) Jonah was really upset and angry. So he prayed: ‘Our LORD, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.’”

(Acts 10:34-35) “Peter then said: ‘Now I am certain that God treats all people alike. God is pleased with everyone who worships him and does right, no matter what nation they come from.’

Unfortunately, we have grown up in a society where, for the most part, anyone who is different than us is considered not worthy of our respect. Although this is normally prominent in countries that seem to prosper more than others, it is also seen within cultures in third-world countries. Bear in mind, that slavery, racism and prejudice against other cultures have only been eradicated a couple of generations ago. Ask your parents what they were taught about Jews, Indians, Arabs, Africans, Chinese, or any other culture that had very different traditions and seemed less educated than them in one way or another.

If you think you don’t have this prejudice, imagine if your daughter wants to marry someone from these cultures, who is of a lower caste or lower social status, with barbaric traditions that you can’t seem to get your head around. What is very clear is that, as long as they are wealthy, it doesn’t matter which culture they come from as money makes even the most illiterate and awkward person receive a certain degree of respect.

Jonah had such a kind of prejudice against the people of Nineveh, which is modern Iraq. It was the most populated city of the Assyrian Empire, full of idol worshippers, whom God wanted to save. They were brutish, barbaric, and at constant war against everyone, including Israel. So it was clear that Jonah was upset when God asked him to go and preach to them.

However, after he repented and preached to them, knowing God would now save them, he got even more upset realizing how much prejudice he had against those whom God also loved. It takes a lot of honesty and self-examination to admit that there are those whom we think don’t deserve God’s mercy and love. Sometimes our holiness and self-righteousness are so strong that we think it is exclusive to those who think and act like us.

I have seen this even within the church where we judge other denominations and cultures because of the way they dress, pray, worship, or preach the Gospel. We can either think they are too wild, loud, and too liberal, or too dead, too quiet, and too strict compared to what we are accustomed to.

We seem to forget that Christ died for the sins of the whole world. That includes those people and cultures we believe to be less than us or not worthy of receiving the same salvation.

Prayers

• Heavenly Father, You are The Lord says “I am who I am”; The Lord who is to come; “God who is Love”; The Most High; The one who is exalted above the heavens; God who is exalted by His power.
• Thank You, Father, that no matter what our creed, culture, social status, or colour of skin, we can receive Christ into our hearts.
• Thank You for sending disciples to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel.
• I thank You for the one You sent to speak to me about Jesus.
• I thank You for the love and boldness You gave him/her to open their mouths and share with me how to be saved.
• Forgive us for the prejudice we have for anyone who is different from us.
• Forgive us for thinking that we are special and that only some deserve to be saved and forgiven from their sins.
• We declare that we will make an effort to reach out with Your message of salvation to all nations, regardless if we agree or not with their way of doing things.
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• We ask in Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen