Without Prejudice!
"Then the woman of Samaria said to Him,
“How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink
from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews
have no dealings with Samaritans."
John 4: 9
The word prejudice has two parts: pre (in advance) and
judicium (judgment). Therefore, prejudice is to prejudge
a person or a matter before getting any of the
facts.
Nowhere is prejudice more prevalent than in matters of
race and ethnicity. Some judge people based on the color
of their skin or their ethnicity before they even know them.
Prejudice is not a modern sin; it existed in Jesus’ day.
The Jews in Galilee and Judea were prejudiced
against
Samaritans because they intermarried with
Assyrians
following the Assyrian invasion of Israel in the eighth
century B.C. Jews refused to set foot in Samaria,
except for Jesus and His disciples.
On a journey from Judea to Galilee, Jesus went through Samaria
where He encountered a woman to whom He revealed Himself as
the Messiah, Source of living water (John 4). Jesus saw humans
in need of God’s love, not races or genders or status.
Pray for the ability to see the world through Jesus’ eyes.
Share Him just as He shared Himself—without prejudice
and with love.
"Water and oil are more compatible
than Christianity and prejudice."
William A. Ward
